“I wouldn’t touch a leper for a million dollars,” he said to Mother Teresa.
Perhaps you’ve heard the story before. Someone approached Mother Teresa, who used to take care of lepers in the streets of Calcutta, and he said, “Mother, I wouldn’t touch a leper for a million dollars.”
She said, “I wouldn’t touch a leper for two million dollars, but I will for the love of Christ.”
So, where did she get that love of Christ?
Do you know that the Missionaries of Charity, following the wonderful and heroic example of Saint Mother Teresa, will spend at least three hours in prayer every day in front of the Holy Eucharist? It’s often on their knees, no air conditioning in these churches, and they have Mass as well. It’s the very foundation, the root, the source of all their heroic work of charity.
This is something that we can rejoice about in the Catholic Church, that there are Saints among us. Many times, they don’t make it on the front pages of newspapers, and sometimes they’re even ridiculed or persecuted because there have been martyrs among the Missionaries of Charity.
So what’s the point here, if you and I really want to grow in charity? If we want to be able to overcome the fear and the hesitation of reaching out to the sick and the dying and the lonely, it all begins with the Holy Eucharist. Try to visit Jesus every day at a church near you. And even if the church is locked, you can sit in your car in the parking lot and pray a spiritual communion. Jesus will hear you well.
And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the people who showed up for Jesus in Indianapolis last summer: 65,000. Thank you, and be sure to watch for another Eucharistic Encounter next week, and may God bless you!
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