September 5, 2008
September 5, 2008
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Remembering Blessed Mother Teresa

Today (September 5) is the feast day of a woman I feel sure is the rightful patronness of adopted and foster children: Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. “Do not let the children die. Send them to me,” she was often quoted as saying. In each of those poor, suffering faces she saw “Jesus in distressing disguise.” Some time ago, I wrote a series of posts on her life, based on the book Come Be My Light. You can read the first one, “Come Be My Light: Thoughts on Spiritual Motherhood,” here. Otherwise, today I’ll keep it brief: Blessed Mother Teresa, who now intercedes for us before the […]
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June 6, 2008
June 6, 2008
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Mother Teresa’s Rules to Live By

I found this the other day at one of Sister Spitfire’s blogs, courtesy of A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. Mother Teresa gave these rules to her Sisters to help them develop the virtue of humility: 1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.3. Avoid curiosity.4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.5. Accept small irritations with good humor.6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.7. Accept censures even if unmerited.8. Give in to the will of others.9. Accept insults and injuries.10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.11. Accept injuries and insults.12. Be […]
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May 9, 2008
May 9, 2008
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“Don’t Be Weird, Mom!”

(This is a continuation of the series of articles reflecting on Come Be My Light and the spiritual motherhood of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, patron of adoptive and foster families, which I began earlier this year. For the original post, click the title.) Sarah is an extraordinary walking paradox. She will parade around the house (and in public as often as I let her) with a mind-blowing array of fashion statements: I applaud her budding confidence (insofar as it does not exceed the bounds of propriety). What puzzles me is that if I do anything the least bit unconventional … breaking into an impromptu […]
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May 9, 2008
May 9, 2008
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Day in the Life of a Foster Mom

This is my final installment in the series about Come Be My Light, on the spiritual motherhood of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and why she is the perfect patronness of adoptive and foster families. The final point that I took from this book was the idea that we need to be prudent in deciding what we are — and are not — able to do to meet the overwhelming need around us. When our kids came to us (initially with their older sister) we learned the hard way that there was only so much that we could do. It broke our hearts when we […]
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May 2, 2008
May 2, 2008
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Jim and Kerri Caviezel adopt two Chinese children

Catholic Carnival #170 is now up and running at “Book Reviews and More.” Thanks for hosting this week, Steven! This is my favorite part of a story about Jim and Kerri Caviezel’s adoption plans, which ran on CNE … Caviezel recalled that he was “completely terrified” at the possibility of adopting a child with a disability, but deep within his soul, he knew that God wanted him to do it. He compared the fear he felt at the prospect of adopting a child to other “fearful” times in his life. Caviezel explained that in some of the “most important decisions” in his life, he has […]
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February 1, 2008
February 1, 2008
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When Love Gets Expensive

After taking a bit of a break, I’m ready to jump back into the series about Mother Teresa, as revealed in the book Come, Be My Light. As I’ve said — most recently in the last post in this series — I believe Blessed Teresa should be (if she isn’t already) the patroness of adoptive and foster mothers. Today I’d like to share with you another way this dear saint of Calcutta lived a life that is a model for adoptive and foster parents everywhere. Reason #3: She continued to love, even when it cost her dearly. It would have been very easy, after receiving […]
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January 23, 2008
January 23, 2008
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Blessed Mother Teresa: Waiting Room

“Put your hand in Jesus’ hand, and walk alone with Him. Walk ahead, because if you look back you will go back.”Parting words of her mother to 18-year-old Gonxha Bojaxjiu(the future Mother Teresa) In Come Be My Light, we follow Blessed Mother Teresa as she begins God’s work among the most impoverished and powerless in the slums of Calcutta. Despite her urgent, repeated requests, years pass before Mother Teresa receives the necessary permissions – first from her spiritual advisor, then from her bishop, then from Rome, then (finally) her own superior. Even after the permission was granted, delays and misunderstandings (even within the Loreto community) […]
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January 14, 2008
January 14, 2008
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Blessed Mother Teresa: A Heart for the Poor

In a previous post, I began my review of Come Be My Light, observing that Blessed Mother Teresa had (still does, undoubtedly) many virtues that adoptive and foster parents need to cultivate in their own lives. The first, and most obvious, is a deep-seated desire to serve the poor and powerless (or at least a specific child who needs a family). This desire is not grounded in how cute, or quiet, or grateful the child might be, but in a sense of calling. This was the “call within a call” that Blessed Mother Teresa pursued relentlessly: to bring souls to Jesus, and bring Jesus to […]
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January 13, 2008
January 13, 2008
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Come Be My Light: Thoughts on Spiritual Motherhood

Persistent. Fearless. Noble. These are words frequently associated with Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her sisters, the Missionaries of Charity. I had heard (who hasn’t?) that an oppressive spiritual cloud had plagued her during all but the earliest years of religious life. Some (hack journalist with ulterior motives, mainly) were quick to denounce her when these letters first surfaced, claiming they were proof of Mother Teresa’s lack of sanctity. Fortunately, wiser and more discerning heads prevailed, as this lack of consolation is not unprecedented among Catholic mystics. So when I began to pore over Brian Kolodiejchuk’s Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of […]
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