Sep 5 – Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), honoured in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was born in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Skopje for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.
In 1950, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries in 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. It also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children’s and family counselling programmes, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and also profess a fourth vow – to give “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor.”
Teresa received a number of honours, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She was canonised on 4 September 2016, and the anniversary of her death (5 September) is her feast day. A controversial figure during her life and after her death, Teresa was admired by many for her charitable work. She was praised and criticized on various counts, such as for her views on abortion and contraception, and was criticized for poor conditions in her houses for the dying. Her authorized biography was written by Navin Chawla and published in 1992, and she has been the subject of films and other books. On 6 September 2017, Teresa and St. Francis Xavier were named co-patrons of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta.
– Wikipedia
Col 1:15-20
Lk 5:33-39
“But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them: that will be the time when they will fast.”
Today is the death anniversary of Saint Teresa of Calcutta and also her feastday.
St Teresa of Calcutta is universally known, due to her immense work with the poor and dying in India. She saw Jesus in every person, gave generously of her time for everyone, fully trusted in God’s Providence, and committed her ministry (the Little Sisters of the Poor) to ensure that every person died with dignity.
St Teresa left behind innumerable teachings of wisdom. My two favourite ones are: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” and “God does not demand that I be successful. God demands that I be faithful.” As such, I have strived to be faithful in my Catholic faith and in my relationships.
Today’s gospel reading from Luke 5 recounts how the Pharisees questioned Jesus on why his disciples did not fast. Instead, they were eating and drinking a lot. Jesus answered that his disciples (as the bride in a wedding celebration) could not fast while Jesus (as the bridegroom) was with them. However, they will fast when he is taken away from them. By saying this, Jesus taught that fasting must be done for the right reasons, and at the appropriate time. This was a new teaching, like fresh wine or a new piece of cloth. However, the Pharisees liked the old ways. They regarded fasting as a strict ritual to be followed, no matter the circumstances.
I am absolutely sure no one has ever questioned Mother Teresa about fasting. Her slight and frail person is testament to a life of sacrifice. She wrote that fasting was a spiritual discipline to build a deep relationship with God, and to build compassion for the poor and hungry. That was her reason and thus, it was not a ritual. In fact, when she first established her Missionaries of Charity, she and the nuns would only eat one meal a day, consisting of rice and salt. Later on, they added some fruit and meat just to have the energy to serve the poor and dying.
I struggle with fasting. In my teenage years, my parents were strict to observe days of fasting, especially during Lent. They would only allow me and my siblings to eat one and a half meals the entire day. I was always hungry and drank lots of water. I probably prayed more to Jesus then — to make me less hungry or make the time go faster, so that the day would end. It was a ritual to me, but the hunger certainly made me think more of Jesus!
Nowadays, I hardly fast. I do eat less, but do not skip any meal. I must remember Mother Teresa’s wisdom — that God demands I be faithful. I pray that I will be able to do a proper fast during the next Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Andrew Sia)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we pray that you help us to be always faithful to your teachings.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord for Mother Teresa and her teachings on compassion and the dignity of every person.
OXYGEN 
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