One year ago today the Catholic Church officially recognized Mother Teresa among the saints. She was the ultimate expression of that paradox in our Christian faith: the connection between humility and magnanimity. The smaller we become, the greater God works in us.
In her honor, Cecilia Music brings you seven songs from around the world inspired by Mother Teresa.
Firelight | Matt Maher
Well-known Canadian artist Matt Maher was inspired by Mother Teresa’s spiritual darkness: “Firelight is a song about disillusionment and that very frail prayer of asking God to burn and shine in the midst of that and to continue to light the way through darkness.” Read more about it here.
Mother Teresa | Antony Alackal
This song dedicated to Mother Teresa is in Malayam, the language spoken in Kerala, a southern Christian region of India. The video features scenes from the life of Mother Teresa and her beautiful India.
Small Things with Great Love | Danielle Rose
When she was 17, Catholic musician Danielle Rose traveled to India to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity. This experience, she says, “gave her a desire to serve the poorest of the poor by offering her gift of music as a means of alleviating the spiritual poverty of America.” Her song, “Small Things with Great Love,” directly takes its inspiration from the life of Mother Teresa.
Dame almas, sé mi luz | P. Leandro Bonnin
The Spanish song’s title refers to Jesus’s request to Mother Teresa: “Give me souls; be my light.” The song speaks of the life of the little saint, asking for her intercession, that we might radiate the light of Jesus and love him more.
Quando l’alba si colora | Giada Nobile
This song comes from the Italian production of “Mother Teresa, the Musical,” which tells the story of her life, prayer, mission, and people. The song reflects on the passing nature of life and the thing that remains: love.
Canto a la Madre Teresa de Calcuta
The Spanish song is another prayer, seeking the intercession of Mother Teresa, that we might be filled with the desire to follow Jesus, to serve as she served, to love without expecting anything in return. The song reminds us that we are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful.
Come, Be My Light | Liturgically Sound
This song draws directly from Mother Teresa’s letters to Archbishop Perier, published in the book “Come, Be My Light.” “Come, carry me into the dark of the poor. Come be my light, come be my love,” reads the refrain.
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Cecilia Team