Catholic Saints Podcast: St. Teresa of Calcutta

Host: Tim Gray
Guest: Dr. Mark Giescheck
Date: September 5, 2025
Episode Focus: The life, spirituality, and missionary legacy of St. Teresa of Calcutta

Episode Overview

This episode of the Catholic Saints podcast dives into the life and legacy of St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), exploring her “call within a call,” her radical commitment to the poorest of the poor, and what she teaches us about authentic Christian charity. The hosts, Tim Gray and Dr. Mark Giescheck—both of whom have personally worked with the Missionaries of Charity—share insights from their experiences, illustrating how Mother Teresa’s spirituality, joy, and suffering shaped not only her order but the universal Church.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Mother Teresa's Early Life and Vocation

• Albanian Roots and Early Calling (02:14–03:01)

  • Born in 1910 in what is now Kosovo, Mother Teresa felt called to missions as early as age 11–13.
  • At 18, she left home to join the Loreto Sisters in Ireland, never seeing her family again.
  • The hosts reflect on the magnitude of this sacrifice and the seriousness of mission life in that era.

• “Call Within a Call” (03:01–04:36)

  • While teaching in Calcutta for the Loreto Sisters, Teresa experienced a new call from Jesus in 1946 during a train ride: to leave the convent and serve the poorest of the poor.

  “She just said yes to Jesus and she said yes over and over in a variety of contexts and circumstances.”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [03:15]

Calcutta's Social Landscape & Teresa’s Ministry

• Context of Calcutta (06:01–08:37)

  • British colonial influences mixed with caste divisions resulted in extreme, side-by-side poverty and wealth.
  • Unique phenomena: “pavement dwellers”—families living for generations on the sidewalk.

• Serving the Poorest of the Poor (08:38–09:29)

  • Mother Teresa didn’t view her work as social aid but as a direct response to Christ’s thirst and love for the marginalized.
  • She valued spiritual poverty and the pain of being unwanted above material poverty.

  “She doesn't even see physical hunger or physical poverty as the greatest evil. She sees a spiritual poverty and the poverty of being unwanted as the greatest of poverties.”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [08:46]

The Missionaries of Charity: Poverty & Humility

• Founding the Order (06:01–11:00)

  • Started with Teresa alone—no money, no external support, only trust in God’s call.
  • Emphasis on loving those she served above all else.

  “She goes out there into the streets by herself and she does what she can only do for the poor, and that is love them.”
  – Tim Gray [09:29]

• Kali Ghat and Radical Hospitality (11:00–13:27)

  • Teresa opened a home for the dying, repurposing a dilapidated building to offer presence, love, and dignity to those who would otherwise die alone.
  • She modeled humble service even as a leader, cleaning toilets herself.

• Spirituality of “I Thirst” (13:27–15:00)

  • Every Missionaries of Charity chapel features the words “I thirst” near the crucifix, indicating both Christ’s physical thirst and his longing for souls.

  “They view themselves as satisfying Jesus’ thirst through their ministry to the poorest of the poor...in prayer [and] by serving Jesus in the poor.”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [12:59]

Simplicity, Joy & Personal Example

• Beguiling Simplicity (14:47–16:55)

  • Teresa’s message was simple yet deeply profound: “Jesus loves you. Jesus wants you.”
  • The sisters seek and value cheerfulness as an indispensable virtue. Candidates must be cheerful to join.

• Joy as Evangelization (16:55–17:12)

  • Teresa would say, “Joy is the net by which we catch souls” (Tim Gray cites Mother Teresa [16:55]).
  • Missionaries of Charity sisters are strikingly joyful despite severe material poverty.

• Extreme Poverty as Freedom (17:38–19:45)

  • The Missionaries of Charity embrace material poverty to a nearly unparalleled degree—minimal possessions, no modern conveniences—which paradoxically brings them a deep sense of freedom.

  “You watch someone live their life with just a bucket’s worth of stuff, and you think, they have a freedom that I don't have.”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [19:45]

Mother Teresa’s “Dark Night” & Spiritual Poverty

• Interior Suffering (19:52–22:19)

  • Posthumous revelations unveiled that Mother Teresa endured a prolonged “dark night of the soul”—an intense feeling of spiritual dryness and absence of God’s consolations, paralleling St. John of the Cross.

  “The kind of spiritual darkness Mother Teresa experienced is the darkness of faith…[which] means that as we walk by faith, more and more and more, we live in the spirit of utter trust in Jesus.”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [21:30]

• Suffering with the Poor (22:19–26:57)

  • Her interior darkness allowed her to deeply empathize with the “poorest of the poor,” whose greatest poverty was feeling unloved and abandoned.
  • The sisters' daily routines—open windows in noisy city chapels, for example—are intentional practices of sharing in the poor's experience.

  “Mother wanted us to share in the spiritual poverty of the poor.”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [26:27]

Prayer, Action, and the Heart of Mission

• Integration of Prayer & Action (26:58–28:50)

  • The Missionaries’ active service is inseparable from contemplative prayer; their extensive time in prayer enables and empowers their charity.
  • Unique addition in their prayers: “Blessed be Jesus, the poorest of the poor.”

  “Their Eucharistic worship is united with their service to the poor—they're one and the same thing.”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [28:44]

Universal Lessons from Mother Teresa

• Imitating Her Mission (28:56–30:23)

  • Mother Teresa exemplifies Matthew 25:40, seeing Christ in “the least of my brethren.”
  • Listeners are encouraged to imitate her prayer life and commitment to direct, joyful service.

  “If you have a hard time seeing the Lord and hearing him in prayer, do what Mother did—be consistent in prayer, and then go find somebody in need and serve them. And you will discover a joy that comes only from the grace given by Jesus Christ.”
  – Tim Gray [29:20]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Radical Availability:

  “It was not expected that you would ever return even for a visit. And so she went first to Ireland, and then about a year later, she took a ship all the way to Calcutta in India...”
  – Dr. Mark Giescheck [03:01]

• On Spiritual Poverty:

  “Physical poverty isn't the greatest evil—Mother believed the greatest poverty was being unwanted, unloved, uncared for.”
  – Paraphrased, Dr. Mark Giescheck [08:46]

• On Joy and Mission:

  “Joy is the net by which we catch souls.”
  – Mother Teresa, cited by Tim Gray [16:55]

• On Suffering and Identification With the Poor:

  “Part of it was our Lord allowing her to feel the pain of the poor in the world who feel abandoned and unloved, which is the greatest poverty there is in human existence.”
  – Tim Gray [23:14]

Important Timestamps

• Mother Teresa's early calling and joining Loreto Sisters: 02:14–03:01
• The “call within a call” and founding the Missionaries of Charity: 03:01–06:01
• Describing Calcutta's unique poverty and context: 06:01–08:37
• Spiritual focus of Mother Teresa’s ministry: 08:38–09:29
• Kali Ghat and humility in leadership: 11:00–13:27
• Spirituality of “I Thirst” and centrality of prayer: 13:27–15:00
• Mother Teresa’s “dark night” and its meaning: 19:52–22:19
• Imitating Mother Teresa’s charity and joy: 28:56–30:23

Conclusion

Mother Teresa’s life speaks poignantly to the transformative power of self-giving love. The episode highlights her willingness to serve amidst uncomfortable realities, her profound interior life marked by both suffering and deep consolation, and her radical joy and simplicity. The hosts invite listeners to imitate her in practical charity, persistent prayer, and the pursuit of joy rooted in Christ, serving the “distressing disguise of Jesus” in the poor.

Recommended Next Steps:

• Watch the film on Mother Teresa on FORMED ([see at 04:36, 15:26])
• Listen to Mother Teresa’s own talk on FORMED ([15:26])
• Practice acts of charity within your local community, following her example