Mother Teresa went to the child, a young baby, and prayed before tucking a Miraculous Medal into the child's shirt. She then proceeded to the car to go to the airport.
"She didn't point out how rude I was being; she embraced me and held me in my rudeness," the sister reflected. "With all my faults, in that moment, she took care of me too."
For many, the simplicity of this testimony and many others may come as a surprise. But not to Fr. Kolodiejchuk.
"Most of the examples…are just very ordinary," Fr. Kolodiejchuk told CNA. "Almost all of them – we can do those kinds of things. The little thoughtfulness to your neighbor, paying attention to those in need, beginning in your own family."
For Fr. Kolodiejchuk, the testimonies also paint a fuller picture of the simple affectivity of the saint, whom he knew personally and worked alongside for nearly two decades.
"Someone would meet Mother just once and it would change their life," he told CNA. "Or they saw her walking by and it was a moment of conversion. She had this graced capacity to really affect people."
"She radiated holiness and she had the witness of her life behind it."
This article was originally published on CNA Aug. 25, 2016.
Kate Olivera is executive producer of Catholic News Agency's podcasts: CNA Newsroom and CNA Editor's Desk. She has a BA in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has worked at Catholic News Agency since 2012; and was previously a staff writer at The Catholic Voice in the Archdiocese of Omaha.