by Moira Cullings
moira.cullings@theleaven.org
LEAWOOD — The world knows St. Teresa of Kolkata for the radical way she cared for the poor and sick.
For Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, her influence was personal.
The Canadian priest knew Mother Teresa personally and was the postulator of her cause for beatification and canonization.
He shared about her life on Oct. 6 at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood, where he spoke on “The Gospel of Five Fingers: The Presence of Jesus in the Poor.”
“Mother Teresa liked to show her Sisters and others what she called the Gospel on five fingers,” said Father Brian.
“And for her, the whole message of the Gospel could be shown on her one hand,” he continued, “or sometimes she would do it on the hand of the other person.
“And she would very slowly, on each finger, [say], ‘You did it to me.’”
Father Brian said the Gospel of Matthew — Chapter 25, Verse 40 — guided her life.
“Mother Teresa and her followers focused on the poorest of the poor since they most reflect extreme human suffering,” said Father Brian, “and the radical share in that suffering assumed by Jesus’ bride.”
Following his talk, Father Brian answered questions from the audience about his work as Mother Teresa’s postulator, what the canonization process entailed and how he came to meet the saint.
He was invited to the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas by Suzie Stadler, a parishioner at St. John Paul II Parish in Olathe.
She met him in Tijuana, Mexico, in May 2020, where she had been invited by Dr. Gary Morsch, founder of COVID Care Force (now Global Care Force), to help care for the Missionaries of Charity Fathers and Sisters.
“The order had been hit hard by COVID,” said Stadler, “and he wanted a Catholic nurse to accompany him to help assess the situation and come up with a game plan for further assistance.”
“I returned back to Tijuana in January of 2021,” she added, “where I learned more about not only Father Brian’s devotion to Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity, but also his love for Kansas City football.”
They planned his visit so he could attend his first Kansas City Chiefs football game on Oct. 7 at Arrowhead Stadium — which happened to be the 74th anniversary of the founding of the Missionaries of Charity.
Earlier that day, Father Brian gave a presentation on “Mother Teresa: Expert on the Science of Love” at the Mother Teresa Center School of Nursing at Benedictine College in Atchison.
Stadler was excited for others to hear his stories about the saint.
“My hope is that those in attendance of Father Brian’s presentation will be reminded of her message,” she said, “that God loves us deeply and thirsts for us.
“When we know we are deeply loved by God, we can endure any suffering because we know joy is possible in the midst of carrying our own crosses.”
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