On Sunday September 4 2016, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta is being canonized into a Saint, only 19 years after she passed away. This was after Pope Francis approved her second miracle last year.
According to CNN Pope Francis said that "after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops, we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a saint, and we enroll her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole church."
Mother Teresa, known for being a humanitarian, and winning the Noble Peace Prize for "bringing help to suffering humanity(biography.com)." She was most know for helping those who were living in poverty in India. She completed of 4500 missionaries in over 123 countries before her death in 1997.
Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity. This organization ran several homes in over one hundred countries for people suffering from HIV/AIDS, leprosy, they helped families and children and ran soup kitchens and all different types of charity works along those lines. The vows to belong to the Missionaries of Charity were living a chaste life of poverty, and obedience and most importantly serving and giving to the poorest of the poor no matter what. The most important thing to Mother Teresa was caring for the poor. The poor do not have the resources to care for them selves and she was working to help them care for them.
According to NPR Mother Teresa is a traditional saint for modern times. A quote that I found from Mother Teresa that stuck with me was "In my soul I feel just that terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not existing." She would tell God "Even though I don't feel you, I believe in you." When you think of Mother Teresa, especially now that she is being canonized, you do not picture someone who struggles with their faith. Discovering this quote from her is comforting, because it shows that even the Blessed Mother Teresa struggled with her faith at a point in her life.
As we celebrate this special occasion, I feel it necessary to share another quote from Mother Teresa about if she were to ever become a saint. “If I ever become a Saint–I will surely be one of ‘darkness.’ I will continually be absent from Heaven–to light the light of those in darkness on earth,” the quote is exactly how she lived her life, she cared for others, she was always taking care of those in need, and that is how she wants to continue to intercede for us.
