A beaming smile comes from a man on a thin mattress on the floor. He looks malnourished. And I know he’s dying because he’s at a Missionaries of Charity Home for the Dying. And yet, it’s hard not to look at his photo and long for what he has. It may not be much from a conventional perspective, but it’s what matters most.

Nirmal Hriday — “Home of the Pure Heart” — was founded by Mother Teresa in 1952. The photo was taken by American photographer Michael Collopy when he visited in 1996, a year before Mother Teresa’s death.

“A glowing light in the darkness of the modern world,” is how Collopy thought of Mother Teresa. He was in high school when he first became aware of this simple yet powerful woman via Malcom Muggeridge’s film “Something Beautiful for God.” He became fascinated with the powerful simplicity of the future saint.

As an adult, Collopy gave the world an........

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