Archbishop Kurtz Encourages NCCW Members To Show, Welcome Mercy

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) – St. Teresa of Kolkata's life of mercy serves as an example of responding to people in need anywhere at any time, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told the Sept. 10 closing Mass of the annual convention of the National Council of Catholic Women.

    Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., recalled an encounter with the Albanian-born saint in 1976 when he heard a speech by the founder of the Missionaries of Charity.

    At the end of it, a man sitting in the front row of her audience told St. Teresa that he wanted to return to Kolkata to work with her.

    "I'll never forget what she said in reply,” Archbishop Kurtz said. "'Sir, the person that Christ wants you to serve is already at your doorstep.' I think she was talking, first of all about the way we treat our family. Right?

    "Sometimes, it's easy to forget that Christ has put at our doorstep certain people in our life to serve. That is the gift that St. Teresa of Kolkata talked about," the archbishop said.

    The convention met Sept. 7-10 and focused on the theme "Catholic Women: Instruments of Mercy."

    Archbishop Kurtz also praised NCCW members for seeking to perform 1 million works of mercy during the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis.

    But in light of the Mass' Gospel reading, which recounted the parable of the prodigal son, he reminded convention-goers both of the power of mercy they can show to others and their need to experience mercy themselves.

    "It's people seeing the good that you do and the women you are so that they can give glory to God…. We have the privilege of being companions with the Lord Jesus and ambassadors who are witnesses to the risen Lord. And that can only happen when we come to the Lord with humility, ask forgiveness for the sins we've committed and then trust that God's grace will come alive in our hearts," Archbishop Kurtz said.

    In closing remarks at the Mass, Archbishop Kurtz commended NCCW members for the good they do in the church and in broader society.

    "I want to thank you for your leadership and your witness in the various parishes and dioceses in which you are involved throughout the United States," he said. "The role and leadership of women within our church and within our society is something that is essential to the life and well-being of our church and of society. And so I thank you for that."