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01 Nov 2015 - Solemnity of All Saints, Cycle B

Our community with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace and the life of the People of God itself. —Lumen Gentium, 1964 Holiness is not the luxury of a few. It is a simple duty for you and for me. –Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

Mother Teresa Saints

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Sign & sacrament

01 Apr 2012 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle B

When we think of heroes we usually think of those who save people through their use of power or force, those who establish empires, those who dominate the competition—think Superman, Alexander the Great, Michael Jordan. But Jesus broke the mold when it comes to heroes. He shows us another way to live a heroic life: emptying ourselves in service to others—think Mother Teresa, Saint Francis of Assisi, Archbishop Oscar Romero. The Easter story teaches us that when we pour ourselves out for the sake of others, our resulting “emptiness” allows us to rise to the very heavens.

hero Service Mother Teresa saint francis archbishop oscar romero

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Who's listening?

17 Jul 2011 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

The readings this week spread a banquet of opportunities to reach the people to whom you preach. The wonders of divine wisdom. The spirit that helps us to pray and discern our hearts. And the gospel offers not one but three parables, as well as an explanation of a parable. To focus on one: Every person in the assembly has the potential to be a good seed. "Do small things with great love," Mother Teresa said. Encourage the people to do the same. Tell them how even the smallest thing, like a mustard seed or a pinch of yeast, can make a big difference in helping to build the kingdom of God.

mustard seed parables Mother Teresa

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Homily stories

02 Mar 2014 - Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

WHEN MOTHER TERESA'S Sisters first started to care for the babies left on their doorsteps in India, they weren’t very successful. Despite comfortable cribs with clean sheets in bright and cheery nurseries, the little ones were turning their faces to the wall and not even tasting the nutritious food offered them. What was missing? Many of them wasted away and died despite all that the sisters were doing for them. When Mother Teresa saw what was happening, she gathered the sisters around her and told them that no matter how busy they were, no matter what other responsibilities beckoned them, they were to take time every 15 minutes or so to do nothing more than hold each of the children, hug them, kiss them, talk to them, rock them. Following her instructions they found in only the matter of a few days that the children started to respond and then to eat and to laugh and ultimately to thrive. It was being touched, loving touches like a mother’s, which made the difference. Like a loving mother our God holds us and like a protecting father clothes and feeds us so that we, too, can thrive.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

Mother Teresa

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Quote of the week

20 Mar 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” —Mother Teresa, InsightonConflict.org

Peace Mother Teresa

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Exploring the word

26 Jul 2009 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Last week we emphasized the reality of spiritual hunger and the necessity to engage the spiritual works of mercy. This weekend’s gospel provides ballast for that idea by reminding us that physical hunger is just as real and has a vital claim on our compassion. And not only on our compassion, but on God’s mercy as well. We can’t ignore the hunger of the world anymore than Jesus could look away from the famished crowd that stood before him in a deserted place. I’m happy to say I’ve never met a Christian who doesn’t appreciate the moral necessity to assist the disadvantaged by sharing resources. Not everyone follows through, of course, but at least we all admit it’s part of the package of our religious responsibility. For some the enormity of the task is what daunts us. We are like Elisha’s servant, objecting to the 20 barley loaves because they are not 100—or like Andrew, being dismissive of the boy with five loaves and two fish because his lunch pales in relationship to the needs of the crowd. We can protest that our coins are not enough—or we can, like the widow at the temple treasury, give our mite and trust that God will find it acceptable. The multiplication of the loaves is a miracle, obviously, but it’s not rocket science. Two things are clear: that we must bring what we have, and that we must trust that God will do the rest. Mother Teresa once said of her work: “I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time—just one, one, one. So you begin. I began—I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn’t pick up that person, I wouldn’t have picked up 42,000. . . . The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin—one, one, one.” I’ve known folks who run multimillion-dollar corporations who also shelter the homeless, and I also have friends who just ride around in their hatchback on cold nights and ladle out soup in the city park. Whether on the large scale or the small, they tell the same story: One night they saw a need and felt moved to give what they had. Another fellow who gave up smoking now keeps dollar bills in the ashtray of his car. When someone asks for spare change, he reaches into what used to be his cigarette money and hands it over. He doesn’t ascertain whether the person will use it wisely or poorly. He recognizes he used to employ this money to trash his lungs and jeopardize his family, so he’s hardly in a position to judge. Give, share, respond, and let God gather up the fragments, that nothing may be wasted. Related scripture links God’s generosity at work: Gen. 33:11; Num. 10:29; Sir. 35:7-14; Luke 6:38 The evils of gluttony and excess: Sir. 31:12-20; 37:26-30; Amos 4:1-3; 6:1-7 Lilies of the field: Matt. 6:25-34; Luke 12:22-34 Catechism links One God of all: CCC 74; 172; 1971; 2792 Multiplication of loaves: CCC 1335

Authors Alice Camille

spiritual hunger spiritual works of mercy miracle of the loaves and fishes Mother Teresa

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Quotes

11 Dec 2016 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

Patience is the companion of wisdom. —Saint Augustine Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. –Mother Teresa

patience Wisdom saint augustine Mother Teresa

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Quotes

11 Feb 2018 - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper’s wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. —Mother Teresa of Calcutta Jesus’ compassion is not skin-deep, it is an upheaval of the depths of his being. There is not true compassion without passion: Those who are compassionate really suffer in their persons. Compassion is a communion in suffering. —François Varillon (1905-1978)

Mother Teresa Compassion lepers leprosy Suffering

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Quotes

01 Jan 2020 - Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord; Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Cycle A

As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary. —Saint Thomas Aquinas If you ever feel distressed during your day, call upon our Lady, just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.' I must admit, this prayer has never failed me. —Blessed Mother Teresa (Some of this material for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been published previously in PTW.)

thomas aquinas Mother Teresa

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Quotes

24 May 2020 - Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Cycle A

The mission of the Christian in the world is a mission for all, a mission of service, which excludes no one; it requires great generosity. . . . There is so much need for Christians who bear witness to the gospel with joy in everyday life. —Pope Francis Stay where you are--find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, the lonely, right there where you are, in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and schools. —Blessed Mother Teresa It is no use walking somewhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching. —Saint Francis of Assisi

Pope Francis Mother Teresa Francis of Assisi

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