Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997)

What It Means To Be Blessed

For many, even in the Church, the Catholic practice of beatifying and canonizing is an enigma.
Why does the Church do it? How does the Church do it?  What are the implications of being canonized,
or in the case of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, beatified?

General History.

First it should be noted that according to the testimony of Sacred Scripture every Christian is a saint.
The Greek New Testament speaks in many places of the hagios (Acts 9:32; Rom 15:25, 31; Eph 1:1; Col. 1:2;
Jude 1:3 and others). The Latin Vulgate speaks of the sancti, which is rendered in some English translations
as the saints and in others as the holy ones. As St. Peter tells Christians, "you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light." The saints are set apart by God through baptism, filled with His
divine life (the Kingdom of God within), and called to announce that Kingdom's presence in the world to the
whole human race. Thus it is that in the Scriptural usage all of those baptized into Christ and in the state
of grace can rightly be called saints.

In another sense, stricter and more technical, the saints are those in whom Christ's victory over sin, the
devil and death has not just begun, as it has in us, but has been completed. This is the case when the
wayfaring state of earthy life is concluded and the holiness of life attained in the pilgrim's state is realized
perfectly in heaven. Even while saying that no one is truly good but God (Mt 19:17), Christ called us to the
perfection of goodness, of holiness, "be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48, Mt 19:21; Col. 4:12, James 1:4),
since nothing imperfect will enter into heaven (Rev 21:27).

The early Church understood that only the Christian who followed Christ perfectly would go immediately into the
heavenly Jerusalem. Others would enter the purifying fires of purgation "to be made perfect," from which they
would not depart until they had "paid the last penny" (Mt 5:26, 1 Cor 3:13, 15). Since perfection was conformity
to Christ in His death, a process begun at baptism, the martyr (literally, witness) for Christ was seen to have
achieved the goal. Thus, during the age of persecution (from Pentecost to 311 AD) esteem for those Christians
who had been killed in hatred of the faith (in odium fidei) lead them to extol their example of heroic witness
to Christ, to guard and preserve their relics (the trophies of victory over death) and to celebrate the anniversary
of their birthday into eternal life. The Circular Letter of the Church of Smyrna on the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp (155 AD)
illustrates this esteem perfectly.

    We have at last gathered his bones, which are dearer to us than priceless gems and purer than gold, and laid
them to rest where it was befitting they should lie. And if it be possible for us to assemble again, may God grant
us to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom with gladness, thus to recall the memory of those who fought in the
glorious combat, and to teach and strengthen by his example, those who shall come after us.

Finally, the greatest tribute of honor that could be rendered to the martyr was to have his or her name mentioned
in the Canon (or Eucharistic Prayer) of the Mass, accompanying the Lord in His Redemptive Sacrifice. This was done
on their feast day, the day of their entry into eternal life. The Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer 1) retains the
eloquent testimony of the Roman Church for the Mother of the Lord, for the apostles, and the most significant martyrs
of Rome and Italy.

    "In union with the whole Church ...we honor Mary ... Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, Philip, Bartholomew,
 Matthew, Simon and Jude; we honor Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul,
 Cosmas and Damian." (Communicantes)

    "For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen,
Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia and
all the saints." (Nobis quoque peccatoribus)

Thus, in the early centuries of the Church the popular acclaim of sanctity in the martyrs, the veneration of their relics,
the honoring of their names in private and liturgical prayer (with the consent of the local bishop) canonized important
witnesses to Christ in the universal, and the local, Church, as examples of the perfect fidelity to which all Christians
are called.

Although the age of martyrs has never truly ended, the relative peace that existed after the Edict of Milan in 311 meant that
martyrdom was a rarer example of perfection than it had been. The Church began to look for other models of holiness, other ways
in which conformity to Christ could be a witness to the faithful and the world, the living out in daily Christian life of the
dying to self and living for Christ undertaken in baptism. This witness was found in those whose white martyrdom of heroic
 virtue confessed to the world the triumph of light over darkness, of grace over sin, of the new man over the old man
(Eph 4:17-24), and thus of Christ over Satan. Thus, such Confessors, the witness of whose life had the fame of holiness,
began to enter the roles of the canonized.

This cultus* (religious veneration) was generally of a single diocese, but as the fame of the person spread it could
encompass several dioceses, and in the case of Mary, the apostles and other significant figures be universal in fact.
Although the records of early Church Councils shows occasional  interventions to correct abuses in the naming of saints
and to establish criteria for their acclamation, the process continued to be a local one with some few examples of Popes
declaring saints of universal veneration.

The first canonical process seems to be that of Pope Urban II (1089-99), in the "Cause" of Nicholas of Trani. The Bishop
of Trani was ordered to conduct a local investigation into his alleged sanctity and miracles, which then would be submitted
to the Pope for judgement. This first "Cause" dragged on over several pontificates, and seems not to have been concluded
favorably. It also seems to have occasioned developments in the legal procedures themselves, Callistus II (1119-24)
requiring all causes to include a critical biography of the Servant of God. As often happens in the Church,  abuses
brought about major developments in Church practice. In 1170 Pope Alexander III decreed that no one could be declared
a saint without the permission of the Supreme Pontiff. This was precipitated by the acclamation as saint of a Swedish
"martyr" who was killed while drunk, and thus could not be truly said to be a willing witness for Christ. This regulation
was formally incorporated into Church law by Pope Gregory IX in 1234.

The centralization of the canonization process in Rome was an inevitable development of the Church's theological and
canonical Tradition. While the acclamation of the faithful and the acceptance of the bishop is in most cases an adequate
witness to the holiness of the person, it only provides a moral certainty, a reasonable credibility, that the person is
in heaven. In order to give universal witness to the sanctity of someone a higher standard needed to be invoked, that of
the charism of the infallibility of the Church. According to Catholic teaching the Church, the Mystical Christ, cannot err
 in matters of faith and morals (Jn 16:13). The practical exercise of this infallibility falls to the apostolic office,
which in the name and by the authority of Christ the Head of the Church intends to bind the faithful in a matter of faith
or morals. This can be done either by the college of bishops as a whole, as in a Council (Acts 15:28 15:28), or by the
Successor of St. Peter (Lk 22:32, Acts 15:7-12 15:7-12). By the grace of the Holy Spirit Christ protects such judgements
of universal import for the Church from error. The common opinion of theologians historically, therefore, is that papal
Canonization is an exercise of the charism of infallibility, protecting the Church from raising an unfitting individual
to the universal veneration of the faithful. As in the case of a dogmatic declaration, the declaration of a saint inserts
that person into the heart of the Church's life, in this case into the central mystery of the faith, the Eucharist, and
must by its nature be free from error.

Cause for Beatification/Cause for Canonization.

According to an ancient theological axiom grace builds on nature. For this reason the Church
is very careful to exhaust the human and reasonable means of determining the sanctity of a person
before relying on supernatural ones. As noted earlier the papal canonization process quickly developed
certain procedures which had to be followed in the diocese and in Rome, such as the collecting of
evidence, of testimonies of witnesses and the writing of a critical biography. By the fourteenth
century two regular processes were in place, the Cause for Beatification and the Cause for Canonization.
The first, when successfully concluded, allowed some measure of veneration of the Blessed by the faithful,
in his or her diocese, by a religious order, by a nation. The second permitted universal veneration of
 the Saint by the Church. The concluding stage of each was conducted in the form of a trial, with sides
for or against. The office of the Promoter of the Faith or Devil's Advocate, who argued against the Servant
of God, dates from this era.

The Processes have gone through several revisions and refinements over the centuries, including two recent ones,
under Pope Paul VI in 1969 and under Pope John Paul II in 1983. Included in Pope Paul's reforms were the
consolidation of the processes into a single Cause for Canonization. Notable in those of Pope John Paul
II was the elimination of the Devil's Advocate, as well as many procedural changes.

What it means to be Blessed.

Up until the beatification of a Servant of God Catholics must observe a strict rule of non cultus,
meaning that while they may privately pray to and venerate an individual whom they believe to be in
heaven there may not be any public acts of religious veneration. In fact, the presence of a cultus
 before the approval of the Church is given can end the candidacy of a Servant of God.

With Beatification a number of marks of veneration can be given to a person. The most important one is that
a feast day, with its proper Mass and Office (Liturgy of the Hours),  can be granted to particular dioceses
and religious orders and congregations. For example, Blessed Takeri Tekawitha, the Lily of the Mohawks,
is celebrated on the liturgical calendars of the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S. and Mexico there is a feast day
 for Blessed Juan Diego, the visionary of Guadalupe. By analogy, this privilege is somewhat akin to the practice
 of episcopal canonization earlier in Church history, except that a bishop manifests to Rome his flock's desire
to venerate a Blessed and Rome grants such local veneration.

With beatification comes the restricted right to venerate the relics of Blessed Teresa, to have public prayers
to them and to honor their images in places of worship where this is granted by the Holy See. It is restricted
in the sense that it is the veneration of a part of the Church and not the whole, and lacks the finality of canonization.

*Cultus. A certain negativity has attached itself to the English term cult (a false, exaggerated religious system)
which should not be applied to the older, properly understood, Latin term cultus. The Latin term in the ancient world
had the meaning of religious worship of God or a god. It could be applied to the True God (which would be legitimate)
or to a pagan god among gods (which would be idolatry). In using the term, but with specific theological meaning, the
Church distinguishes between the forms of worship appropriate to God, Trinity, Christ and the Blessed Sacrament
(called latria, worship or adoration, in the strict sense), and the forms of veneration and honor appropriate to
the Blessed Virgin, the angels and the saints (called hyperdulia or the greatest measure of veneration in the
case of Mary and dulia or simple veneration in the case of the angels and other saints). It is a principle of
justice that we must honor, respect and show gratitude in proper measure to those who are part of God's plan for
our natural and supernatural life. God commands it in the Fourth Commandment. This includes our natural parents
who gave us life, but also those to whom we owe a debt for their role in the redemption (1 Cor 4:14-16, Heb. 13:7),
 first among whom is the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lk 1:48).But without the fidelity of the angels, who served as God's
messengers, of the prophets, of the apostles, the evangelists, the Fathers and the great and holy men and women of
all ages, we today would not have the faith. That is the foundation of our individual and collective gratitude for
the working of God's grace in their lives and thus of their cultus (in the way understood by the Church).

"Keep the joy of loving the poor and share this joy with all you meet.
Remember works of love are works of Peace. God Bless you."
  -  Mother Teresa 

 Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, in the former Yugoslavia,
she was the youngest of three children. In her teens, Agnes became a member of a youth group in
her local pairsh called Sodality. Through her involvement with their activities guided by a
Jesuit priest, Agnes became interested in missionaries. At age 17, she responded to her first
call of a vocation as a Catholic missionary nun. She joined an Irish order, the Sisters of
Loretto, a community known for their missionary work in India. When she took her vows as a
Sister of Loretto, she chose the name Teresa after  Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

In Calcutta, Sister Teresa taught geography and cathechism at St. Mary's High School. In 1944,
she became the principal of St. Mary's. Soon Sister Teresa contracted tuberculosis, was unable
to continue teaching and was sent to Darjeeling for rest and recuperation. It was on the train
to Darjeeling that she received her second call -- "the call within the call". Mother Teresa
recalled later, "I was to leave the convent and work with the poor, living among them. It was
an order. I knew where I belonged but I did not know how to get there."

In 1948, the Vatican granted Sister Teresa permission to leave the Sisters of Loretto and
pursue her calling under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Calcutta.

Mother Teresa started with a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor. She also
learned basic medicine and went into the homes of the sick to treat them. In 1949, some of her
former pupils joined her. They found men, women, and children dying on the streets who were
rejected by local hospitals. The group rented a room so they could care for helpless people
 otherwise condemned to die in the gutter. In 1950, the group was established by the Church
 as a Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese. It was known as the Missionaries of Charity.  

 In 1952 the first Home for the Dying was opened in space made available by the City of Calcutta.
Over the years, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity grew from 12 to thousands serving the
"poorest of the poor" in 450 centers around the world. Mother Teresa created many homes for the
dying and the unwanted from Calcutta to New York to Albania. She was one of the pioneers of
establishing homes for AIDS victims. For more than 45 years, Mother Teresa comforted the poor,
the dying, and the unwanted around the world.

In 1966, the Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded. Homes began to open in Rome, Tanzania,
and Australia. In 1971, the first home in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York.

Mother Teresa gained worldwide acclaim with her tireless efforts on behalf of world peace. Her
work brought her numerous humanitarian awards, including : the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In receiving this award, Mother Teresa revolutionized the award
ceremony. She insisted on a departure from the ceremonial banquet and asked that the funds,
$6,000 be donated to the poor in Calcutta. This money would permit her to feed hundreds for a year.

She is stated to have said that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world’s needy.

Beginning in 1980, homes began to spring-up for drug addicts, prostitutes, battered women, and more
 orphanages and schools for poor children around the world. In 1985, Mother Teresa established the
first hospice for AIDS victims in New York. Later homes were added in San Francisco and Atlanta.
Mother Teresa was awarded Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.

In 1991, Mother Teresa returned for the first time to her native Albania and opened a home in Tirana.
 By this year, there were 168 homes established in India.

On February 3, 1994 at a National Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives, in Washington, DC, Mother Teresa challenged the audience on such topics as family
life and abortion. She said, "Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Give the child to me."

Mother Teresa traveled to help the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake
 victims in Armenia. Her zeal and works of mercy knew no boundaries.
In November of 1996, Mother Teresa received the honorary U.S. citizenship. 

A clean heart is a free heart. A free heart can love Christ with an undivided love in chastity,
convinced that nothing and nobody will separate it from his love. Purity, chastity, and virginity
created a special beauty in Mary that attracted God’s attention. He showed his great love for
the world by giving Jesus to her.

There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness.
We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family.
Find them.
Love them.

Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.

 Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that
you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness.

Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the
warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well.

The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. But the less you have the more
free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is not mortification, a penance.
It is joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. But we are perfectly happy.


I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Ask yourself “How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?” Unless this love
is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery.

 Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing.

A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty ourselves. The fruit of silence is prayer,
 the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love,
the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace.

Evangelist, Billy Graham

"In an age when superlatives are used with abandon to describe the contributions of public figures,
 it is a testimony to Mother Teresa’s greatness that no same person would give her the status as
the world’s most giving human being. But perhaps most of all, she will be remembered as someone
who never sought the honor she so sincerely earned."
William Donohue, Catholic League President

"The passing of Mother Teresa is a moment of joy because of her holiness. She was always with the
dying and the poor, so rather than bringing mourning it brings joy. We are happy to offer her to God:
 Here is such a lovely soul."
Bishop David E. Foley, Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama

The world marveled "at the commitment of this extraordinary woman."
Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, CA.

"A loss to the entire humanity. She will be deeply missed in our efforts to build international peace,
and a just, caring and equitable world order."
South African President Nelson Mandela's

"Mother Teresa imitated Christ and her life was a lesson in love. As she personally tended the
sick and the dying in Calcutta's slums, she helped people there and beyond see the material and
spiritual poverty that confronts modern society. She taught all -- from youth groups to
governments -- through piety and charm, wisdom and simplicity. As small and soft-spoken as she was,
 her reach was large and her message heard around the world. She saw Jesus in everyone --
 from the child in the womb, to the sick and vulnerable, especially those afflicted with AIDS,
to the aged and dying abandoned in the streets of Calcutta. She urged people everywhere to reach
beyond themselves to heal those hurting about them. Mother Teresa transcended cultures and
politics as she spoke of God's call to love and assist the poor. She had a profound realization
that anyone she was with -- immigrant, alien, president or prime minister, was first of all a
Child of God and intrinsically worthy of respect. Her life will stand as a reminder to all of us
 that we are called to care for one another and especially that we are called to respect and aid
the poorest among us. God blesses the world with wonderful treasures -- certainly Mother Teresa
has been one of the finest of our century."
Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference

"Mother Teresa's life proved that the only real revolution in human affairs flows from service to
 others and self-sacrifice out of love for Jesus Christ. She was a champion of the unwanted, from
the outcast of Calcutta to the unwanted unborn of America. She was the genius of the little way of
doing great things. Above all, she was in every sense a woman of the Gospel: strong in forgiving,
tender to the poor, in love with Jesus Christ, and a servant of His Church. May God welcome her
into eternal light and joy, and may the work of her sisters here in Colorado and around the world
thrive on the legacy of mercy and Christian love she leaves with us." Archbishop Charles J. Chaput,
 Archdiocese of Denver

"An example of selfless devotion to charity. I hope she can be a good example to all charity workers and philanthropists."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad

"A rare and unique individual who lived long for higher purposes. Her life-long devotion to the
 care of the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged was one of the highest examples of service to humanity."
Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan

The Chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize panel, Francis Sejersted, said Mother Teresa stood out "as an
 example of true self-sacrifice in humanitarian work." She was awarded the prize in 1979.

In a memorial Mass celebrating the life of Mother Teresa at St. Patrick Cathedral in New York on Monday,
 Cardinal John O’Connor spoke of the life of this devote nun who gave her life "fighting for the
 weakest of the weak, the poorest of the poor." On ministering to the poor Mother Teresa wrote,
"Without suffering, our work would just be social work." O’Connor added, "Only by being one with
them can we redeem them." Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor of NYC, shared with Mass attendees his thanks
"for having had Mother Teresa among us." On a lighter note, Mayor Giuliani commented that he and
former Mayor Ed Koch never said no when Mother Teresa asked the city [New York] for help. "We knew
she knew better than us what’s good for our people," Giuliani said. "If she wanted parking spaces,
 we gave her parking spaces."

Albania on Saturday declared three days of mourning next week to honor Mother Teresa, who was
of Albanian descent. The red flag bearing the black double-headed eagle would fly at half-staff
from Saturday through to the end of the national mourning period. Condolence books would be opened
in all Albanian embassies.

THE BEST GIFT IS LOVE: MEDITATIONS BY M. TERESA

Complied and Edited by Sean-Patrick Lovett. This book attempts to capture the
essence of Mother Teresa in her own words and with beautiful black and white photographs.
It brings you closer to the spiritual vision of such a holy and courageous woman.
In its pages you will encounter her passion for God, her way of life,
and her way of love. Paperback. 121 pages.
Item : 8140
Price: $9.00 

THIRSTING FOR GOD

compiled by Angelo Scolozzi This is a yearbook of prayers,
meditations, and anecdotes from a collection of Mother Teresa's
writings. You will encounter this remarkable woman who yearned to
know God above all else and who dedicated her life to Him by
ministering to the poorest of the poor. She was the founder
of Missionaries of Charity, an organization that ministers
to the world's impoverished. Paperback. 203 pages.
Item : 52274
Price: $7.00

LOVE: A FRUIT ALWAYS IN SEASON

Daily Meditations by Mother Teresa Edited by Dorothy Hunt.
These daily meditations of Mother Teresa have been arranged
to coincide with the seasons of the liturgical year and have
also been simultaneously arranged according to various themes
of the spiritual life. Paperback.260 pages.

Item : 1678
Price: $12.00