When someone mentions the city of San Francisco, it may immediately evoke images of hills and cable cars. Similarly, we may associate adobe architecture with Santa Fe and white sand beaches with Cancun.

Reading a friend's personal journal, I learned that one of the things that characterize Calcutta is the ubiquitous face of death...both the sight of death and the stench of human corpses. One of the haunting memories of his visit were women on the sidewalks cradling the body of a dead husband or child in their arms, begging for enough money to give the deceased loved one a funeral. In his journal, my friend paints the picture of a place that God must truly have forsaken.

I had originally asked to read my friend's journal because I envied him for having had the privilege of serving Mother Teresa during his visit. His first impression of Mother was that she stood chest-high to most folks and spoke with a voice so tiny, it seemed as though she were doing little more than moving her lips. He described her as a person with no presence and said that if not for the fact that she was Mother Teresa, no one would ever notice a woman so inconspicuous.

Then one day, at the Kali Ghat Home for Dying Destitutes, the normal chaos suddenly came to a halt and the room hung in silence as Mother Teresa made her entrance. Walking down a two-foot aisleway with a row of cots on either side, patients on the brink of death turned toward Mother and a few even struggled to sit up. Mother Teresa gave each patient a loving touch and the "woman with no presence" now beamed beatifically -- flashing smiles that can be felt across the room. The effect of her presence is best described in another account I've heard...about a patient of Mother Teresa who exclaimed, "I lived all my life as a pauper, but now I die like a king!"

So in this city, seemingly forsaken by God, Mother Teresa was by all accounts a conduit for Divine Grace. She called her path and her work "love in action."

Might not Mother's way of life serve as an answer to those of us who wonder about the meaning of life and our purpose on earth? Sometimes it seems that there is certainly enough hurt and hatred and strife in the world. Might not our purpose be to serve as a conduit for grace wherever grace seems to be in short supply?

I've always studied religious philosophy without the benefit of a guru. No one I've met has sufficiently inspired me to accept that person as my guru. But after hearing these accounts of Mother Teresa, I believe that Mother would have been the only person on earth to whom I could have whole-heartedly devoted myself.

I recall also that Mother Teresa frequently referred to herself as a "pencil in God's hand." I suppose some who hear these words may regard it merely as a sign of modesty. I, however, find profound significance in Mother's words. If Mother Teresa was indeed a pencil in God's hand, then the story of her life must truly be scripture.

(I am indebted to Mark Benjamin of Miami, Florida for sending me his journal.)

God bless you, Mother, for being
such a wonderful inspiration to all of us.

Namaste