A memory of meeting Mother Teresa in 1980
In 1979 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with beggars and the homeless in Kolkota. There are many other centres with her Homes for Charity, and one was in Secunderabad in South Central India, where I lived as a pre-degree stude
At the end of Mass I was asked to help Mother Teresa descend the steps of the church. Holding her wrist, I discovered that she was in fact feeble, and there was a slight trembling of her body. I felt like I was holding a fledgling bird in my hand. The walk down the steps was slow and careful, since people were thronging Mother Teresa to touch her hand and sari. In fluent Hindi she pleaded with the crowd to move away. We were finally able to descend, and in a few moments I held open her car door and bid her goodbye.
The excitement of the moment died slowly as I tried to understand what had just happened. I had held the hand of a blessed daughter of God. My friends and family were ecstatic. Almost 36 years later, as I write this, the presence and touch of Mother Teresa returns to me. She is now a canonised saint. May the grace of God be with her.
Glen Chatelier
Bangkok
