Wenceslaus Anthony 
Pope Francis will declare Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata a saint at the Vatican on September 4, 2016.
The date was announced on March 15 during an ‘ordinary public consistory, a meeting of the Pope, Cardinals and promoters of sainthood causes that formally ends the sainthood process.
Mother Teresa’s canonisation is an important event for the Mother Teresa Interfaith in Auckland and for people around the world.
Humbling experience
She has inspired thousands of followers in different countries as well as individual acts of kindness. Her work, love and service to the poor and the downtrodden have already changed thousands of lives.
Mother Teresa Interfaith had announced at the last Interfaith Gathering that the volunteers and the Committee members will also have one joint act of Service along with the Mother Teresa Sisters in Auckland.
It was a windy and frosty evening on Saturday, July 30, 2016. Forming themselves into three groups at the initial assembly at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Downtown Auckland, the volunteers and Mother Teresa sisters walked to the main streets in the Central Business District to distribute packed sandwiches.
Dearth of love
Sister Agnes Joseph, Superior of Missionary of Charity in Auckland explained to the Group the purpose of this Service.
“Mother Teresa went out to the Streets to give love to people. Food is only one aspect of that love and that is what we are doing in Auckland,” she said.
Watching the emotions of the recipients of the packets was a moving experience.
One of them said, “Mother Teresa had said that the Western World has money but is starved of love.”
It was also a humbling experience for the volunteers, who not felt the hearts of the poor touching their souls but also the enormity of tasks that confront them and the poverty of their own contributions in achieving them.
Arthy and Dennis
We complain about discomfort in a matter of few seconds. We might have ample reasons to do so but most of the time we fail to realise that there are people living in these uneasy situation for a lifetime.
We realised that Mother Teresa’s service was not just distributing food packets but sharing human love and embracing the needy with kind words and to bring a smile on their face.
Audrey Claremont
It was an immense pleasure to accompany the Sisters to do some volunteer work distributing sandwiches and coffee to the homeless. Today I learned a good lesson and something urged me to carry on aiding the needy. Despite the vigorous wind and cold of Victoria street, I felt very energetic.
Odelia D’Souza:
It was an absolute blessing for me to be able to reach out to a few under-privileged people. I felt very touched when they opened their arms to receive the sandwiches. It is the least we could do to help.
Vee Phekoo: Just being amongst the homeless and seeing how they go through life – a very humbling experience for us. This was something that personally touched me.
It was also a new learning for me that we should not take life for granted.
Interfaith Meeting
The annual Mother Teresa Interfaith Meeting will be held on Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 230 pm in Auckland. Indian Newslink will carry details of the event in an ensuing issue.
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Photo:
Volunteer Michael Dennis Raj with a recipient of the food packet in Central Auckland on July 30, 2016
