Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny nun with a world-sized heart whose life continues to inspire Catholics to embrace the call to love “the poorest of the poor.” Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje in 1910, Mother Teresa left home at 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto. It was in the slums of Calcutta where she heard her “call within a call,” Jesus’ invitation to leave the convent school and serve Him in the streets.
She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, a congregation dedicated to serving Christ in “the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor.” Clad in her now-famous white sari with blue trim, Mother Teresa walked the lanes of Calcutta, carrying the dying from the gutters, bandaging lepers, and comforting the abandoned. Her mission grew from a single house to hundreds of homes and centers worldwide, caring for the sick, homeless, and unwanted.
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What made Mother Teresa extraordinary was not merely her work but the love behind it. She often reminded the world, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Her joy was rooted in prayer, daily Mass, and Eucharistic adoration. Even during decades of spiritual dryness, revealed after her death, she persevered, becoming a living witness to faithfulness in the dark night of the soul.
On this feast day, we are invited not only to remember her heroic charity but to imitate it. The poor are still among us, not just those who lack food or shelter, but those who are lonely, rejected, or spiritually starved. Saint Teresa’s example challenges us to begin right where we are: in our homes, parishes, and neighborhoods.
Her canonization by Pope Francis in 2016 affirmed what the faithful already knew, that this humble servant reflected the heart of Christ to the world. May we ask her intercession today to help us see Jesus in every person we encounter and to love without counting the cost.
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