Solemnity of St. Teresa of Kolkata
St. Benedict Church, Baltimore
September 5, 2026
10th Anniversary of Mother Teresa’s Canonization
I am amazed that ten years have passed since the canonization St. Teresa of Kolkata, this saint, whom Pope Francis called “a dispenser of mercy”. Through Mother Teresa, the love and mercy of Christ radiated throughout the world. That irradiation of love is still experienced in the world today, through you, her beloved Missionaries of Charity. How blessed we are that you are here, in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and specifically, here in the Mill Hill neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore. As you do everywhere, you did not wait for those in need to come to you. Like Mother Teresa herself, you seek them out, searching for those who are forgotten, overlooked, and in need, seeking to bring them the love of Christ expressed by works of love. Our gathering today reflects the work you are doing, and I am most grateful. In my own life, I encountered Mother Teresa many times. I never took those encounters for granted. I was in awe of her. And I am awestruck by your witness and loving service in our midst.
So, with joy and gratitude, let us turn to the Scripture readings for her feast day which shed light on Mother Teresa’s holiness, her personality, her life’s journey, and her charism so evident in you, her sisters, the Missionaries of Charity. . .
“I Sought the Lord and He Answered Me”
. . . beginning with a line from today’s Responsorial Psalm, taken from Ps. 34: “I sought the Lord and he answered me.” Throughout her amazing life, Mother Teresa sought the Lord in prayer. Knowing that Jesus thirsted for her love, she opened her heart to God’s providential designs for her life. Growing up in a faith-filled home, she was fascinated by stories about missionaries and had a strong attraction to religious life. At the age of 18, she entered the Sisters of Loretto, and took as her namesake, St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, patroness of the missions. She taught in the lower Himalayas, and eventually in Kolkata, where she witnessed social unrest and heartrending poverty and deprivation.
On September 10, 1946, while travelling by train to her annual retreat in Darjeeling, she received the inspiration be a missionary to the poorest of the poor, to live among the poor and to share in their poverty – She said of that moment: “I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith.” How magnificently she responded! In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, and today there are more than 5,000 of you serving throughout the world. You share her charism, serving the poorest of the poor: “Only all for Jesus thru Mary”. In her last letter to her Missionaries of Charity, dated September 5, 1997, Mother Teresa spoke of that foundational moment as “Inspiration Day”. She urged you, her sisters, to show your gratitude for that beautiful moment of grace “by a strong resolution to quench the Thirst of Jesus by lives of real charity.” Like Mary, the Mother of God, St. Teresa of Kolkata lived in “Loving Trust” and “Total Surrender” to the God whom she sought in prayer. This is also our pathway to discipleship and holiness.
Sharing in Jesus’ Thirst
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah shows us the way to righteousness: “…sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and homeless into your house, clothing the naked when you see them…”: These are very things that Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel from Matthew, Ch. 25: ‘feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison…” Only now, Jesus identifies himself with the poorest of the poor, leading Mother Teresa to coin the haunting phrase, “Jesus in his distressing disguises.”
Mother Teresa did not fear the poor. Nor disease. Nor the filth of streets. What she did fear was indifference to Jesus and to the plight of the poor. In her life of prayer, she knew Jesus was thirsting for her love, and that she and her sisters were to slake Jesus’ thirst by ministering the poor. In answering that call, Mother Teresa took no shortcuts. Like Mary, she stood prayerfully at the foot of the Cross and listened as Jesus spoke the words, “I thirst.” Even when she did not find consolation in prayer, she united herself to Christ, sharing his thirst for souls, sharing his thirst for our love, a love that expresses itself in the fraternal charity of her sisters, a love that expresses itself in direct, hands-on love and care for the sick and the poor. Mother did indeed serve the poor, not with grim determination, but with charity, joy, simplicity, and hope – all reflected in her beautiful smile. As she served the poor, the light of God’s glory dawned upon her. Now from the halls of heaven, she urges us to thirst for Jesus by prayer, mutual love, and love for Jesus in the poor.
Simplicity
Today’s reading from the 1st Letter of John speaks to us with a beautiful simplicity and an amazing depth. We can never finish meditating on the words, “love is of God” and “God is love”. We can never cease being amazed when John tells us that love consists in this: “Not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and has sent us his Son…” In a simple sentence, John sums up the whole of the Lord’s teaching: “No one has ever seen God, yet if we love one another, God remains in us.” We can only speculate how profoundly those words registered in St. Teresa of Kolkata’s heart.
But this much we do know. John’s simplicity and depth were reflected in everything Mother said and did. Mother Teresa’s words were always simple yet profound. She never wasted words, using long sentences or theological jargon. Instead, she spoke simply, clearly, and directly. Her words reflected the truth and beauty of the Gospel – and what’s more – she confirmed her words by a life of prayer, self-giving love, and courage. For example, when she spoke of the unborn at a congressional prayer breakfast, she spoke so simply and beautifully – and with such integrity – that she touched the hearts of even the most recalcitrant politicians. Following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother Teresa’s life was always a “yes” to Jesus. She was always “running in haste to serve Him in the poorest of the poor.” She taught us to say “yes” to Jesus, not only in our words, but in our deeds.
Conclusion
On this, her feast day, let us ask St. Teresa of Kolkata to smile upon us, to help us deepen our life of prayer, to confirm our resolution to serve Jesus in the poorest of the poor, and to practice a charity that bears witness to the Gospel and makes the Church fruitful with the gift of love. St. Teresa of Kolkata, pray for us!