Dear friends in Christ,
There are lives that shine so brightly with love that they reveal the very heart of God to the world. One such life belongs to Saint Teresa of Calcutta, known to most of us simply as Mother Teresa — a woman small in stature but vast in compassion, who became a living parable of Christ’s command: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
In her weathered hands and kind eyes, the world saw mercy made visible. She clothed the naked, fed the hungry, comforted the dying, and lifted the abandoned from the streets of Calcutta, India — not because they were useful or deserving, but because each one was Jesus in disguise.
Her mission began in silence and ended in sainthood. But between those two moments stretched a lifetime of faith, sacrifice, and service. Her love was not sentimental; it was costly, concrete, and constant.
She used to say:
“Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
Let us walk through the story of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, the saint of mercy and compassion, to rediscover how ordinary love — offered to God — can transform the world.
The Early Life of Mother Teresa — A Child of Faith and Charity
From Albania to India
Mother Teresa biography begins on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire (now North Macedonia). Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, she grew up in a devout Albanian Catholic family. Her parents, Nikola and Drane, taught her to see Christ in the poor.
Her mother often told her,
“Never eat a single mouthful unless you are sharing it with someone else.”
From an early age, young Anjezë felt drawn to missionary life. At 18, she joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish congregation of nuns serving in India. After training in Dublin, she sailed to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1929.
There she took the name Sister Mary Teresa, after Saint Thérèse of Lisieux — the Little Flower of Jesus. She would later become Mother Teresa, and like her namesake, she followed a Little Way of love — but in the slums and streets instead of a convent cloister.
The Call Within a Call — A New Mission of Love
The birth of the Missionaries of Charity
In 1946, while traveling by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling, Mother Teresa received what she called “the call within a call.” In her heart, she heard Jesus say:
“Come, be My light. I cannot go alone to the poor and dying — bring them to Me.”
It was a moment that changed her life forever. She felt Jesus asking her to leave the comfort of her convent and live among the poorest of the poor — to serve Him in the suffering and forgotten.
Two years later, she received permission to begin this new mission. Dressed in a simple white sari with a blue border — the symbol of her order — she walked into the streets of Calcutta with nothing but faith and determination.
In 1950, she officially founded the Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to serving “the poorest of the poor.” It began with a handful of sisters in a small home but grew into a worldwide family of charity.
The Work of Saint Teresa of Calcutta — Love in Action
Serving Christ in His distressing disguise
For Saint Teresa of Calcutta, love was not an idea — it was action. Every day, she and her sisters cared for the sick, dying, and abandoned, especially those rejected by society.
They opened homes for the dying, orphanages, and leprosy centers. Their mission was not to convert, but to love. Mother Teresa said:
“We are not social workers. We are contemplatives in the heart of the world. For us, our work is our prayer.”
In the dying she saw Jesus crucified; in the hungry, the Christ who said, “I thirst.” She touched those whom others feared to touch and treated them with the dignity of beloved children of God.
Her hands became the hands of Christ, her smile the light of heaven in the darkest places.
The Spiritual Life of Mother Teresa — Faith in the Night
A hidden darkness known only to God
Though she radiated joy, Saint Teresa of Calcutta endured profound spiritual darkness for most of her life. In her private letters, revealed after her death, she described feeling abandoned by God — a darkness that lasted for decades.
Yet she never gave up. Her hidden suffering became her deepest participation in the Cross of Christ. She wrote:
“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.”
Her perseverance teaches us that faith is not the absence of doubt, but the decision to love God even when He feels distant.
In her pain, she found the strength to continue loving others — proving that holiness is fidelity, not feeling.
Mother Teresa’s Devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother
The source of her strength
Every day, before tending to the poor, Mother Teresa and her sisters spent an hour in Eucharistic adoration, followed by Holy Mass. The Eucharist was her lifeline — the wellspring of her energy and love.
She said:
“When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you. When you look at the Eucharist, you understand how much He loves you now.”
Her deep love for the Blessed Virgin Mary also shaped her mission. She called Mary the “first missionary of charity,” who carried Jesus to others with haste and humility.
Her motto was simple: “To Jesus through Mary.” It was from this intimacy with Christ and His Mother that she drew the strength to serve with joy.
Miracles and Canonization of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
A saint for our times
After her death, countless people reported Mother Teresa miracles, especially healings through her intercession. Two of these were officially recognized by the Church.
The first occurred in 1998, when an Indian woman was cured of a stomach tumor after praying to Mother Teresa. The second, in 2008, involved a Brazilian man healed from multiple brain abscesses.
On September 4, 2016, Pope Francis canonized her as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, calling her a “dispenser of divine mercy.” Her feast day, September 5, marks the anniversary of her passing in 1997.
She became the patron saint of the poor, the sick, and the forgotten, and one of the most recognized modern saints of the Church.
Mother Teresa and the Nobel Peace Prize
A voice for the voiceless
In 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work. Yet in her acceptance speech, she spoke not about politics but about love.
She said:
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
She donated the entire award money to the poor, saying the true peace prize was feeding one hungry person at a time.
Her words still challenge the world today — that peace begins not in treaties or speeches, but in compassion lived out daily.
Mother Teresa’s Humility and Simplicity
A saint among the poor
Despite global fame, Saint Teresa of Calcutta remained profoundly humble. She refused luxury, traveled third class, and often said,
“I am just a little pencil in God’s hand.”
She did not seek applause, only faithfulness. When asked how she could bear so much suffering around her, she replied:
“We are called not to be successful, but to be faithful.”
Her humility was her holiness. It allowed Christ’s light to shine through her smallness — a living image of the Beatitudes.
The Missionaries of Charity Today
Continuing her mission of love
Today, the Missionaries of Charity serve in more than 130 countries, continuing the legacy of Saint Teresa of Calcutta. They care for AIDS patients, orphans, refugees, prisoners, and the dying — always offering love “in Jesus’ name.”
Their blue-bordered sari remains a symbol of hope and compassion worldwide.
Each sister takes a fourth vow — to give wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor. In this vow, the world hears an echo of the Gospel itself.
The Teachings of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Love in every breath
The teachings of Saint Teresa of Calcutta are simple yet profound, drawn from her lived experience of loving Jesus in the poor. Among her most powerful lessons are:
- See Christ in everyone.
“Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” - Do small things with great love.
“It’s not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing.” - Be faithful in the ordinary.
Holiness is not found in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things with extraordinary love. - Love begins at home.
She often said the poorest people were those unloved in their own families. - Silence and prayer sustain action.
“God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.”
Her message remains timeless — that love alone gives meaning to life.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta and the Modern World
A saint for our restless times
In an age of noise, division, and indifference, Saint Teresa of Calcutta speaks with the authority of lived holiness. Her life bridges heaven and the streets, theology and touch, contemplation and compassion.
She reminds us that holiness is not escape from the world but immersion into its wounds. Her example invites us to find Christ not in comfort, but in service; not in applause, but in hidden love.
When she was once asked how to change the world, she answered with simplicity:
“Go home and love your family.”
Her wisdom teaches that renewal begins not in grand gestures, but in the heart.
Lessons from the Life of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
1. Love is the measure of faith
Every act of compassion is a prayer in motion.
2. Serve with joy
True service flows from joy, not duty.
3. Embrace the poor as Christ
To love the poor is to touch the wounds of Jesus Himself.
4. Stay faithful in darkness
Faith is tested not in light but in shadow — she endured both with grace.
5. Begin with one person
She taught that changing the world starts with loving the one nearest to you.
🕯️ Reflect and Pray
O Saint Teresa of Calcutta,
you carried the love of Christ to the poorest of the poor.
Teach us to see Jesus in every face,
to serve without counting the cost,
and to love until it hurts.
In our own small acts of mercy,
may we bring light to the darkness around us.
Help us to remember that holiness begins
when we open our hands and hearts to those in need.
Pray for us, dear Mother Teresa,
that we may follow your Little Way of love in our families,
our communities, and our world.
Amen.
May the example of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
inspire your heart to love more deeply
and to live more simply for the glory of God.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
