Remembering another death a year later

The recent first anniversary of Princess Diana's death has been marked by numerous television specials, magazine cover stories, front-page newspaper articles and public expressions of mourning.

But what about Mother Teresa, who died on Sept. 5, 1997? How is she being remembered? Perhaps the answer lies in more than words on a page or images on a screen.

Throughout the world, to be sure, there have been Masses and other occasions to mark Mother Teresa's passing. On page 2, for example, we show a picture of two Catholic teens in Maryland who painted a mural of the late nun on the wall of their Catholic school. We have also reported on a possible miracle attributed to her intercession. In addition, the U.S. Congress finally presented to her order the gold medal it gave to her a year ago but which was never actually delivered to her personally.

But all of that happened almost in secret when compared to the attention paid to Princess Diana. The same thing happened when they died within days of each other. The generous but troubled lady of England was overly lauded while the saint of India was all but shunted to the background.

To set that balance right and to put mourning into context, on Sept. 5, the anniversary of her death, Pope John Paul II told thousands of Catholics gathered in St. Peter's Square: ``Let us not forget the great example that Mother Teresa left us and not limit ourselves to commemorating her with words. Let us have the courage always to put people and their fundamental rights first.'

In her name, the pope called on the leaders of all nations to speed disarmament programs and to dedicate resources instead to aiding the hungry and the ill.

``This little woman, from a humble family, what marvelous work she was able to achieve with the strength of faith in God and love for her neighbor,' he said. ``Her total dedication to God, confirmed every day in prayer, was translated into a total dedication to her neighbor. In the smile, in the gestures and in the words of Mother Teresa, Jesus walked again in the streets of the world as the Good Samaritan.'

About 200 members of Mother Teresa's order attended a Mass that same morning in St. Peter's Basilica, celebrated by Cardinal Pio Laghi, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education. In his homily, he said: ``One must not be closed inside one's own self and follow one's own interests, but be open to others, to give and to be given to. And in this point, the figure of Mother Teresa is before us to indicate what must be done and how it must be done. She wrote: `Today, the poor are starved for bread and rice, and what is more, for love; they are thirsting for water, but even more so for peace, truth and justice.''

The proper anniversary tribute to Mother Teresa, therefore, is not a front-page article or TV report. It is a change in our hearts, a reaching out of our hands and a quiet dedication to the poor.

(09-10-98)

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