Easter Remembrance: Selfless Service

Apr 10, 2004, 12.00am IST
Ranu Uniyal.

Easter is a reminder of the loving spirit of Christ who stood for sacrifice, love, prayer, selfless service and devotion. Jesus Christ said: "Offer yourself to Me with all your heart". Thomas A Kempis in The Imitation of Christ says: "How countless and constant were the trials endured by the apostles, martyrs, confessors and all those who strove to follow in the footsteps of Christ ... destitute of earthly goods, they were abundantly rich in grace and all virtues. To themselves they were nothing, but in the eyes of God they were precious and beloved."

Many saints lived close to the Spirit of Christ and Therese Neumann of Konnersreuth was one among them. She was born on a Good Friday in 1898, the eldest of 11 children. Even as a child she aspired to join a convent. At 19 years she suffered a paralytic attack and two years later lost her sight. Illness left her indisposed for six years. Known as Resl by her family and dear ones, she believed in Christ as her Saviour. In her visions not only did she see Christ the Saviour performing miracles but also his death and resurrection.

Resl dedicated her life to serve the poor and the needy. Extremely courageous and a committed woman, Resl had an extraordinary will which enabled her to set up a monastery at Fockenfeld. With firm faith in prayer and in the Lord, Resl fought against all odds. Blessed with amazing visionary powers, she found lasting happiness in serving mankind.


Although Therese Neumann lived in times of severe political and social unrest, Hitler is said to have been afraid of this little woman who commanded genuine respect and awe from millions. The Third Reich had specific instructions to leave her alone. But the ensuing battle between Catholicism and Fascism had a painful bearing on the lives of ordinary people. Konnersreuth was set on fire by the Nazis at the end of the war. Somehow Resl managed to save herself and the children from disaster. Despite her frail body and limited resources she spent all her time in the service of God as did her two sisters.
In Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda gives an account of his meeting with the great Catholic mystic, Therese, who did not eat. She had chosen to live by "God's Light" and had therefore decided to abstain from food and drink. She firmly believed in the utterance of Christ: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God". Untouched by fatigue and hunger she hardly slept. Sanctified by the moral and physical discipline, she worked endlessly for the commu-nity. Like Christ she set about healing the sick and the wounded and took the suffering of others on herself. Stigmata or the sacred wounds of Christ first appea-red on her body in 1926 and became a weekly feature thereafter. Every Friday she went through the Passion of the Christ. With blood trickling down her eyelids and hands, she remained in a state of trance. Like Christ she bore the cross of suffering with great dignity. As the news of her abstinence and stigmatisation spread people started visiting her from all over. Her miraculous healing powers enabled her to pray fervently for the suffering.

The new convent of Adoration at Konnersreuth, Germany, was consecrated in 1963, a year after the death of Therese Neumann. Today, this small town close to the Czechoslovakian border, has become a pilgrimage centre, a tribute to the memory of the three Neumann sisters who set an example of selfless love, self-denial and service to humanity.
(Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.)