The following comes from a September 3 Fresno Bee article:
If only in passing on Sunday, Gov. Jerry Brown’s mind surely will wander to the 3 1/2 weeks in 1988 he spent in the fetid slums of Calcutta, back when he was trying to find his way.
To sort things out, Brown spent six months in 1992 studying Zen Buddhism in Kamakura, Japan, then turned to his Catholic roots by traveling to the heavily Hindu and Muslim nation of India. There, he spent time tending to destitute, disabled and dying people at Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity home. Mother Teresa will be the focus of the Catholic world on Sunday when Pope Francis canonizes her.
Brown remembers her for her leadership, her authority and her commanding presence, perhaps a reflection of who he is and what still interests him.
“She would say, work at the home for the dying, or work at the home for kids with disabilities. It was not like a discussion. She was a person of command,” Brown said the other day. He also recalled her deeds. When she saw the least of humanity on the ground, she would pick the person up: “ ‘What you do to him is what you do to Christ.’ ”
A reporter friend of mine, Rone Tempest, was based in New Dehli and got Brown on the phone in 1988. He had been staying in a $15 a night hotel, spending his days comforting and bathing patients, many of whom suffered from malnutrition. He would have witnessed open sewage in the streets, my friend said, and flies, horrible smells, oppressive heat, and legless and armless mendicants.
“I don’t think I understand well enough the suffering that is going on in the world,” Brown told him back then.
Three decades later and 19 years after Mother Teresa’s death, Brown cannot say he thinks of her as he goes about the daily business of running the state, though she does cross his mind whenever he walks past the small statue of the Virgin Mary she gave him; he kept it in his home in Oakland, which he recently sold.
“It may not sound like much, but in comparison to all the hundreds of people I meet, she stands out, in the confidence, the directness, the clarity, the simplicity, of what she was doing, what she was saying, and how she was able to inspire volunteers,” Brown said.
Brown met Mother Teresa in later years, at the Vatican, in San Francisco and in Tijuana. Hers was a strict, orthodox view of Catholicism, one “quite at variance with today’s feminism.” She had a “spiritual resonance” that attracted and inspired followers.
“If you look at churches, they are shadows of what they once were,” Brown said. “Look at the religious orders, the virtual disappearance of the nuns, the diminishment of the Christian brothers … and yet you see the Missionaries of Charity are quite vigorous. That reflects the prophetic spirit of Mother Teresa.”
I guess the lessions Gov. Brown learned from Mother Theresa have been forgotten. He should know St. Mother Theresa had great regard for the unborn and would never approve of the pro abortion stance Gov. Brown promotes. Neither would she have any regard for the pro homosexual agenda of the Democratic Party. St. Mother Theresa believed in the pursuit of holiness by serving the weakest among us. Christ is present in the unborn, for they are the most vulnerable and have no voice against the evil that seeks to kill them in the womb.
This statement of Brown’s in the article was quite telling:
“If you look at churches, they are shadows of what they once were,” Brown said. “Look at the religious orders, the virtual disappearance of the nuns, the diminishment of the Christian brothers … ”
That is especially true of the Jesuits, of whose order Brown was a seminarian. I am sure his dalliance with false religions and his liberal philosphy can be traced in part to his Jesuit formation in the seminary. Indeed, they are sadly a shadow of what they once were.
Many “hippie-liberals” are smart-aleck, shallow, rebellious, immature, immoral, juvenile-delinquent “know-it-alls,” who are “un-teachable!” They refuse to accept adult leadership and authority– and refuse to grow up to be a responsible adult, too! I wonder if Brown’s Japanese Zen teacher could teach him anything? Oriental teachers of all sorts, are known to expect respect and discipline, of their students! It is better to grow up to be a responsible adult first, and then, later, as you mature– slowly do your soul-searching, about the deeper-questions of life. It is not an easy thing! But many “hippie-liberals” really do not want God’s Truths– they only want sin and rebellion!
Too bad Mother’s lessons did not take hold in Gov. Brown’s heart. He saw the dignity of pro-life work from cradle to grave under her care but has rejected it. For the sake of his soul, may he repent, publicly and soon.
Having St. Theresa and Brown standing side by side, one represents the light the other darkness. I will never vote for a Catholic to high office again unless they declare they are pro-life and traditional marriage. We have had more than our share of Catholic public disgraces seemingly with no consequences from the Church. Along with Brown we have had JFK, womanizer, his brother, Ted, mass baby killer and same sex promoter, Geraldine Ferraro, Leahy, Biden, Pelosi, and Paine and many others who while promoting evil, were and are allowed to receive Church Sacraments and Cathedral funerals. What message is being given by all of this?
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Well said Idaho Pete!
This is a gag, right?
just a couple of years back there was a wonderful story of the meeting of mother teresa with h clinton. clinton as St Teresa if she had any thoughts regarding why america had not yet had a female president. her instant respone ‘she was probably aborted’.
‘as’ should be ‘asked’
Oh really! a big fan or did he just like the publicity she gave him.
When I wrote that, I did not mean for it to go out. Also I should have written “the publicity it gave him”. Anyway, no matter his motives Governor Brown is a puzzlement to me.
This is a hard thing to say. Human beings, no matter how mature and intelligent they may seem– are basically weak creatures, not always dependable! It is really best, if Judeo-Christian morality is set as our country’s norm, and everyone must obey it! Sorry for all those well-meaning Church Fathers of Vatican II!! No, human beings– like the Children of Israel– need desperately to live under a rule of life— otherwise, just like the Children of Israel– they will end up close to self-destructing! With plenty of excuses! We all need discipline, as well as love, to live by! Gov. Brown will never understand Christian morality. He has to be TOLD, by the Church and State— and that’s that! Period! Sorry, but it’s true!
Excuse me, Linda Maria, but this country does not have Judeo-Christian morality as a norm. In fact, the first amendment guarantees against setting any religion as a norm. Besides which, there is no such thing as “Judeo-Christian” anything. It is a fiction
Your Fellow Catholic, you need to read up on American history! Our forefathers revered the Bible, and they all belonged to their own churches! America was founded as basically a Christian country, but church and state were separate. Every citizen was free to attend the church of their choice. Before the 1960’s “hippie rebellion,” about 90% of American families all went to church, on Sundays! (And the Jews and other non-Christians, likewise practiced their religions!) America once was a very religious Christian country– religion began to decline, as the 20th century went along– with the advent of “Modernism” and Science.
Your Fellow Catholic– You might want to look up the term, “Judeo-Christian,” in a dictionary! Yes, our Nation was indeed founded upon Judeo-Christian principles– all of Western Civilization is considered a “Judeo-Christian civilization,” with Jewish-Christian Biblical roots!! We certainly are not a Muslim Arabic, or a Chinese Confucian, nor a Hindu Indian, or any other sort of civilization, Your Fellow Catholic! We are Judeo-Christian! And as for the historically recent “hippie-liberals”– they certainly don’t count! They are like the barbarians who destroyed Rome! Stupid, ignorant, destructive! WORTHLESS, in history!
Your Fellow Catholic– In history, you will see, that America was founded particularly– as a PROTESTANT Christian Nation, with all peoples welcome to worship God, at the church of their choice! Our country’s ORIGINAL constitution, political and legal foundations, reflect Christian beliefs and morality. YES, a “Judeo-Christian” Nation we are, ORIGINALLY— in our very foundations! And I, myself– am an ORIGINAL, patriotic American! (Not many left, these days!) “Hippie-liberals” are DEVIANTS, “un-American!”
We are VERY LUCKY, YFC, to be American citizens, and to live in a country founded on Judeo-Christian principles! The BEST IN THE WORLD!! We are so blessed, not to live in a Muslim country, with their harsh laws of the Koran! Other countries, likewise, have suffered greatly, from unjust laws, in nations that do not believe in God, nor even the basic dignity of a human being!
YFC, you show your ignorance more and more. You should read what Dennis Prager has written about America’s founding on Judeo-Christian principles.
Gov. Brown, and all other liberal, sinful “Catholic” politicians, desperately need discipline, from our Church! Our Church needs to strongly lead the world, on Christian morals, and firmly impress upon the minds and hearts of all — that she really is SERIOUS, about following Christ! Those who persist in Mortal Sin, must be excommunicated! Our Church really needs to be 100% serious, in following Christ, Who died for us! No more babyish “freedoms,” the gateway to deadly SIN!!
Hitler liked dogs and little girls dressed up in German traditional dress. Jerry Brown is a lost soul, and he likely knows it. Good that Brown admires St. Teresa of Calcutta, but he is really a child of the Master that counts the Clintons as his children. Until Brown can stand up and cheer Mother Teresa’s words against abortion, and not sit down, stony-faced, like the Clintons and Gores during Mother Teresa’s prayer breakfast speech in DC years ago, he will remain among the walking dead. Good luck, Governor Brown, you will likely need it down the road.
“Hippie-liberals” are really WORTHLESS, ignorant, and highly destructive people, who contribute NOTHING to the world! St. Mother Teresa contributed a great deal, and was a Saint! She will be remembered forever– while ignorant, immoral, “hippie-liberal” politicians like Brown, Clinton, Pelosi, Biden, Obama, etc.– will be soon forgotten! Who remembers, in history, the “great and noble barbarians,” with all their “wonderful accomplishments to help mankind,” the ignorant tribal (“hippie-type”) stinking, filthy, lawless barbarians— who destroyed Rome?? Nobody! Big laugh, in history!
ST THERESA OF CALCUTTA PRAY FOR GOVERNOR BROWN!!
The governor once spent three weeks with Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta and
learned nothing about the absolute sanctity of life? How could he be in that (Saintly) environment & not ‘get’ the pro-life issue for the rest of his days? Cries to heaven. Somewhere along the way he lost his immortal soul. Tragic. Praying.
Continued……..Oops the above is not ANON except by mistake.
Term Limits were tailor made for such as Brown, unfortunately he was grandfathered in. He lauds “spiritual resonance” while conveniently indifferent to the spirit of the law. So much for Zen.
I vividly remember Jerry Brown saying he was firmly against abortion after being with Mother Teresa. There was a small article in Time or Newsweek recounting the meeting. Why haven’t we heard about this? I can’t find it anywhere on the internet. How do we find this?