Some exciting stirrings going on at the Vatican as I write this. Mother Teresa is on the threshold of being recognized officially by the Church of Rome as a Saint. Next September, near or on the date of her death, an official canonization will be held. For you non-Catholics, the honor is bestowed on a person after three miracles “by their hand” have been performed posthumously.
The miracles have to qualify as the real deal. The events must pass under the eyes of cynical Cardinals and their interpretations of the guidelines. The miracles cannot be a magic trick performed by an illusionist fan. Duplicating an apple in a 3D printer won’t do it – but duplicating a pony, might. Nonetheless, Mother Teresa has nothing to prove in the Holier Grail’s book, and I would say the Blessed Teresa was already a Saint long before the Church will says so. Already revered as a modern-day saint her followers visit her tomb with prayer and receive strength and grace.
Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in Macedonia and passed in 1997 in Calcutta. In the month of October, 2003 Pope John Paul II set in motion the canonization process. The “Saint of the Gutters” was acknowledged through her beatification. Normally there is a mandatory five year wait period from the time of death until being invited to participate in the canonization cause. The Pope moved the agenda up after Mother Teresa had been dead less than two years. Blessed Teresa was put on the fast track. There is little, if any doubt that this exceptional person is not an expression of God’s purest goodness and the millions of people she reaches is undeniable.
Her gift of nurturing the poor, the homeless, the sick and elderly is indelibly stamped on the consciousness of humankind. Since her death, it has been shown that those who devote their lives to aiding the poor have had miraculous interactions with the Little Wonder of Calcutta. Her gifts include the gathering of Christian, Sikh, Buddist, Muslim admires all joined in a common prayer. There is no organization to these gatherings necessarily, just a common frequency is shared and drawn together. Testimony is also considered. For those who knew Mother Teresa and to speak of their experiences documented by Church officials, is a first step to in the yearlong gathering of testimony.
The Church has never been one for moving at breakneck speed when bringing change or introducing anything new, and the canonization process is not the exception. For the reason that time tests all, the Church wants to be certain that someone is as highly regarded many years after their death as they were in life. With Mother Teresa it has been sufficiently proven that her admirers are here to stay.
She touched the soul of humanity too deeply for it to be otherwise. Despite the obvious, the Church of Rome will conduct a formal investigation documenting details of her life that may have been overlooked or gone un-noticed while she went about her daily work. There are stories from those who received her healing touch and comfort. All this is in hopes of consolidating her body of work from as many perspectives as possible.
The information will be given as her life’s testimonial and passed on to future generations to inspire as a role model. There have been physical healings which havet occurred after a suffering individual prayed to Mother Teresa for her help. Doctors cannot explain the remissions on several documented cases of tumors disappearing. In the eyes of the Church, Mother Teresa has been given credit for many miraculous healings. She herself was a miracle that came to the aid of the shunned and otherwise forgotten. She was a miracle in her very existence to the many who she touched.
In the Fall of 2016 The Roman Catholic Church will officially induct the good Mother as Saint Mother Teresa. Celebrate the idea that the world has another advocate at a time when we need all we can get.
