Mother Teresa is a person that most of the world admired from afar, never having the opportunity to meet the saintly woman who made such an impact on the world. But Father Jeff Bayhi of St. John the Baptist Church not only had the privilege of meeting her, he also worked with her in India and gave her her last rites.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of her death, Father Bayhi reflects on his personal journey with Mother Teresa and how we can learn from her teachings and work.

Uncomplicated
Father Bayhi met Mother Teresa during her first visit to Baton Rouge. Bishop Stanley J. Ott of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge invited her to the Capital City where she founded the Queen of Peace Home and Soup Kitchen, a shelter for women and their children.

What stood out to Father Bayhi upon meeting her was her simplicity and kindness. “She is uncomplicated, straight-forward,” he said. “She is very childlike in her approach to serving God and very loving.”

After hearing about Mother Teresa’s work in Calcutta, India, Father Bayhi accepted an invitation to travel to the other side of the world and experience what the Blessed Mother dedicated her life doing.

Poorest of the poor
About 25 years ago Father Bayhi, accompanied by then-LSU men’s basketball coach Dale Brown and restaurateur T. J. Moran, left the comforts of Baton Rouge for one of the most destitute parts of the Earth. Upon their arrival Father Bayhi said Brown and Moran had a very upsetting experience and returned home, but Father Bayhi stayed.

Along with attending and conducting a daily mass, he worked in Khaligat, a home for the dying, and the children’s shelter Shishu Bhavan. Father Bayhi said those people were the poorest of the poor that no one else wanted. He witnessed people sleeping and bathing in the streets. He dealt with tuberculosis patients without gloves on a daily basis, giving shots with needles used by ten people and using razors already used a dozen times.

Father Bayhi said that amid the stench of death and the constant threat of infection, he felt a place in his heart open up that he did not know existed. “There’s a point where you don’t notice the maggots around someone’s head,” he said. “You can only do that work because of the grace of God.”

Father Bayhi was so inspired from his time in India that from 1991 to 1996 he went there for a few weeks every year. Although his life and schedule do not allow him to make the trip as often, he is still anxious to get back. “You can’t be in a situation like that and remain unchanged,” he said. “It changes the notion of what things matter. Stuff doesn’t matter when you’re holding people as they die every day.”

Deeper beauty
While working in Khaligat, Father Bayhi said a man looked at Mother Teresa while she cared for a sick person. The man said to her, “You couldn’t pay me a million dollars to do that.” She replied, “Me either.”

One year the president of Yemen invited her to his Muslim country. Mother said she would not go without the Lord. The president told her she could bring her Bible, but she refused to go without the Eucharist because the sisters could not do their work without it. She was allowed to have a chapel, and five years later a Catholic church was built there. “It’s a reminder that in the midst of everything, God exists,” Father Bayhi said.

In 1996, Father Bayhi was in Calcutta to give Mother Teresa her last rites. The small, frail woman in her 80s had 10 percent of one valve pumping blood to her heart. She survived, but a year later she was sick again and died. The cost of the ticket to Calcutta was too expensive and Father Bayhi could not see her before she died.

Father Bayhi said her compassionate and giving nature exemplified the type of person she was. “A couple of years ago, Redbook [magazine] named her as one of the most beautiful women in the world,” he said. “She is not what our society considers beautiful, but her beauty had nothing to do with make-up, hair or jewelry. It was deeper than that. She had the grace and strength to do what God called her to do and not worry about what other people think.”

One of Mother Teresa’s lessons Father Bayhi takes with him is the element of encountering God on a daily basis. He said his priorities changed after working with her and traveling to India. “It allowed me to not let minor things become major and not be distracted,” he said. “I was so lucky to spend time with her in the context of sharing her work. If you want to know what real success is, see Mother Teresa.”