Oct 19, 2003 / 22:00 pm
The woman whose illness was cured through the intercession of Mother Teresa said she is the instrument God chose to show the enormous healing power of the sister renowned the world over for serving the poorest of the poor.
"God chose me as the medium for people to see Mother Teresa's enormous power to cure, not only with her physical cures, but through her miracles," Monica Besra told the Associated Press, before leaving for Rome for Mother Teresa’s beatification ceremony, held Mission Sunday, Oct. 19.
The 35-year-old told AP that the miracle began with a vision. Besra fell seriously ill in 1998 however, the causes of her illness vary. Some doctors said she had a malignant tumor, while others said she had tubercular meningitis. She visited the hospital and was prescribed four anti-TB drugs.
Unable to care for herself, and too poor to remain at the state hospital, Besra's family took her to a hospice run by the Missionaries of Charity. On the first anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death – Sept. 5, 1998 – the sisters told her that the day was holy and invited her to pray with them, even though she was Hindu, reported AP.