Originally published in The Cross and Lotus Journal; 2003 Vol. 4 No. 3 by Rev. Larry Koler
In the fall of 1977, during a visit to India, Mother Hamilton met the great saint and spiritual master, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. From Mother’s description of this meeting in a talk given in 1980, the following discussion took place:
And all of a sudden, she said to me, ‘You were a Roman Catholic, weren’t you?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I was, Mother.’ We stopped the conversation then.
Later, near the end of the visit: She took my arm and said ‘Let’s go in the chapel and pray.’ So, we went in, there were many of the other sisters there. We went into the chapel, we knelt down on the bare floor and we prayed for a few minutes—and as we came out she took hold of my arm, drew me away from the rest of them. She said, ‘But, Mother, you must return to the church. You must take communion every morning.’
I said, ‘I’m sorry, Mother, but I don’t feel directed to do that.’
She said, ‘Oh, you must! I couldn’t live without having the body and blood of my Christ every morning.’
So, I said to her, ‘Well, Mother, 20 years ago I went through the mystical crucifixion in a small ashram in southern India.’ And I said, ‘That crucifixion lasted a good many years. I went through many tremendous, difficult experiences and at the end of that time I held the holy Eucharist from my own body in my own hand. Having had this personal experience, Mother, how in the world can I go back and follow the form which you follow.’
[Mother Teresa said,] ‘Yes, I see. Well, will you bless me and pray for me as I shall for you.’
And I said, ‘Yes, Mother.’ So, we did. We embraced each other and that’s the way we parted.