It was standing room only in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Asbury Park Aug. 25 as hundreds of faithful of all ages and ethnicities gathered from around the diocese to share in a Mass celebrated by Bishop John M. Smith on the eve of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s 100th birthday.

What drew the crowds, young, old and in between, was abiding love and respect for the woman many had known personally as “Mother.”

Indeed, in his homily, Bishop Smith spoke movingly of the fact that so many in attendance had been in Mother Teresa’s presence at major events – such as the June 18, 1995 Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton – and less formal occasions – among the throngs waiting for her when she paid visits to missions founded by the Missionaries of Charity in the Newark and New York archdioceses.

“She was a part of all our lives,” Bishop Smith said. “She was in the midst of us. We have seen her and been with her and her daughters,” he said of the Missionaries of Charity in attendance from Asbury Park, Newark and New York.

“They knew her. She even came to Trenton and visited on a glorious day.

A remarkable thing about her, the bishop said, was that whether she walked with “kings, presidents, ordinary people, scholars, saints or the humble, sick and the dying, her message was always the same: she spoke of love for the poor… “She cared for the poor and dying with her own hands…what an extraordinary person she was. She followed what God wanted day in and day out and she didn’t let anyone get in the way.”

Her consistent message of the dignity of the human person and her application of it in 766 convents and 137 countries around the world is what people wanted to celebrate on this major anniversary, said Sister Fatima Teresa, superior of the community of five Missionaries of Charity in Asbury Park.

“I think the great love for Mother and her work brought everyone to Church,” said Sister Fatima. “They came to give thanks to the Lord for Mother and Mass is the perfect place to do that.”

After the Mass, a procession, led by Bishop Smith, conveyed a statue of Mother Teresa to the grounds of the sisters’ convent and soup kitchen.

Despite a light drizzle, the mood was festive as scores of children carrying carnations and plastic rosaries joined their elders in song, prayer and celebration. Spanish and English blended together harmoniously during the nearly mile-long walk.

Upon arrival at the convent, Bishop Smith smiled as the statue was set carefully on a pedestal in the garden where, he said, it is destined to become a focus of inspiration and devotion.

The statue was a gift of Shima Ghose, who moved to Asbury Park from Calcutta where she had met Mother Teresa and became inspired by her work. Ghose, a frequent volunteer at the Missionaries of Charity soup kitchen, donated the statue to show her love for Mother Teresa, said Sister Fatima.

Among those participating in the festivities was Ann Cooke. The occasion gave her an opportunity to reflect on how she became involved in the Lay Missionaries of Charity some 15 years ago.

The Lay Missionaries of Charity is an international association of lay people, married and single, who adhere to the spirit and charism of the Missionaries of Charity family, explained Cooke, a member of St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro. “We make private vows of (conjugal) chastity, poverty, obedience and the fourth vow which is the wholehearted, free service to the poorest of the poor,” she said.

She said, “I’ve always had a heart for the poor and what better example is there than to work with Mother Teresa and her sisters?”

“It is a joy to work with the sisters,” she said.

Cooke delighted in telling about the numerous times she had met Mother Teresa and about the business card she has with a picture of Mother Teresa and printed on it that says: “The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace.”

“And the card was signed ‘God bless you, Mother Teresa,’ in her own hand,” said Cooke.

Charles Bull told of what a privilege it was to be one of the four Knights of Columbus who helped carry the statue of Mother Teresa in the procession from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church to the Missionaries of Charity Convent.

“For 100 years she was totally giving to our Lord,” said Bull, who then went on to paraphrase Scripture when Jesus says to “sell everything and follow me.”

“I don’t know of too many people who would give everything away, but Mother Teresa did that,” said Bull, who is a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and a past grand knight of the Spring Lake Council, Knights of Columbus.

“She is an icon who is soon going to be a saint,” said Bull. “She dedicated her whole life to the Lord.”

As the birthday celebration drew to a close, convent neighbor Frankie Winrow, a member of St. Peter Claver Parish volunteered to drive many participants back to their cars at Mount Carmel Church.

Winrow, who volunteers to help the sisters often, along with her children, spoke of the legacy of Mother Teresa and the inspiration her family has gotten from living next door to the sisters since they settled on Ridge Avenue.

“I have never seen them turn anyone away,” Winrow said. “It is a blessing to my family to see good people doing the work of God. It is very inspirational to live next door to them.

“They embrace God’s peace with such grace.”