Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady is a great 2016 book by Father Joseph Langford, who knew her. Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady is a biography that applies only to Catholics, though those interested in reading about a great Lady will also be interested. Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady is short and readable, and is only 121 pages long; it is also well-written. Father Langford, the author of Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady, first met Mother Teresa while studying Theology in Rome in 1983. She invited him to co-found the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. What do you think it would be like to meet a saint?
Summary of Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady
“Stay very close to Our Lady. If you do this, you can do great things for God and the good of people.” So said Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady is essentially a biography of Mother Teresa, though there is a heavy dose of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the book. If readers want a biography of the great saint, then the first chapter, entitled “A Lifetime in the Shadow of Our Lady.”
The rest of Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady describes Mother Teresa’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The chapters contain a lot of good information. One example is the listing of the Marian Covenant, which is printed on page 78 of Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady.
Here is the Marian covenant. “Moved by an ardent desire to live in the closest union with you possible in life, so as to more surely and fully arrive in union with your son; I hereby pledge to live in the spirit and terms of the following Covenant of Consecration as faithfully and generously as I am able.” Duties:
To give spirit and heart
To possess, protect, and transform me.
To inspire, guide, and enlighten me.
To share her experience of prayer and praise.
Responsibility for my sanctification.
Responsibility for all that befalls me.
To share with me her virtues.
To provide for my spiritual and material needs.
Union with her heart.
To purify me and my actions.
Right to dispose of me, of my prayers and intercession, and graces.
Total freedom in and around me, as she pleases, in all things.
Calcutta, India
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, 50 miles west of the border with Bangladesh. Kolkata is the seventh most populous city in India with an estimated city proper population of 4.5 million (0.45 crore), while its metropolitan region, Kolkata Metropolitan Area, is the third most populous metropolitan region of India, has more than 15 million people.
While Kolkata is the commercial and financial hub of East and Northeast India and home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange, the city is poor. As of 2003, about one-third of the population, or 1.5 million people, lived in 3,500 unregistered squatter-occupied and 2,011 registered slums. It is in this poor environment that Mother Teresa did her work. That work is detailed in Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady.
Conclusion
As it was for the saint, so it can be for the rest of us. By standing close to Blessed Virgin Mary, we can find the grace and courage to overcome our own personal trials and crosses. Summon the same powerful presence and aid of Our Lady by following the example of the saint. Reading about this modern saint ought to appeal to many more than just Catholics.
