Life with Mother Teresa: My Thirty Year Friendship with the Mother of the Poor

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Summary: Mother Teresa through the Eyes of a Friend
Review: Mother Teresa through the Eyes of a FriendThrough their work and travel, Fr. Vazhakala says he came to know Mother Teresa better than he knew his own mother, and Mother Teresa said of him, "We know each other by heart." Although the book begins with a sketch of Mother Teresa's early life, as recalled by her brother Lazar, it is not a chronological account of her life. Rather, the early sections address her initial meeting and ongoing work with Fr. Vazhakala in co-founding the Missionaries of Charity Contemplative and the Lay Missionaries of Charity. Against that backdrop, we see "Mother" at the blessing of a Leprosy Centre, ministering at a home for the dying, and in other settings that illustrate her devotion to serving the poorest of the poor and seeing Jesus in the face of every human she encountered. Each chapter contains quotations from Mother's writings and talks, such as "Do what you can, and do it now, and do it well."

The second half of Part One is devoted to the virtues of Mother Teresa with separate chapters on faith, hope, and love filled with examples. The last two sections contain copies of handwritten messages (accompanied by typed copies) from Mother to Fr. Vazhakala between 1971 and 1993, and photos of the two during their years together. A final section contains the guiding principles of the Missionaries of Charity Brothers Contemplative.

Many books of Mother Teresa's writings and speeches have been compiled, and many others written about her life, but this one is marked by special warmth because of the relationship between author and subject.