This is one of hundreds of testimonies about the life and holiness of Mother Teresa of Calcutta included in the new book "A Call to Mercy" (Image, 2016). The 384-page book published just weeks ahead of the Calcutta sister's Sept. 4 canonization.
The book gives an exclusive peek into the first and secondhand oral and written testimonies that built Mother Teresa's cause for sainthood. In total, the sainthood cause for the Missionary of Charity foundress included 17 volumes – or nearly 7,000 pages – of testimonies.
Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator of Mother Teresa's cause and editor of "A Call to Mercy," told CNA that such testimonies are typically unavailable to the public for decades following a canonization.
"This is the first time we're using testimonies like that in such an organized manner and such a large number," said Fr. Kolodiejchuk. "All that material will be available maybe in another 50 years. But in the meantime, if you read the examples you'll see just what Mother did."
"Some of them are extraordinary, but for the most part Mother is doing ordinary things. Like she herself used to emphasize; Ordinary things with extraordinary love."
Since Mother Teresa's canonization coincided with Pope Francis' Jubilee of Mercy, "A Call to Mercy" also has a special focus on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The book is divided into 14 chapters covering the 14 works of mercy. Each chapter includes a selection of Mother Teresa's writings and testimonies related to a specific work of mercy.