Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

5 September

Born in Albania in 1910, Mother Teresa of Calcutta won recognition throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor.

Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father's construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.

During her years in school Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At 18 she entered the Loretto

Sisters of Dublin. In 1928 she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her: "the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people."

In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard within her spirit what she later explained as: "a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them." She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loretto and, instead, to "follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor."

After receiving permission to leave Loretto, establish a new religious community and undertake her new work, she took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals (the ordinary dress of an Indian woman) she soon began getting to know her neighbors-especially the poor and sick - and getting to know their needs through visits.

The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers, some of them former students, joined her in the work, becoming the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Others donated food, clothing, supplies, the use of buildings. In 1952 the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the Order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging and street people. Mother Teresa and her nuns opened more homes for the dying, treatment centers and hospitals for those suffering from leprosy, AIDS—the list is endless.

Until her death in 1997, Mother Teresa continued her work among the poorest of the poor, depending on God for all of her needs. In her own eyes she was "God's pencil—a tiny bit of pencil with which he writes what he likes." Despite years of strenuous physical, emotional and spiritual work, Mother Teresa seemed unstoppable. Though frail and bent, with numerous ailments, she always returned to her work, to those who received her compassionate care for more than 50 years.

Finally, on September 5, 1997, after finishing her dinner and prayers, her weakened heart gave Mother Teresa back to the God who was the very center of her life.  Pope John Paul II declared her blessed—beatified— on October 19, 2003, prompting waves of applause before the 300,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, the Holy Father called Mother Teresa "one of the most relevant personalities of our age" and "an icon of the Good Samaritan." Her life, he said, was "a bold proclamation of the Gospel."

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us

First Encyclical by Pope Francis

The Heart of Pope Francis' Message Summarized in a Fashion for All the Faithful

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The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today, August 15, is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

What does this mean? The Church teaches that, “the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” In other words, God raised Mary up, body and soul, to be with Him in heaven forever.

Pope Pius XII pointed to the Book of Genesis (3:15) as scriptural support for the dogma in terms of Mary's victory over sin and death as also reflected in 1 Corinthians 15:54: “then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Revelation 12 also speaks of a woman, clothed with the sun, who is caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as a symbol both of Mary and of all God’s people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New Testament, her Assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory.


What does this mean for us? Mary is understood as “the first among the disciples of the Lord.” Thus, she is a sign of what God wants to do for us, and will do for us, if we follow her direction given to the servants at the wedding of Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.”

Feast of Saint John the Baptist

SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

Feast Day: June 24

Patron of Baptism

Zechariah was the husband of Elizabeth, who was the Virgin

Mary’s cousin. Elizabeth and Zechariah were very old, and

had never been able to have any children.

One day the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and said,

“Do not be afraid! Your wife Elizabeth will bear a son, and

you shall call his name John. Many will rejoice at his birth.

He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will turn the

hearts of many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

He will prepare the way for the Lord.”

John grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the

desert until God called him to begin his ministry. John

preached the coming of the Savior and baptized many

repentant converts in the waters of the Jordan River. The

people thought that John might be the coming Messiah, but

he told everyone that he was sent to prepare the way for one

who “is mightier than I.”

Finally, John baptized Jesus. He said, “Behold the Lamb of

God, who takes away the sin of the world.” After that, King

Herod arrested John and then had him beheaded. Saint John

the Baptist gave his life for Jesus, his Lord.

The Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist 6 months before the birth of Jesus, as is recorded in Luke’s Gospel. We have just passed the summer solstice; hence, the days grow shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, until around Christmas, where the days grow longer. This illustrates John’s prophetic words about Jesus: “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Even so, Jesus said of John,  “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28).

We are given these enigmatic words to ponder, as we stand at the halftime of 2013....

Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua

Feast Day: June 13

Patron of Lost Things and Missing Persons

Saint Anthony was born in Portugal in 1195 and became a

Franciscan at the age of 26. God gave him the gift of preaching

to touch the hearts of his listeners. When Saint Anthony spoke

about Jesus and his Mother Mary, many people returned to Jesus

and the Catholic faith. Saint Anthony asked Mary to help him

when he preached, and God worked many miracles through him.

One night, a friend saw a beautiful little Child standing upon the Bible,

coming up as it were out of the very Word of God,

and clinging with both of His little arms around

Anthony’s neck. It was the Infant Jesus! Saint Anthony died at

the age of 36, and the very next year he was canonized a saint.

Prayer to Saint Anthony to Find Lost Articles

Dear Saint Anthony, God has made you a powerful patron and

helper to find lost or misplaced objects. We turn to you today

with confidence and love. Through your prayer, may God help us

to find what we have lost. Dear Saint Anthony, help us also be

close to Jesus this day, and to always find Him in our hearts.

Amen.

Saint Anthony, pray for us.

Excerpt taken from RS887S, Ilustrated Lives of the Saints

Feast of the Sacred Heart

Born in 1647, Margaret Mary Alacoque was crippled by a disease at age 8.  After promising to give her life to Jesus’ service, she was miraculously healed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At 23, she entered the Visitation Order of Nuns.

Sister Margaret Mary loved our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament—the consecrated Body of Christ from Holy Communion, which is kept in the tabernacles of Catholic churches—very much. The world had grown cold and unresponsive to God and His offer of salvation through the grace His Son won for us all on the Cross. Over the course of a few years, Jesus appeared to Margaret, revealing to her His Sacred Heart.

The flames coming forth from Jesus’ Heart remind us of His burning love for us and His desire that we love Him in return. The crown of thorns around His Heart reminds us of His sacrifice for us and His invitation that we offer our sufferings to Him, as Saint Paul teaches us: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church” (Colossians 1:24).

Jesus made at least twelve promises to Sister Margaret Mary, revealing the abundance of His love and telling her how He would help those who honor His Sacred Heart. He said, “Behold this Heart which has loved men and women so much, and yet they do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth.” He further promised, “I will bless every home in which an image of My Heart will be honored.”

Sister Margaret Mary died in 1690, and was canonized a saint in 1920.

Feast of Saint Rita of Cascia

Saint Rita was born at Spoleto, Italy, in 1381. From her early youth, Rita liked to visit the Augustinian nuns at Cascia, and begged her parents’ permission to enter the convent.  However, when she was 12, they betrothed her to the town watchman, a man who struggled with a violent temper. Rita obediently married him and bore twin sons.

     Rita put up with her husband’s mistreatment as best she could, praying and receiving the sacraments frequently. Unfortunately, her sons learned from their father’s violent ways. After eighteen years of marriage, her husband was stabbed to death by an enemy, but repented on his deathbed, thanks to Rita’s prayers. Rita’s sons were determined to avenge their father, but through Rita's prayers, they forgave his murderers, and shortly thereafter died themselves.

Rita then applied for admission to the convent of Saint Mary Magdalene at age 36. However, the mother superior was reluctant to admit her as she had been married and was no longer a virgin. After some delay, Rita was admitted to the convent, but to test her faith and loyalty, the mother superior asked her to tend a dead stick planted in the ground. Rita obediently watered the dead stick daily. Many years the stick sprouted a grape vine, which to this day continues to supply the grapes used to make the wine for the Pope!

Rita lived 40 years in the convent, in great prayer and charity, working for peace in the area. She had a deep devotion to the Passion of Christ, and begged to suffer for others as Jesus had. One day, a thorn from the crucifix pierced her forehead, causing a deep wound which did not heal. After suffering 15 years, Saint Rita died on May 22, 1457.  Amazingly, her body did not decay and has remained incorrupt to this day in Cascia, where  it can be seen in a glass coffin in the basilica of Saint Rita.

Saint Rita is a patron of desperate, seemingly impossible causes and situations. This is because she lived through so many stages of life—wife, mother, widow, and nun—but always as a beloved child of God. J

Saint Rita, Pray for Us