USD Magazine Fall 2016

out to the boy, first cupping one hand under his chin, then placing a hand on either side of his head and blessing him. Then she resumed her journey toward the University Center, the crowd pressing in around her on all sides. Once inside the building, her waiting coworkers greeted her with enthusiastic applause. Mother Teresa stepped to the microphone and spoke in a quiet, yet forceful voice, belying her 78 years and diminutive physical stature. “Jesus came to give us the good news that God is love, and that He loves you and He loves me. ’You are precious to me,’ He said. ‘I love you.’ He wants us to love one another as He loves each one of us,” she said. She told a story about a man in India who came to her house when his son was gravely ill. The man said the life-saving medicine his son needed was available only in England. As they talked, anoth- er man delivered a basket of half- used medicine to Mother Teresa. In the basket, on top, was the type of medicine the desperate man needed for his son. “I stood in front of that bas- ket,” she said, “and I was thinking, ‘Millions and millions and mil- lions of children in the world, and God’s tender concern was for the little child in the slums of Calcutta.’ And he has the same love for each one of you, here and everywhere.” She spoke without pause for nearly 20 minutes. No one

She would be late then, for her appearance at a luncheon organized by her coworkers’ organization. Somehow, it seemed appropriate. The sick, the hungry and the dying certainly pay no attention to the rest of the world’s ordered existence. The minutes ticked by. Some keeping the vigil wandered inside the building in search of nourishment. The security guard provided periodic up- dates. “She’s crossed the border. It shouldn’t be long.” Some 45 minutes later, the calm was shattered by an excited voice in the crowd: “She’s here.” The bystanders surged toward the curb. The door of a cream-colored sedan swung open and Mother Teresa of Calcutta climbed out, unhesitant, clasping a rosary, and moved to greet her faithful. Her white sari — trimmed with three rows of blue — was wrapped around her head and stopped just above her dark eyebrows. A heavy blue sweater was buttoned against the breeze. Bare, sandal–clad feet propelled her toward her greeters. Dozens of camera shutters clicked, and dignitaries leaned down to shake the tiny, stooped nun’s hand. She smiled and raised her head, exposing her eyes to the light. What wonderful eyes! They gleamed, filled with a mix- ture of love and passion and won- derment and, yes, determination. She stopped suddenly as a young woman edged through the crowd, clutching a small child. Mother Teresa reached

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