Mother Teresa, Rats, Cats, and Adoration

Lessons from the Missionaries of Charity in the South Bronx

Sister Clare high-fives Dusty, their sort-of-friendly Convent mouser.

I guess it should come as no surprise.

That they have a cat and a dog, that is.

It is the South Bronx, after all.

And if you don't have a cat and a dog in the South Bronx, you have mice and rats.

I guess it’s a matter of preference.

Sister Clare, a Missionary of Charity, was kind enough to invite Molly Judd of the Eucharistic Revival and me into the tiny Convent on 145th Street to speak about the Sacramental aspects of the Sister's lives.

A lot was shared.

She emotionally shared a story about a suicidal man who sat atop a high parapet wall on ten story building adjacent to the Convent.

She raced to bring out the Blessed Sacrament in a 'luna' or ‘lunette’ (an insert used to hold the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance), placed it in a Priest's hand, and said, "Bring him, Jesus! Bring him, Jesus!" And as the Priest scrambled to the top of the building, yelling to the man, "I have Jesus!" And the man stepped off the wall onto the roof's safety.

Jesus does indeed save.

She spoke of the reciprocal exchange between Christ whom they serve in the poor and Christ Whom they bring to the poor.

But it was a story she relayed from back in 1973 that turned out to be pivotal to the Order that really struck me.

It goes like this.

Since St. Mother Theresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, the Sisters would have a weekly Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.

But in 1973, a group of Sisters proposed increasing this to a daily Holy Hour.

Mother was concerned about that limiting the time they could serve the poor. But after prayerful consideration, it was agreed. And the Sisters, to this very day, have daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.

Here's the thing.

Mothers' concerns were practical and human.

But when you're dealing with God, that goes out the window.

Just think of the feeding of the 5000.

Once they began with the Daily Holy Hour, they found they had even more time to serve the poor, and vocations increased tenfold.

And oh, Mother Theresa is now a Saint.

Go figure.

I've heard similar stories about Adoration and Holy Hours from other religious orders and just regular people like you and I.

I've heard how long-sought prayers have been answered.

Lives have been radically changed.

And those wrestling with all manner of struggle were healed.

All from sitting before the Lord…

If only you show up.

I'll leave it at this.

Consider this message directly for you.

Yes, YOU.

You're busy. There's work. There are problems. The need for rest. All of it.

But the Solution to every challenge you face is waiting to gaze into your eyes…

And Love you.

Yes, YOU.

"My yoke is easy and my burden light…" This cryptic line from Scripture was recently explained to me in a way I'd never thought of before.

A yoke joins two oxen together, so together, they would share in the work.

Jesus wants to share in your burdens.

To bring His Grace to bear in your life.

Okay.

So my compadre Molly asked Sister Clare to describe the Blessed Sacrament in one word.

Her reply?

"Love. Because God is Love."

He Loves you, and he's waiting for you.

What are you waiting for?

A sign?

Well, if it's a Missionary of Charity Sister getting a high five from a cat.

Consider this your sign :-)

Dusty, the South Bronx, Missionaries of Charity, mouse-catching cat. Oh, and I don’t speak ‘cat’, but I’m pretty sure he’s telling YOU to go to Adoration.