Next Sunday, September 4, there will be an event in Rome that will have a great impact on us and on millions of
Catholics, Christians and people of good will. That event is the official canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Pope
Francis will officially proclaim Mother Teresa a Saint in the Catholic Church. We who have been privileged to know her
and to witness her awesome life of faith, of service, of dedication and commitment to the care of the poor, the needy and
the dying always believed that she was a living saint.

Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910 in Macedonia; she died in Calcutta, India at age of 87 on September 5,
1997. As a child she was interested in the life of missionaries and had an interest in the religious life. She left home and
joined the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland at the age of 18. She entered the convent using her baptized name, Agnes. She
went to India with the Sisters of Loreto to teach. When she took her first religious vows, she took the name of St.
Therese of Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries, in 1931. One of the other Sisters already had the name of St.
Therese, so she changed the spelling to the Spanish version, Teresa. Sister Teresa made her final, solemn vows as a
Sister of Loreto on May 14, 1937. She taught school in Calcutta at the convent school for twenty years. During her
years of teaching, Sister Teresa enjoyed her ministry but was deeply moved by the extreme poverty in the area.

There was a severe famine in India in 1943 and an outbreak of violence between the Hindus and Muslims in 1946.
These two experiences were influential in the heart and spirit of young Sister Teresa. During her annual Retreat in
September 1948, Sister Teresa felt ‘the call within the call’ to leave the convent and help the poor while living among
them. This was a changing point in her life and in her life’s ministry. As Sister Teresa began her new missionary work
with the poor in 1948, she replaced her traditional Loreto habit with a simple cotton sari decorated with a blue border. She
became an Indian citizen and slowly her name was changed to Mother Teresa. She became more proficient with
medical knowledge and nursing skills. Other young women were attracted to her and to her ministry of helping ‘the
poorest of the poor.’

During the early months and early years of her new ministry, Mother Teresa had struggles with finances and had to beg
for food, supplies and necessities. She and her group of women grew closer to the Lord and more trusting in his grace,
mercy and his providence. In October 1950 Mother Teresa got permission from the Vatican to begin the Missionaries of
Charity. Initially it began with 13 members. The Mission of the new Order was ‘to care for the hungry, the naked, the
homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society,
people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.’

The ministry of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity grew and multiplied in the next thirty years to become
worldwide. Mother Teresa was given many, many awards and great recognition for her ministry to ‘the poorest of the
poor.’ Probably the highest award she was given was the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Mother Teresa was well recognized
here in our country in 1985 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1984 with the Congressional Gold Medal and in
1996, Mother Teresa was made an Honorary Citizen of the United States. At present, there are over 4,500 Missionaries
of Charity doing the work of that small in stature but great in spirit, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. One of my favorite quotes
from Mother Teresa is: “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my
calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”

Mother Teresa is one of the people I have admired, respected and appreciated in the past fifty years. May each one
of us strive to imitate her in some way in the way we live our Catholic faith, in our generosity, in our stewardship, in our
helping the poor, the needy, the dying and the forgotten of our community, our church and our families. My prayers, love,
best wishes and gratitude to you and to your loved ones, for who you are, for all you do for the good of the Lord and for
the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish.
SHALOM!

Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of August 28 – September 3
Romans 12:1-2