Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

It doesn't seem possible that Mother Teresa has been dead for 17 years.  She was such a household figure, and still is, that we hardly think that it has been that long, but it was on this date in 1997 that she entered eternal rest.  Her life still stands as an example of faith as well as of service to "the least favored": the dying poor who were totally abandoned to die in the streets of Calcutta.  She not only had to respond to "the call within a call"...that is, to leave the first congregation of which she was a member, to do this work which eventually led to the founding of the Missionary Sisters of Charity, which also has a branch for brothers and a branch for priests, but  we learned after her death that she did all of this while experiencing a "dryness" in prayer... a loss of the sense of the presence of God.  There's where her faith shines.  Pure faith, no consolations, no "feel good" tablet to encourage her.  She plowed ahead through "the desert", left a legacy that continues to thrive and stands tall as an example to us who are so prone to discouragement or self-pity.  Blessed Mother Teresa, pray for us. Amen.
Bro. Rene