Mary was the first Missionary of Charity

The Missionaries of Charity are called to recognize Christ dying on the Cross hidden under the distressing disguise of the Poorest of the Poor. Mary was the first Missionary of Charity because she was the first to carry Jesus in her womb and give him to the world. She was also the first to quench his burning thirst for love at the foot of the Cross.

Mary can teach us silence—how to keep all things in our hearts as she did; and how to pray in the silence of our hearts. Mary can teach us kindness, since she went in haste to Elizabeth’s house to serve her. "They have no wine," she told Jesus at the wedding at Cana. Let us be aware, like her, of the needs of the poor, whether material or spiritual, and, like her, let us generously share the love and grace we have received.

Mary teaches us humility—full of grace while being only the handmaid of the Lord, she stands at the foot of the Cross, as one of us, as a sinner waiting for redemption. Like her, we should serve the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted, according to the gifts we have received. Do not blush to do the humblest chores, and do not delay in accomplishing them.

Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa of Calcutta)

Excerpt from Dans le silence du cœur (In the Silence of the Heart)