This was Mother Teresa’s final letter before she died

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘢’𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺..

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.

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.

Source: Fear Not