St. Teresa of Calcutta: Feed the hungry & sharing poverty

Today September 5th marks the 25th Anniversary of the death of Mother Theresa. Pope Francis canonized Saint Teresa of Calcutta on Sep. 4, 2016 during the Holy Year of Mercy. Her witness of the Gospel and the profound example of “sharing poverty” with the must vulnerable is the enduring legacy and attractiveness of her religious life which bears fruit today throughout the world in the continuing ministry of the Sisters of Charity.
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Her vocation was first lived as a young Loreto Sister. Teresa enjoyed teaching for fifteen years in Loreto sponsored schools in India. In 1946 while on a train, she experienced a strong “call within a call” to go from a religious life of teaching to one that served those who were poorest of the poor, to care for the destitute in Calcutta. This call came from her experience of families in society at the time who were treated and labelled as ‘untouchable’, these people were born, lived and died on the streets. These were the people for whom Sister Teresa felt called to share her life. 

In Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s story, there are two distinct but related calls in sharing the love of the poor: one is to care for the broken, to bind up wounds and to ensure their dignity in the final moments of their life. The other is to advocate and educate people about the systemic injustices of greed and power which divides and destroys the common fabric of human lives. Since the Second Vatican Council, more emphasis has been given to advocacy work, to critique the structures that leave so many on the peripheries and without the ability and right to participate in society.

This tiny woman reached out to the most destitute of people, often overlooked by society, government organizations throughout the world because they fall through the cracks or don’t fit their categories and classifications of those in need. Saint Teresa brought dignity to those who died in pain, in slums and on street corners, alone and unloved. She chose not to deal with the root causes of poverty, such as the abandonment of widows in segments of Indian society, yet she campaigned vigorously against abortion and contraception in one of the world's most overcrowded cities and countries.

Her extraordinary witness of charity, the upholding of the gift of human life at all stages, her loving and selfless service of the poor did touch the hearts of people throughout the entire world. Yet despite the testimony of all these good works following her beatification in 2003 and the publication of her personal diary and letters, many journalists and newscasters chose to report the sensational narrative of her spiritual struggles: "Mother Teresa's secret life: crisis and darkness," or "Calcutta's Saint was an atheist". Some commentators wrote: "She lost her faith and the Church rewards her for it." Those who prepared the documentation for her beatification cited such letters as proof of her exceptional faith and not the absence of it. Mother Teresa reveals deeply personal experiences when she once felt God's powerful presence and heard Jesus speak to her. Then God withdrew and Jesus seemed silent. She experienced in her spiritual life of faith the withdrawal of any emotional consolation from God. It left her to rely only on the divine virtues of faith, hope and charity, the virtues given to all Christians, not just the spiritual elite. In the end Mother Teresa shared her spiritual poverty, showing that she was one of us after all.

What is truly prophetic about Mother Teresa and her sisters is that when they speak of loving God and neighbor, and "sharing poverty", it defies the logic of many of our institutions and agencies that prefer political agendas and programs for the poor instead of deep, personal communion and a presence which respects the dignity of the person. The individuals and communities committed to this type of communion and accompaniment of the poor are dismissed as being irrelevant. Some have said that in Mother Teresa there was no prophetic witness of social justice in her teachings of her lifestyle. Yet she and her sisters moved into neighborhoods and befriended people and spoke only of 'sharing poverty’.  

For the last 29 years the diocese has provided outreach through Feed the Hungry to the vulnerable and poor within the inner-city neighbourhood of Calgary. During COVID this diocesan outreach continued by the offering to individuals and families warm meals in care packages distributed outside of the Cathedral hall. Now is the time to renew our “sharing poverty” in the spirit of Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

This week a town hall meeting will be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral that will bring together the community of sponsors and volunteers who want to continue to support Feed the Hungry as we transition back to providing an in-person meal beginning at Thanksgiving. I invite the parishes and lay associations to recommit in becoming directly involved in these Sunday evening meals which can be done through the financial sponsorship of a weekend meal and in volunteering. This pastoral outreach is unique to the diocese and more importantly essential in our witness to the Gospel. It is also the witness of St. Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Teresa.   

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Written by Most Rev. William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary
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​Sep. 5, 2022

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The Paradoxical Commandments

​On this 25th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death, Bishop McGrattan highlights the words of “The Paradoxical Commandments,” embraced by this saint of the poor. 

When Mother Teresa first heard these words, written by Dr. Kent M. Keith, an American lawyer, writer and leader in higher education, she was moved to put them on the wall of one of her homes for children in Kolkata. They are a sure guideline for finding personal meaning in the face of adversity and transcend all creeds and cultures. They very aptly describe Mother Teresa’s way of dealing with such a huge number of people throughout her lifetime.

• People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centred. Forgive them anyway.
• If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
• If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
• If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
• What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
• If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
• The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
• Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
• In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.