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Canonization of Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Little Sisters around the world joined in the celebrations for the canonization of Mother Teresa. Did you know that she once lived with the Little Sisters of the Poor? After receiving her “inspiration” from Jesus to devote her life to the poor, she left her convent on August 17, 1948, clad for the first time in a white sari with a blue stripe. After a short course with the Medical Mission Sisters she lived temporarily with the Little Sisters in Calcutta before officially beginning the congregation of the Missionaries of Charity on October 7, 1950.

Fr Frederick Miller, a good friend of our congregation, knew Mother Teresa quite well, as his homily the day after her canonization reflects.

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 file photo, a tapestry showing Mother Teresa hangs from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican. For many of the poor and destitute whom Mother Teresa served, the tiny nun was a living saint. Many at the Vatican would agree, but the Catholic Church nevertheless has a grueling process to make it official, involving volumes of historical research, the hunt for miracles and teams of experts to weigh the evidence. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
In this Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 file photo, a tapestry showing Mother Teresa hangs from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican. For many of the poor and destitute whom Mother Teresa served, the tiny nun was a living saint. Many at the Vatican would agree, but the Catholic Church nevertheless has a grueling process to make it official, involving volumes of historical research, the hunt for miracles and teams of experts to weigh the evidence. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

“On the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta, we offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice to thank Almighty God for the canonization of a woman known and loved by the world! We are all here because Mother Teresa, I am sure, has touched our lives in a beautiful and significant way. I am confident that each of you has a story about the little woman who was canonized yesterday by Pope Francis.

As Father chanted the Gospel of the Last Judgment so movingly, I could not help but think of Jesus saying these words to Mother Teresa as she entered Heaven and at the same time, challenging us to do the works that she has done so marvelously:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

We are celebrating this Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s Church in Plainfield, NJ because Mother Teresa has touched this parish in a beautiful and significant way.” CONTINUE READING HERE.

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