For many, breaking news may be as quick as an e-mail alert, but not in the convent of the Missionary Sisters of Charity in Asbury Park.

There, the four sisters who fulfill Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s mission intentionally go about their work without the background noise of the radio and television – and the Internet.

That’s why they learned later than most – and by word of mouth – that Pope Francis had recognized a second miracle attributed to their founder.

News of that decision, which clears the way for canonization of their founder, mentor and model of faithful service, was something the sisters had been anticipating, Missionary of Charity Sister Carmelina, the superior, said.

But it wasn’t until Divine Word Father Benjamin Barrios, parochial vicar in Mother of Mercy Parish, Asbury Park, arrived for their 7 a.m. Mass that they heard the official news in person, she said. “He came in the door saying, ‘I have good news for you.’”

Father Barrios said later that he was “very happy and excited” to be the bearer of such glad tidings to the sisters, adding that he first read them at 5 a.m. on the Internet. Overjoyed by the news and what it would mean to the sisters, he wanted to share it immediately with them but waited until 7 a.m. to bring it to them.

From that day on, people throughout the area have followed his example, sharing their joy with the sisters as they reflect on what the announcement means to Mother Teresa’s missionaries, a constant presence since 1999, when they settled in Asbury Park in response to an invitation four years earlier from from Bishop John C. Reiss.

“We are hearing from many different people,” said Sister Carmelina – who has served in Asbury Park for three years – as she took a brief time out from all of the activity undertaken by the sisters during the Christmas season.

On this day, there were a “slew of kids and seniors” to focus attention on a seemingly endless round of programs, festivities and outreach.

Still, Sister Carmelina, who hails from Sarkand in Northwest India, was more than gracious with her time, sharing her own encounters with Mother Teresa.
“I met her in the beginning when I came [to America] many times. She was there when I took my first vows in St. Patrick’s Cathedral” in New York.

She reflected on Mother Teresa’s philosophy of working together in the mission of helping the poor. “She said, ‘we alone cannot’ do the work, we must do it together.”

She takes to heart Mother Teresa’s admonition to “preach without preaching,” leading by example as they “work on the street giving witness to people. They see us … they greet us, they may not know we are Catholic nuns,” in the places where they reach out to homeless and those in prison, but, she said, they understand the witness.

Lay Missionaries of Charity like Anne Cooke and volunteers such as Kathy Plath say the sisters’ witness, along with the efforts of Mother of Mercy Parish and the Sisters Academy, has enlivened and uplifted a hardscrabble neighborhood struggling to regain its balance after years of economic decline.

“This is wonderful news for the sisters,” said Cooke, who has been a Lay Missionary of Charity for 20 years. The Lay Missionaries of Charity is an international association of lay people, both married and single, who adhere to the spirit and charism of the Missionaries of Charity, explained Cooke, a member of St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro.

“We make private vows of [conjugal] chastity, poverty, obedience and a fourth vow of whole-hearted, free service to the poorest of the poor.”

They recognize, she said, that “anyone in heaven is a saint. But we always felt [Mother Teresa] is definitely a saint and we are celebrating. … The sisters and the [Lay Missionaries] can ask their new saint to intercede for us.”

She prays that mother’s canonization will lead to an increase in vocations as well as interest in helping with their work, which runs the gamut from running a summer camp, helping senior citizens, teaching English as a second language, running a soup kitchen and ministering to the homeless.

“A lot of people know the work the sisters do,” she said. “The story of how hard [the sisters] work is so inspiring.”

“We put a day in volunteering,” but, she said, like Mother Teresa, “the sisters are there 24/7, constantly working with the community. They are a wonderful order.”

Plath, who attends St. Mary Parish, New Monmouth, has volunteered for Mother Teresa’s sisters since they arrived in the Diocese. Like Cooke, she appreciates the sisters’ devotion to Mother Teresa and the way they model her teachings in the community at large. “It’s a beautiful example,” she said. “Mother Teresa just followed what Jesus asked her to do.”

Her way, she said, is so simple: “seeing Jesus in the poor, doing simple things with great love – Meeting one person at a time and relating the love of Jesus.”
Plath said she has seen the sisters living out Mother Teresa’s example and witnessing their joy as they are incredibly present to the community they serve.

“I would like the canonization of mother to open people’s eyes to the needs of others and inspire them … to realize that the biggest thing we deal with is loneliness, not material needs,” she said. “And let people know we care.”