Sr. M. Joseph MC – Statement on the Death of the Holy Father Pope Francis
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MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY, KOLKATA
Together with the universal Church, we the Missionaries of Charity mourn the death of this great Pope, Pope Francis.
Pope Francis was a man of evangelical vision. The way he made the Church re-focus its attention on the marginalized, the migrants and the refugees, reminded us of Jesus who sat with the tax collectors and sinners. He wanted a Church that welcomes all, without discriminating anyone. He encouraged us, Missionaries to go to the peripheries of the society. To look for the "lost ones", to get the smell of the sheep. This was exactly why he asked us to open a new mission in Bajo Flores, a big slum in Argentina, close to his hometown Flores. It is a place of drug addiction, violence and gang fights. Our house is in the middle of this slum and sometimes we have bullets flying through our windows.
This February, we had an unforgettable meeting with our Holy Father in Vatican. I was there for a meeting with the Regionals after which we went for the general audience, followed by a short meeting with Holy Father. He kept on saying to us in his feeble voice, "Sisters, thank you for your vocation and mission. Do you know the Pope also has your community in Vatican. Your vocation is good!" He kept repeating this a few times with both hands upraised. He also said, "Sisters keep going, keep going...." We were moved to tears. He had such a great enthusiasm for the mission. It was such an encouragement for us. We heard that the next day he was admitted in the hospital.
It has been brought to our attention that various organizations are using the name, words and image of Mother Teresa as well as the photos of the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity and their centers to claim or simulate their connection with Mother Teresa and their association or affiliation with us, the Missionaries of Charity for their own financial gain or other ambitious purposes.
We do wish to inform you that Mother Teresa never wished her name or image to be used in connection with any fundraising endeavors or solicitation of donations for any charitable work however praiseworthy, not even the works of her own religious order. Mother Teresa lived a life of simplicity and humility and for her own works of charity among the poorest of the poor, relied solely on God’s Providence through the spontaneous free will offerings of generous donors. Mother Teresa reserved the right to use her name, words and image exclusively to the Missionaries of Charity (the religious order she founded), at the sole discretion of our Superior General. We, the Missionaries of Charity and the Mother Teresa Center (a non-profit organization established and directed to oversee Mother Teresa’s intellectual property rights) continue to uphold her explicit wishes in this regard.
In spite of the efforts of Mother Teresa (during her lifetime) and of the Missionaries of Charity (after her death) many organisations continue misleading the public through their websites and social media platforms and therefore it is our duty to warn you to beware of sending donations to these organisations which falsely claim to be associated or affiliated with Mother Teresa or the Missionaries of Charity.
Staying true to the mission of Mother Teresa, some of our Sisters have made the courageous decision to stay behind in war torn Ukraine, and help those who are unable to leave. As of right now, 5 sisters from the Missionaries of Charity are staying back in Kiev. We pray that God may be with them, and all the citizens of Ukraine, during these uncertain times.
To learn more about two of those Sisters, you can read the full article here.
Lent encourages us to let the Word of God penetrate our life … Lent offers us an ascetic and liturgical route which, while helping us to open our eyes to our weakness, opens our hearts to the merciful love of Christ… Lent, therefore, as a time of listening to the truth ... to convert to love, because the deep truth, the truth of God, is at the same time love.
By converting to the truth of God, we must necessarily be converted to love; a love that knows how to make its own the Lord's attitude of compassion and mercy...
… May Lent also be a time of fasting, penance and watchfulness of ourselves, and may we be convinced that the fight against sin is never-ending, because temptation is a daily reality....
through alms-giving and doing good to others, may Lent be an opportunity for sincere sharing with our brethren of the gifts that we have received, and of attention to the needs of the poorest and most abandoned people.
For the full text from His Holiness Pope Francis, click here.
“Lent is a time for greater Love. ” – St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Missionaries of Charity and 14 disabled children from Kabul arrive at Rome airport
Religious sisters from the Missionaries of Charity and 14 disabled children from an orphanage in Afghanistan arrived safely at Rome’s international airport, fleeing the unrest in Kabul.
Statement regarding former priest Donald J. McGuire
By H. James Towey, Legal Counsel and authorized spokesperson for the Missionaries of Charity
Former Catholic priest Donald J. McGuire deceived Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the Missionaries of Charity throughout his relationship with them. It was after Mother Teresa’s death that evidence emerged publicly which exposed the extent of his duplicity and the damage he had done to others during the years of his priestly ministry. The Missionaries of Charity deeply regret that McGuire’s past association with Mother Teresa appears to have been used by him to groom the trust of others, including those he sexually, emotionally and psychologically abused. The sincere prayers and sympathy of the Missionaries of Charity are with the victims of McGuire’s predatory behavior, as well as the members of their families and all those who were harmed or scandalized by him.
Mother Teresa neither knew nor had reason to believe that Donald McGuire sexually abused others. Mother Teresa would not have remained associated with McGuire, or allowed him around her Sisters, if she had known or had any reason to believe that he had engaged in sexual conduct with anyone at any time. McGuire betrayed her trust in him. Even a saint can be duped by an artful liar leading a double life.
With respect to the February 2, 1994 letter from Mother Teresa on McGuire, it simply is not possible, 27 years later, to reconstruct the events that led to the letter’s origination. It is certain that Mother Teresa did not author the letter. The letter was not prepared or signed in Calcutta because she was in Washington, D.C. on that date. The Missionaries of Charity Sister who accompanied Mother Teresa from India, and the Sister-in-charge in Washington at that time, are both long-deceased. Mother Teresa, then 83-years-old, would have depended heavily upon them during her stay to oversee the management of her correspondence while in the United States.
The letter’s contents make clear that Mother Teresa relied upon the findings of fact and conclusions of Fr. John Hardon, S.J., the mediator tasked by the Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Bradley Schaeffer, S.J., on the McGuire matter. Mother Teresa’s letter states that Fr. Hardon “had established Father (McGuire)’s innocence of the allegations against him.” Mother Teresa reasonably relied on Fr. Hardon as well as the Provincial who re-instated McGuire. Both Fr. Hardon and Fr. Schaeffer, unlike Mother Teresa, had direct access to the evidence that existed at the time of McGuire’s psychological evaluation at the facility referenced in the letter. Sadly, we now know that both men were grievously misled by McGuire, as were so many others, for so long.
Media accounts which presented McGuire as Mother Teresa’s spiritual confidant are false. Hundreds of priests over the years heard Mother Teresa’s confession, or gave retreats to her or her Sisters. McGuire was not her spiritual director or regular confessor, even if he represented to others that he was.
Mother Teresa would be heartbroken by what is now known about McGuire’s grave sins and the terrible harm he inflicted on his victims and others. The Missionaries of Charity commend the cares all of those wounded by McGuire’s grievous misconduct to the healing grace of God and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and trust that Mother Teresa, too, is praying on their behalf.
My dearest Co-Workers, Active, Sick & Suffering, Lay Missionaries of Charity, I Thirst Movement members, Volunteers, I wish you a very fervent Advent and a Happy Christmas. May the Little Child Jesus fill you with His spirit of love, peace and joy.
All of us long for that love. Peace and joy. To satisfy this longing, the world advocates the broad and easy way of pleasure, security and power. Traveling along this road, however, our hearts begin to crave for more and more to fill our emptiness. We begin to groan under the slavery of addiction and demands and to grieve over the ruins of broken hearts and relationships.
Jesus walked the narrow way of the cross which led to the resurrection and to new life. We follow Him in faith and simplicity. Jesus, the wisdom and power of God, came in littleness and we trust that when we are weak the power of God comes to perfection in us. Jesus doesn’t offer us solutions for our problems, but He leads us from glory unto glory in the light of the Beatitudes along the road of conversion.
During Advent, the call of John the Baptist is heard: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Is 40:3) May Mary, full of grace, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, help us to change any attitude that keeps us far from Jesus. The time has come:
• To turn away from the expectation and demand that others have to change and instead to set out o change our own attitudes.
• To turn away from the ambition to be admired for our success and begin to practice faithfulness in the hidden, little things.
• To turn away from the desire for efficiency and to start to focus on the person’s immediate need to be taken care of effectively and in all things aiming at the salvation and sanctification of souls.
As the year is ending, I am reflecting about the events of the year 2020. People are groaning under the scourge of Covid-19 and other afflictions of extreme hardship. The world faces civil war, atrocities inflicted by gangs and totalitarian governments, racial violence, homes destroyed by typhoon, etc. Families have struggled with sickness, death, unemployment, restrictions never before experienced in life, including limitations in access to churches and other places of worship. Ads always, the poor and the children have suffered the most. Children has also been victims of legislation promoting abortion, divorce, same-sex unions, drugs and pornography. Jesus said to our Mother, “How it hurts to see these poor children soiled with sin… draw them away from the hands of the evil one.”
Let us resolve to do all we can, in our own capacity, to protect children, including the unborn. The joy we give to one child and one unhappy home will be our best Christmas gift for Jesus.
May you have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Please, pray for me.
I remember each one of you, your families and loved ones in my prayer.
Mass for the Immaculate Heart of Mary with the Missionaries of Charity, marking the community’s feast day, at the Cathedral.
Archbishop Cordileone Offers 12 Concurrent Masses with the Missionaries of Charity, as California continues with a 12-person limit on outdoor Mass attendance due to the coronavirus, the Archbishop of San Francisco expands his reach, marking a very special day for Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.
