On this day 68 years ago, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, whose memorial we recalled on September 5th, received in her life a call within a call. The voice from God happened in 1946, as she was journeying from Calcutta to Darjeeling, on the train, the Lord himself asked Mother Teresa to found a new religious community that would live and minister to the poorest of the poor.
Later on Mother Teresa was able to talk about that particular moment which changed her life completely. She said: The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” Furthermore, she also heard a call to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor. Her life story tells us that she assumed her new work, chose a nursing course and studied for several months. Then, after her moments of preparation, Mother Teresa returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and initiated a school for poor children. She inculturated herself by dressing a white sari and sandals, the ordinary dress of an Indian woman, and immediately started to get to know her neighbors— particularly the poor and the sick as well as their needs.
In the words of Pope Benedict XVI’s letter to Sr Mary Prema, the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity on the 100th anniversary of the birth of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Teresa strove to draw closer to the person of Jesus, whose thirst for souls is sated by [her and her congregation’s] ministry to him in the poorest of the poor. Having responded with trust to the direct call of the Lord, Mother Teresa exemplified before the world the words of Saint John: “Beloved, if God so loves us, we ought also to love one another. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (cf. Jn 4:11-12).
Even Pope Francis spoke at length on the call within a call. In his message for the 2022 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Holy Father wrote: On this 59th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I would like to reflect with you on the broader meaning of “vocation” within the context of a synodal Church, a Church that listens to God and to the world.
Within the same message he said: The word “vocation” should not be understood restrictively, as referring simply to those who follow the Lord through a life of special consecration. All of us are called to share in Christ’s mission to reunite a fragmented humanity and to reconcile it with God. Each man and woman, even before encountering Christ and embracing the Christian faith, receives with the gift of life a fundamental calling: each of us is a creature willed and loved by God; each of us has a unique and special place in the mind of God. At every moment of our lives, we are called to foster this divine spark, present in the heart of every man and woman, and thus contribute to the growth of a humanity inspired by love and mutual acceptance. We are called to be guardians of one another, to strengthen the bonds of harmony and sharing, and to heal the wounds of creation lest its beauty be destroyed. In a word, we are called to become a single family in the marvellous common home of creation, in the reconciled diversity of its elements. In this broad sense, not only individuals have a “vocation”, but peoples, communities and groups of various kinds as well.
If we just keep remembering that when God gives us a call within a call he does so in order that we become perfected in his love which flows for everyone. God is the Father of all! Pope John Paul II said is so beautifully in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the consecrated life and its mission in the Church and in the world when he stated: In fact, all those reborn in Christ are called to live out, with the strength which is the Spirit’s gift, the chastity appropriate to their state of life, obedience to God and to the Church, and a reasonable detachment from material possessions: for all are called to holiness, which consists in the perfection of love (no.30).
Let us never stop and be not afraid of answering generously that call with a call which the Lord asks us to follow. Let us remember that that call is deeply connected with our call of being Christ’s disciples, which starts at the moment when we have received baptism. It continues in the vocation for a state of life in which the Father calls us for to embrace and then finds its fulcrum within that particular mission entrusted to us by the same Father of mercies (2 Cor 1:3) who in Christ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Cor 1:4).
In his homily on January 13, 1995 Pope St John Paul II encouraged us with these very powerful words:
Do not be slow to answer the Lord’s call! From the passage of the Book of Exodus read to us in this Mass we can learn how the Lord acts in every vocation (cf. Ex 3:1–6, 9–12). First, he provokes a new awareness of his presence—the burning bush. When we begin to show an interest he calls us by name. When our answer becomes more specific and like Moses we say: “Here I am” (cf. v. 4), then he reveals more clearly both himself and his compassionate love for his people in need. Gradually he leads us to discover the practical way in which we should serve him: “I will send you.” And usually it is then that fears and doubts come to disturb us and make it more difficult to decide. It is then that we need to hear the Lord’s assurance: “I am with you” (Ex 3:12). Every vocation is a deep personal experience of the truth of these words: “I am with you.”
Let us pray with Pope St John Paul II to be ready to follow our personal call within our call:
Holy and provident Father, You are the Lord of the vineyard and the harvest and You give each a just reward for their work. In your design of love You call men and women to work with You for the salvation of the world. We thank You for Jesus Christ, your living Word, who has redeemed us from our sins and is among us to assist us in our poverty. Guide the flock to which You have promised possession of the kingdom. Send new workers into your harvest and set in the hearts of pastors faithfulness to your plan of salvation, perseverance in their vocation and holiness of life.
Christ Jesus, who on the shores of the Sea of Galilee called the Apostles and made them the foundation of the Church and bearers of your Gospel, in our day, sustain your people on its journey. Give courage to those whom You call to follow You in [their vocation]. Make them docile instruments of your love in everyday service of their brothers and sisters.
Spirit of holiness, who pour out your gifts on all believers and, especially, on those called to be Christ’s ministers, help [us] discover the beauty of the divine call. Teach [us] the true way of prayer, which is nourished by the Word of God. Help [us] to read the signs of the times, so as to be faithful interpreters of your Gospel and bearers of salvation.
Mary, Virgin who listened and Virgin of the Word of God made flesh in your womb, help us to be open to the Word of the Lord, so that, having been welcomed and meditated upon, it may grow in our hearts. Help us to live like You the beatitudes of believers and to dedicate ourselves with unceasing charity to evangelizing all those who seek your Son. Grant that we may serve every person, becoming servants of the Word we have heard, so that remaining faithful to it we may find our happiness in living it. Amen.