Over the last year, we have made an effort to dive more deeply into the works, the writings, and the spirituality of St. Teresa of Calcutta, so as to discover Jesus’ infinite thirst for us, His desire to have a relationship with each of us. We have tried to make this a time to see how our Lord is the true fount that quenches the thirsts we all have and to discover how we can help others through our own actions to quench their thirst and help them know Christ’s thirst for them.
September 7-8, 2019: Fr. Jim preached at all the Masses introducing our parish theme. Read Fr. Jim’s homily from that weekend here.
October: Using the writings of Mother Teresa, in particular the “Varanasi Letter”, Fr. Jim shared a presentation called “Spiritual Lessons for your Life”. The reflection focused on the origins of Mother Teresa’s spiritual foundation in the thirst of Jesus. You can read the Varanasi letter here.
November: Fr. Ethan Moore, who spent a summer in Calcutta working with the Missionaries of Charity, gave a talk entitled, “My Time with Mother’s Missionaries”. Watch it on StreamSpot here.
December: Every Sunday in Advent, in the context of Evening Prayer, Fr. Jim explored the Scriptural foundations of the thirst of God for His beloved people. For Christmas, 2500 copies of the book I Thirst: 40 Days with Teresa by Fr. Joseph Langford were given to parishioners.
January 11, 2020: We gathered together to watch the film The Letters, a bio-pic on Mother Teresa. This film is available to stream for free on FORMED.org.
February 13: Fr. Chris Geiger led us in prayer at a Holy Hour of Exposition and shared a reflection entitled: “From Thérèse to Teresa: The Little Flower and Mother Teresa”. His talk focused on the commonalities within the spiritual lives of these two holy women. Watch it on StreamSpot here.
March 6: Tajci performed her concert “I Thirst” here at St. Max. You can learn more about her and listen to her music at IdoBeleive.com
April 30: While not able to gather together, we nonetheless looked at our Lord’s thirst expressed in the gift of the Holy Eucharist. Fr. Jim live-streamed a reflection, “‘I Thirst’ and the Eucharist”. Watch it on StreamSpot here.
July 22: Fr. Jim delved more deeply into the social teachings of the Church in a talk called, “I was thirsty and you gave Me drink.” Watch it on YouTube here.
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Heavenly Father, From the Cross, In the fullness of Your saving plan of salvation, Your Son spoke aloud the words of Your Heart, “I Thirst”. Help us to know Your Heart, To hear those words spoken to us and for us, To understand how very much You thirst for souls. Grant that we may discover the truth, That You alone are the Fount we seek, The Living Water for which we thirst. And grant, that with this knowledge, We may love others as You do, Lead others to You, And with our Blessed Mother as our guide, Delight in the Love You have for us. Amen.
Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge This book, published in 1971, brought Mother Teresa in to the international spotlight. It is more biographical than spiritual, but if you don’t know much about this saintly woman and the work she did, this is a good introduction.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta: A Personal Portrait by Fr. Leo Maasburg A spiritual advisor and confessor for Mother Teresa, Fr. Maasburg writes a personal account of this beloved saint.
No Greater Love by Mother Teresa This book is a collection of Mother Teresa’s words, in particular her thoughts on love, prayer, poverty and Jesus.
Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire by Fr. Joseph Langford Written by the co-founder of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, this book is deeper exploration of the driving force behind Mother Teresa’s spirituality and the thirst of Jesus that she wanted not only to quench, but to make the whole world aware of that thirst.
Not a lot of time for reading? Try praying over these Scripture passages: Psalm 42 Psalm 63 Psalm 143 John 4:1-42