Mother Teresa and Me Review

Mother Teresa and

Me: Ten Years of Friendship

by Donna Marie Cooper-O’Boyle                                                     

Review by Genevieve S. Kineke

There are many books about Mother Teresa - some written before her death, others after; some are observations by those who watched her in action, others are compilations of Blessed Teresa’s own words; and all inevitably contain wonder at the simplicity of her message. Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle’s account in Mother Teresa and Me includes all of the above – and adds a personal twist. The author explains how she took the remarkable nun’s words to heart and imitated her very gestures, proving that anyone can carry God’s love to the hidden and lonely corners of this world. It becomes clear from the earliest encounter that God wanted Donna-Marie and Mother Teresa to meet. And since both were attempting to live His will in their lives, theirs was a fruitful friendship in the making. Donna-Marie’s most recent book reveals Mother Teresa as a friend - faithful in her correspondence to an American wife and mother on the other side of the world, faithful in her prayers for the various needs of a middle-class family far removed from the streets of Calcutta, and faithful in her generous support of projects that would spread God’s love to anyone in need.

And while there are constant references to the uniqueness of that “living saint,” the real message was just the opposite – everyone can become a living saint, not just those who are called to bigger tasks. This book has wonderful accounts of prayers answered, miracles unfolding, and concrete examples of how to bring God’s love to others. It is practical in the same subtle way that God’s will reveals itself: trust, then act. The more recent revelations elsewhere about Mother Teresa and her long “dark night,” through which she suffered for

roughly fifty years only underscore the remarkable trust that she exercised. If she could step out daily in faith without spiritual consolations, then so can we.Donna-Marie shows us brilliantly that small gestures with great love will bear fruit. She studied the words and gestures of Mother Teresa and tried them herself - witnessing their power. The power wasn’t in the talisman of beads or novenas or medals, although each provided a channel of grace. The power was in the love they represented - the love of a faithful friend who gives, the love of the grateful heart who receives, and the perfect love of the God and Father of them both. Such witnesses are critical to providing us with the confidence and courage to act, but everyone can prove a faithful friend in this way. Using Mother Teresa’s excellent example, we find in this book the inspiration to use the subtle ways outlined by Donna-Marie on any given day - and the results will no doubt be the very miracles God intends to work through each of us. Trust, then act.

[From the Women of Grace Canticle Magazine}