India: Interfaith prayer at Mother Teresa’s tomb held

An inter-faith prayer for peace and harmony was held at the Mother House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity (MC) congregation in Kolkata, the capital city of eastern West Bengal state, India on September 11.

The Commission for Dialogue, Archdiocese of Calcutta, organized the event.

The theme of the interfaith prayer was to "build bridges of peace, harmony, fellowship, and brotherhood."

The representatives of various faith communities came to pray and sing about the theme of the day.

Introducing the theme, Father F. Sunil Rosario, director, Commission for Dialogue, Archdiocese of Calcutta, said, "The world is passing through difficult times. The purpose of interfaith is to bring people of goodwill together to come and pray for our shared endeavors and common good to establish peace and harmony in society, shedding our differences and building our humanity for a better world." 

A prayer service is held every year on inspiration day, September 10, when Mother Teresa, the founder of Missionaries of Charity, received a special grace from God to begin anew to dedicate her life totally to the cause of the poorest of the poor.

The date of September 11 (Sunday) was chosen to allow people of all faiths to come together and carry on Mother Teresa's legacy of working for peace and harmony in the world and society at large.

The members of various Christian denominations and faith communities also prayed for Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, who died at the age of 96 on September 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

During her lifetime, St. Teresa of Calcutta had a very cordial relationship with the Queen, and they built bridges of peace and harmony. 

The interfaith gathering prayed for the repose of the Queen’s soul. 

The prayer began by invoking God for the blessings and peace in the world with a devotional song led by Ms. Saswati Basu Mullick and the team.

She sang a Rabindra sangeet, "Amar Matha Noto Kore Dao He Prabhu" (Help us, Lord, to bow our heads low and humble). 

Dipankar Basu, a veteran man for dialogue in the city of Joy, Kolkata reminded Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago speech of 1893. On this very day, the World Parliament of Religions was held.

Vivekananda, an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, and author, delivered a speech for harmony and peace and introduced the world to the human and cultural values of India. He presented the concepts and ideals of "Vedanta" to the Western world. 

Vedanta is one of the six systems of Indian philosophy. In Sanskrit, Vedanta means "conclusion" of the Vedas, India's first sacred literature.

The youth wing of the Indian Pluralism Foundation, under the leadership of Ms. Sajar Firdous, sang a Jewish song and concluded with "Ai Malik tere Bande Hum" (Lord, we are your devotees).

Dr. Molly Bhowmik Gomes and her son Ronald paid tribute to St. Teresa of Calcutta by singing a song dedicated to the Mother.

Md. Anwar Premi, a well-respected leader of the Muslim community in the city, spoke on building bridges of peace and harmony, unity, fellowship, and brotherhood.

He said, "Religion does not teach us to hate our neighbors. On the contrary, it teaches us to love one another as brothers and sisters. Let us build our society on the practice of love." 

"When we go beyond ourselves and embrace humanity, human, and spiritual values, we become true people of dignity, respect, love, and belonging," he added. 

Syed Irfan Sher, former President of Rotary Nabodiganta, Calcutta, also spoke in a similar line. He said, "Kolkata is a city of dialogue. We have several ways to come together and build bridges of peace and harmony." 

Mrs. Papia Adhikari, a veteran actress in Bengali movies, spoke of her experience of building bridges of peace and harmony.

She acts in "Jatra" (a popular folk-theatre form in Odia and Bengali theatre in India), television series, radio, and cinema, and is a profound researcher in literature and religion based on Vedanta Philosophy.

"Peace has to begin with you," she said.

She explained this with her philosophy of "Tatwam Asi", which speaks of the presence of God in all humanity.

"Each one of us carries the spark of the divine. We should discover that spark through our daily meditation and contemplation," she added. "A real dialogue takes place when we connect our souls to God and spread the joy of peace among all those around us.  

Mrs. Joyeeta Basu, a teacher at Jesuit-run Saint Xavier’s College, sang a Rabindra sanget. 

Father Dominic Gomes, vicar general, represented Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta. Gomes recited the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, "Make me a channel of your peace."

Sister Christine, on behalf of the Sisters of Missionaries of Charity, and Sister Mary Joseph, Superior General, MC, read out Mother’s message for peace in the world. 

The one-and-a-half-hour prayer service gave good feelings to all the participants. The service ended with the hymn "Make me a channel of your peace" by the novices of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother House.  

St. Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, of a heart attack. This year marks her 25th death anniversary.  

She was born in Skopje, Macedonia's capital. In 1929, she arrived in India as a Loreto Sisters novice at the age of 19.

She left the congregation in the late 1940s and established the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in 1950 to serve the poorest of the poor.

Her canonization process began two years after her death. In October 2003, Pope John Paul II declared her a saint. On September 4, 2016, Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint at the Vatican.

Her congregation, which she founded in 1950, now has 4,500 sisters and 700 homes in 136 countries around the world. - Teresa Rozario