We have been celebrating the feast day of Mother Teresa on September 5 since she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003 and canonized by Pope Francis in the extraordinary Jubilee year of Mercy in 2016. Back in February of this year, before Pope Francis entered eternal life, it was announced that according to his wishes, her feast day would be official inserted in the Roman calendar on this date as an optional memorial. During this announcement, Cardinal Roche of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments offered praise for Mother Teresa, stating that she was “a beacon of hope (in the world), … a witness to the dignity and privilege of humble service in the defense of all human life and of all those who have been abandoned, discarded and despised even in the hiddenness of the womb.” Born in August 26, 1910 in North Montenegro in the city of Skopje to a family of Albanian ancestry, she entered the sisters of Loreto in Calcutta, India in 1937, but left that order in 1950 to found the missionaries of charity, an order that now has over 6,000 sisters in more than 130 countries throughout the world, serving the poor and those most in need. She was recognized by many times in the Church and in the secular world for her extraordinary life of service, being awarded the Nobel prize for peace in 1979. She died on September 5, 1997. Mother Teresa’s very simple but profound quotes often center on the God’s love, service, and the importance of small acts of kindness. She once said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
Our psalm today states that we should serve the LORD with gladness and come before him with joyful song. This message reflects the joy with which Mother Teresa lived out her faith, the joy she felt being in the presence of the Eucharist and in receiving the Eucharist, and her life of service to God and to God’s people. We unite our prayers with the prayers of Mother Teresa today.
No comments:
Post a Comment