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Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, and was highly regarded for her generosity and love of the "poorest of the poor."
Her ministry was very difficult and it was only through her deep love of Jesus that she was able to stay close to him for many decades.
When the Catholic Church canonized her in 2016, the Office of Readings for her feast had to be selected and the Church chose her final letter before her death.
Final letter
Her final letter was written only a few hours before she died on September 5 and is a beautiful summary of her spirituality.
First she exhorts her sisters to stay united to Jesus through Mary:
This brings you Mother’s love, prayer and blessing that each one of you may be only all for Jesus through Mary. I know that Mother says often – “Be only all for Jesus through Mary” – but that is because that is all Mother wants for you, all Mother wants from you. If in your heart you are only all for Jesus through Mary, and if you do everything only all for Jesus through Mary, you will be a true Missionary of Charity. Thank you for all the loving wishes you sent for the Society Feast.
We have much to thank God for, especially that He has given us Our Lady’s spirit to be the spirit of our Society. Loving Trust and Total Surrender made Our Lady say “Yes” to the message of the angel, and Cheerfulness made her to run in haste to serve her cousin Elizabeth. That is so much our life -- saying “Yes” to Jesus and running in haste to serve Him in the poorest of the poor.
Mother Teresa also focuses on the words of Jesus, "I thirst," which became a focal point of her religious order:
Let us keep close to Our Lady and she will make that same spirit grow in each one of us. September 10 is coming very close. That is another beautiful chance for us to stand near Our Lady, to listen to the Thirst of Jesus and to answer with our whole heart. It is only with Our Lady that we can hear Jesus cry, “I Thirst,” and it is only with Our Lady that we can thank God properly for giving this great gift to our Society.
Last of all she points to St. Therese of Lisieux, who inspired her throughout her life:
And now I have heard that Jesus is giving us one more gift. This year, one hundred years after she went home to Jesus, Holy Father is declaring Little Flower to be a Doctor of the Church. Can you imagine – for doing little things with great love the Church is making her a Doctor, like St. Augustine and the big St. Teresa! It is just like Jesus said in the Gospel to the one who was seated in the lowest place, “Friend, come up higher.”
Mother Teresa left us a touching letter that is now read each year during the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours.
