Mother Teresa was always a saint to me
IWAS sitting outside the tiny office of the Kalighat Home for the Dying in Kolkata when I spotted a flutter of white out of the corner of my eye.
It was Mother Teresa, and she was walking toward me.
Her teeny frame was bent midback and her eyes were crinkled with compassion. She was dressed in her signature white sari with blue bands.
She took my hands into hers, peered up at me and said, “Thank you for coming. God bless you.”
Her skin felt as soft as a baby’s cheek and her simple touch radiated love, joy and acceptance all at once. It was transforming.
When she looked into my eyes, I felt the chambers of my soul open up.
I was a law student at Yale University when I decided to take a year off to travel the world with my husband, and spend six weeks volunteering for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.
One day the sisters at the Home for the Dying opened their doors to all the children in the neighborhood to take a bath.
Hundreds of kids lined up for the luxury they rarely received.
The sisters and I were working to bathe each child, when suddenly, Mother Teresa walked through the door and the children all flocked to her like a magnet. As the kids tugged on her sari and demanded her attention, she bent over and hugged each child.
She complemented them and petted their heads and joined us in grooming the children.
Her modesty and ability to show every child such compassion was truly inspiring.
Another time, Mother Teresa helped me out of a dark place.
I was walking down a long corridor in the Kolkata subway system by myself when a man sexually assaulted me.
I tried to punch him, but he blocked me and bolted.
I was so distraught and wondered, “Why would God allow this to happen to me?”
That evening, I asked to speak with Mother Teresa. I was filled with worry that she would scold me for my actions, but instead she reassured me.
“I’m glad that you defended yourself,” she told me.
She then took my hands into hers and began to pray for God to help me heal. After several minutes, all the hurt washed away.
Mother Teresa is now an officially recognized as a saint, but she has always been one.