Sacred Heart of Jesus

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 SACRED HEART OF JESUS

 Tomorrow we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. When we hear the name, “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,” most of us probably think of a statue that appears in many of our churches.: the image where Jesus stands with his heart, burning with joy and love for us, exposed to all. Many of us probably do not think any deeper about this statue, and yet we are called to more. Pope Francis, in his 2013 homily on the Most Sacred Heart of Jes

The readings for the Solemnity also give us great insight into the importance of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and how we can relate it to our lives. The first reading comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, which means “second law.” The most striking part of this passage is where Moses says, “It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loves you” (Dt 7:6-11). These words are not just a reminder of the covenant that the Lord made with Abraham, but a foreshadowing and reflection on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Christ literally lays down his life, sets down his heart for us, the insignificant people that we are. Why? Because he loves us. He gives us his whole self so that we, in some small way or another, might experience the love of God more fully. The heart on statues of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is exposed to show us that he is “sett[ing] his heart” on us, and it burns with his love for us.

John, in his gospel passage 4: 7-16, expounds upon this idea of love and demonstrates for us how the covenant made between God and Abraham has been fulfilled in the Gospel. He explains to us that God is love and it is through our love for each other that we come to know God and serve him. John tells us about the importance of Christ’s sacrifice, “so that we might have life through him,” and while we have not seen God, he calls us to have faith: “No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” We are not led blindly into a community of faith, but rather we are given a simple rule, to love others as God loves us. By following this commandment we remain one with God. This is the message of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This feast day reminds us that Jesus gave us the ultimate example of love, laying down one’s life for another, and thus he set his heart upon us.

It is easy to forget the humanity of Christ, after all he is the Son of God, walked on water, and rose from the dead, and yet he bled for us. When the soldier pierced his side with a spear, out flowed blood and water. The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us of Jesus’ humanity and the significance of his sacrifice. He suffered, he felt pain, he literally laid down his life and set his heart upon us. It is our turn to pick up what God has given us and share it with the world. Let us open our hearts and share Christ’s love.

us, said, “It is more difficult to let God love us than to love Him! The best way to love Him in return is to open our hearts and let Him love us.” Every time we see these statues we are reminded to open ourselves to the love of Christ and give ourselves completely to him as he does. He lays his heart open before us as an example of how to live our lives.

12 PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

Gift OF Jesus: Holy Communion

Homily On Holy Communion

  Dear boys and girls,  I would like to congratulate you today because you look like princes and princesses in your shining, beautiful pants and shirts, dresses and crowns. You are happy and all smiles today and your parents, teachers and relatives are proud of you. They want to keep the sweet memory of this day by taking your pictures. They also want you to remember this day through out your life by giving you beautiful gifts like small bibles, beautiful rosaries, shining prayer books and other precious gifts. My question is why we all are happy today and why do we celebrate this day as the most important day of your life? You might have heard of Napoleon Bonaparte the French emperor who conquered most countries of Europe and wished to conquer the whole world. Somebody asked him a question. What is the most important day in your life. They expected answers like the day of his coronation as emperor, the day of his royal wedding, the day of his famous victories. But he said, “The most important and the most memorable day of my life is my First Communion Day.” For each one of you this day should remain as the happiest and most memorable day of your life. 

Why this is the happiest day of your life? It is because you are receiving the biggest celebrity, Jesus our God and Savior, as the guest of honor into your hearts and lives, for the first time, in Holy Communion. It means somebody very, very big is coming to stay with you, bless you, protect you and guide you. That is why we have all these celebrations. The next question is how does Jesus come to our hearts? Jesus comes to our hearts in the form of consecrated bread and wine. Do you see Jesus in the bread and wine? No. Can you taste Jesus or touch Jesus or smell Jesus in the Holy Eucharist we receive today? No. Then why do you believe that you are receiving Jesus in Holy Communion? It is because Jesus said that he would be there in the consecrated bread and wine. Nothing is impossible for God. So Jesus is really present in the consecrated host and wine. Ever since his resurrection on Easter Sunday Jesus has a glorified body. In Holy Communion we are receiving that glorified body of Jesus. That is why we cannot see or touch or taste Jesus’ human body and blood when we receive Holy Communion. 

 The next question is why Jesus comes to us as bread and wine, as food and drink? You know the reason. We cannot live many days without eating or drinking. It means food is essential for the life of our bodies. In the same way spiritual food is essential for the

life of our souls.  And the food for our souls is the body and blood of Jesus. That is why Jesus said that we would be spiritually dead if we don’t eat his body and drink his blood. Hence you have to receive Jesus in the Holy Communion every time you participate in a Holy Mass and you have to receive Jesus after asking his pardon and forgiveness for your sins and with great reverence and respect. 

A final question: What will you do after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion? First, you have to invite Jesus into your heart. Then you have to thank Jesus for coming to your heart. Then you have to tell him all your needs and the needs of your parents, relatives, teachers and friends. Finally you must remember that you are carrying Jesus to your homes and schools as Jesus’ mother Mary carried Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth. It means that you have to behave well because you are carrying God Himself in your heart and soul. When you are alone tell Jesus living in your soul, about your parents, relatives, teachers, pastors, friends and their needs. Ask Jesus to make you a good boy or girl, an ideal student and a well behaving and obedient son or daughter. 

 I would like to thank every one who prepared these boys and girls to receive their first Holy Communion and remind the parents of these children that it is how you live and how you practice your faith in the family that is going to influence your children. Hence continue to train them in Christian faith and its practice, not by advice but by exemplary Christian lives. God bless you.

Authorship
 (Fr. Tony)
 www.stmaryastoria.com/Homily_on_First_Holy_Communion__3_.pdf

The Vocation

Priest and Sister

 Courtesy: Catholic news agency
 ...They were going to get married.Now he is a priest and She is a sister...

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 12, 2018 / 07:00 pm (CNA).- Before discovering their vocations, Fr. Javier Olivera and Sister Marie de la Sagesse were engaged and planning their wedding. God had other plans.
Speaking to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish language sister agency, Fr. Olivera said that they both grew up in Catholic families and that “our parents knew each other when they were young.” They saw each other frequently when they were children.
“I had really left the practice of religion. When I was 19, I came back from a back-packing trip to Peru and I met her. I asked her if she believed in virginity until marriage, because for me this was kind of an invention by the Church. She laid out the principles so well about purity, from faith and reason, that it impacted me. I met a woman who knew how to defend what she believed and who was at the same time very intelligent,” Olivera commented.
Soon after that conversation, they began dating. At that time both of them were studying law. He was at the National University at Buenos Aires and she was at the National University at La Plata.
Fr. Olivera said that “it was like any other courtship but we tried to take advantage of cultural life through music, literature and philosophy. We read books together, we'd go out for coffee. We had a group of friends with whom we attended conferences of Argentine Catholic authors.”

“I started to practice the faith, to pray, to go to Mass on Sundays. All in large part thanks to her, to God mainly, but to her as an instrument,” said the priest. He added that they also prayed the rosary together.
For her part, Sister Marie de la Sagesse, whose baptismal name is Trinidad Maria Guiomar, told ACI Prensa that what she most appreciated about her then-boyfriend was “his sincere search for the truth without fearing the consequences.”
The couple got engaged  when they were 21 and decided to get married after college, two and a half years away.
The discovery of a vocation
One day Trinidad Maria's older brother broke the news that he would be entering the seminary, and she remembered, “we were reeling from it  because we weren't expecting that.”
“I had a car and with my fiancée we decided to take him to the seminary, which was in San Rafael, Mendoza Province,” she said. They both decided to stay in the area a few days so Javier could visit some friends who were in the seminary, and Trinidad Maria could visit some friends in the convent.
“When we got back, we talked about how crazy all that was, that her brother had left everything, the possibility of having a family, an important career. We began to ask ourselves, ‘What would happen if God called us to the religious life?’ The first thing we said was 'no' and that that was crazy because we were having a really beautiful engagement and we were already buying things to get married,” Fr. Olivera recounted.
Weeks went by “there was this constant thought in my soul about what would happen if God called  me, if I had to leave everything, why not be a priest? How to know if the best way to get to heaven for me is the priestly life or the married life? Where can I do the most good?”
After so many doubts he decided to tell his fiancée about his vocational concerns, who confessed to him that she “was thinking the same thing” after her brother entered the seminary.

However, neither one of them made a decision. “Since we still had two years before  finishing law school, that was a great excuse to not yet enter the seminary or the convent,” Fr. Olivera said.
They had “a very prudent monk” as a spiritual adviser, who told them: “Look, that is an issue between each one of you and God. No one can interfere with souls.”
For her part, Sister Marie de la Sagesse told ACI Prensa that “it was a long period of discernment, at least two years, until God clearly showed me the consecrated life, and I could not doubt that he was asking of me this total surrender.”
After finishing their studies, both embraced their vocations. In 2008, when they were 31, he was ordained a priest in the Diocese of San Rafael, and she made her final vows in the congregation of the Sisters of the Merciful Jesus.
Fr. Olivera is currently a university professor and has a blog called “Que no te la cuenten”  (Find out for yourself). He has written a book on vocational doubts entitled “¿Alguna vez pensaste? El llamado de Cristo” (Have you ever thought about it? The Call of Christ).
Sister Marie de la Sagesse lives in southern France and has an apostolate in Saint Laurent Parish in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon.
Regarding their story, she said that “I consider it a special grace that both of us were called almost at the same time. So kind and thoughtful of Divine Providence, who doesn't miss a detail . And what I really appreciate is that we're still friends and not just us, but our families too.”

This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language sister agency. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

My Lord and my God: Profession of Faith

In Syro-Malabar tradition faithful celebrate "PuthuNjayar" on the Sunday after Easter (Second Sunday during the period of resurection). During this day we remember the profession of faith of St. Thomas the apostle in the risen Lord- "My Lord and my God!" Our faith on Risen lord is based on the this proclamation of St. Thomas, the patron and Father of our religious tradition.  

"Little is recorded of St. Thomas the Apostle. Thomas was probably born in Galilee to a humble family, but there is no indication that he was a fisherman. He was a Jew, but there is no account of how he became an apostle to Christ. Nevertheless, thanks to the fourth Gospel his personality is clearer to us than some of the other Twelve. Thomas’ name occurs in Matthew (10:3), Mark (3:18), Luke (6) and Acts of the Apostles (1:13), but in the Gospel of John he plays a particularly distinctive part. Thomas is often condemned for his lack of belief, but Thomas was equally courageous, willing to stand by Jesus in dangerous times. He also relentlessly sought the Truth. Like an inquisitive child, he constantly asked questions. And, his wonderful profession, “My Lord and my God,” is the clearest declaration of Jesus’ divinity in Holy Scripture."(*)

 Generally we see a picture of doubting Thomas in his personality, He is little arrogant seem to be courageous and loyal but very innocent.St. John the evangelist has depicted these qualities of St. Thomas in his Gospel.

"When Jesus announced His intention of visiting the recently deceased Lazarus in Judea—a few miles from Jerusalem and dangerously close for someone as unpopular as He—Thomas said to his fellow disciples: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). When the worried disciples wanted to keep Jesus from going for fear He would be stoned, Thomas, in a moment of bravery not often expressed by the Apostles before Pentecost, rallied the others to stay by their Master come what may." (*)

During the last supper discourse while Jesus was consoling his disciples and explaininf his paschal mystery figuratively Thomas innocently remarked  Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”. How ever this innocent doubt...may be a holy doubt set the background for Jesus' revelation - I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me  (John 14:6). This holy doubt provides Jesus an opportunity to teach one of the most profound and difficult truths of His ministry.This is the holy doubt that revealed the true person of Jesus.

However,  St. Thomas is remembered for being absent from the Upper Room the first time Jesus appeared to the disciples after His Resurrection. May be he might have left for some personal reasons. When others were afraid to go out out of fear. When the others told him a bout the appearence of Jesus he couldn't accept that. Being very loyal to the Master he could not stand this. He becomes very arrogant. In fact  his loyalty and faithfulness to the Lord Jesus makes him more arrogant.   Thomas dismissed the accounts of the others by saying, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nail marks, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe”(John 20:25). It is felt that Risen Jesus himself set the stage for consoling and comforting  Thomas. On the eight day when Jesus appeard before his disciples  and invited Thomas to see His wounds and to put his fingerin to his side. Thomas was humbled and made his act of faith. He fell at the feet of Jesus and said, “My Lord and my God!” and Jesus replied, “Because you have seen me, Thomas, you believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe” (John 20:25-29). This incident gave rise to the expression “doubting Thomas.” However we see the true nature of  Thomas the innocent, the arrogant, the doubtful and the loyal. 

The Phrase doubting Thomas is applicable to US-the faithful brought into life in his tradition. This trait in in our blood too...But like our patron Thomas we too express out faith in Risen Lord-"My Lord and my God!". Yes this is the profession of faith of a community as a whole. Yet each one of us should be able to profess this from ones's own experience with the risen Lord. Though out the Bible we see the faith experience of  different people who experienced their faith in Lord our God. Starting from Abraham, Issac, Jacob,Moses...Samuel..Kings -David, Soloman....Prophets- Eliah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial,  down the tradition Mary mother of Jesus, St. Joseph,  Peter ...Stephan ...St. Paul...and the Saints of catholic church. Every one experience Lord our God personally which made their life exemplary...Now It is our turn to take up the challenge of experiencing  our Lord Jesus in our day to day life and lead a  worthy life  sharing and witnessing HIM.

*(extract from:Christine Berta,parishioner, St. Thomas the apostle Catholic Church, 1500 Brookdale Road Naperville IL 60540).

INVITATION TO EXPERIENCE SUBLIME HAPPINESS

 “You give them something to eat"

(Lk 9/13, Mk 6/37) 
In the outskirts of Bethsaida Jesus instructs His disciples to feed the multitude gathered around him to listen the word of God. They expressed their helplessness pointing out they have only five loaves of bread and two fish. However, Jesus feels that they must share what they have. On the onset we see Jesus taking the bread and fish and sharing it after blessing them. More than five thousand people ate and were satisfied.    

Jesus and his disciples experienced that sublime happiness while  feeding  the multitude.  Jesus exhorts that feeding the hungry and giving a drink to the thirsty is an act of charity. He reminds us "whatever you did (acts of charity)  for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" (MT 25/ 40). When  we do such acts we experience a sublime happiness which nobody can snatch away from us.

People around the world are in search of happiness. They try different methods.. They spent a lot.. Some find happiness in amazing wealth, Some others find happiness in enjoying worldly pleasures, yet others find happiness in amassing power, positions and possessions. However, these hapiness are not everlasting it seems. That is what we leans from the day to day experiences. So what will give you a feeling of sublime happiness.

Yesterday after a long journey I was having my meals at the railway platform. I was sitting on a bench and was having a brisk meal. Though an old lady was sitting close to me I did not give much attention. After finishing the meal I was cleaning the bench that old lady looked at me and politely asked me to give something to drink. It was only then I looked at her. She was not a beggar. But someone who does not have enough money to afford a drink or a meal. I asked her whether she wanted something to eat. She readily said YES. I rushed to the nearby food counter and bought a meal packet and handed over to her. I just looked at her face and felt her happiness.

It was an eye opener to me. Though I have preached about sharing  meal and cited eventful  experiences shared by others. I have not done anything personally to experience that sublime happiness. Yes... yesterday I experienced that  SUBLIME HAPPINESS IN FEEDING THE NEEDY . I felt an inner joy... that was filling my heart. We may not be able to feed a hundred odd people around us. But at least I can feed one among them at least once. You will experience that happiness which is sublime. When we share a meal or a dinner with those who are in need you experience the real happiness rather than enjoying with your family members or friends in posh hotel... try  at least once in a while.

 Sublime happiness is the fruit of one's  sharing with the needy. It is not limited to food alone. In the context of last judgement (Mathew 25/ 31-46) Jesus exhorts  his disciples to take care of their  brethren in fulfilling their  basic needs by  sharing  what they have. However it should be out of one's  altruistic love and not out of force. But definitely one has to come out of self centeredness. Lord Jesus is inviting his disciples to experience that sublime happiness.

New Pesaha: Rememberance of Kenotic Love of Jesus

We are into the Holy week remembering the Passion, Death and resurrectiion of Jesus Christ-Paschal Mystery. As we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Pesaha few thoughts I would like to share.

Pesaha both in the context of old testament and new testament is a "An Act of Rememberance". In the context of Old Testament it is a rememberance of  how  Jahweh helped Jewish people to 'Passover' from the cluches of slavery in Egypt to the freedom of Kanan the land of prospirety. In the New Testament it is the rememberence of the Passover of humanity from the clutches of sin to the freedom of God's on Children. The center of attraction of the new Pesaha is the institution of the Holy Eucharist the Bread of Life. The institution is in the back ground of the Jewish Passover meal where Jesus offer himself in the place of bread and wine. Symbolically it was the fortaste of  his body to be broken down and the blood to be shed on the Cross during his sacrifice at Calvary.

Offering one's body and blood (life)  for the redemption of humanity is an act of unconditional love. This is the new commandment he is advocating his diciples (Jn 13/35; Jn15/12-13). The institution of Eucharist and the washing of disciples feet are acts  of his  Kenotic love which is unconditional.

Jesus has broken his body and shed his blood to give life to us. Institution of Eucharist is an act of unconditional love towards us. In every holy Eucharist we celebrtate, we remember the act of Jesus Kenotic love. It is the true love. This is the gift that Jesus can offer to you. The gift of live shared through the Eucharist is the greatest blessing one can receive from Jesus ( Jesus reminds this in Jn 10/10). By receving the holy Eucharist You are united with Jesus and his holiness.  You are raised to the position of Son and daughters of God. It is the Eucharist that helps you to maintain your status.

How do we respond to Eucharist?

How do we respond to the self emptying love of Jesus?

How do we respond to the needs of our brethren?

As Jesus offered himself for the humanity by breaking his body and sheding his blood there is an ultimate call for us to offer ourselves to break ourselves for the welbeing of our brethren to become a remeberence for others. This is the greatest challenge of Christian life. Shattering the self to be alturistic. Jesus exhorts us to offer our life as an offering to your brethern by breaking  selfishness  and self centeredness to become altuistic. Then you will be remembered. Mother Theresa is remembered of her offering to the poor and marginalised brethren of Calcutta. She emptied herself to become one among them. Sr. Rani Maria is remembered for offering her life for the poor and marginalized. Fr. Davis Chiramel is remembered for his  gift of life-through organ donation even at the cost of sufferings he has to bear. They all resemble Jesus in the act of love to the extend of giving themselves to others.

On this day as we celebrate the rememberence of the  institution of Eucharist Let us thank  Jesus for his wonderful gift -  Eucharist, the gift of his true love and life. Let us pledge to offer ourselves in our day to day activities  as a wonderful gift -gift of love even at the cost of our selfemptying-Kenosis

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Saint of the Gutters).

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Saint of the Gutters).

Early Life

Catholic nun and missionary Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, the current capital of the Republic of Macedonia. The following day, she was baptized as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Her parents, Nikola and Dranafile Bojaxhiu, were of Albanian descent; her father was an entrepreneur who worked as a construction contractor and a trader of medicines and other goods. The Bojaxhius were a devoutly Catholic family, and Nikola was deeply involved in the local church as well as in city politics as a vocal proponent of Albanian independence. In 1919, when Agnes was only 8 years old, her father suddenly fell ill and died. In the aftermath of her father's death, Agnes became extraordinarily close to her mother, a pious and compassionate woman who instilled in her daughter a deep commitment to charity.

Religious Calling

Agnes attended a convent-run primary school and then a state-run secondary school. As a girl, she sang in the local Sacred Heart choir and was often asked to sing solos. The congregation made an annual pilgrimage to the Church of the Black Madonna in Letnice, and it was on one such trip at the age of 12 that she first felt a calling to a religious life. Six years later, in 1928, an 18-year-old Agnes Bojaxhiu decided to become a nun and set off for Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto in Dublin. It was there that she took the name Sister Mary Teresa after Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

A year later, Sister Mary Teresa travelled on to Darjeeling, India, for the novitiate period; in May 1931, she made her First Profession of Vows. Afterward she was sent to Calcutta, where she was assigned to teach at Saint Mary's High School for Girls, a school run by the Loreto Sisters and dedicated to teaching girls from the city's poorest Bengali families. Sister Teresa learned to speak both Bengali and Hindi fluently as she taught geography and history and dedicated herself to alleviating the girls' poverty through education.

On May 24, 1937, she took her Final Profession of Vows to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. As was the custom for Loreto nuns, she took on the title of "Mother" upon making her final vows and thus became known as Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa continued to teach at Saint Mary's, and in 1944 she became the school's principal. Through her kindness, generosity and unfailing commitment to her students' education, she sought to lead them to a life of devotion to Christ. "Give me the strength to be ever the light of their lives, so that I may lead them at last to you," she wrote in prayer.

A New Calling

However, on September 10, 1946, Mother Teresa experienced a second calling, the "call within a call" that would forever transform her life. She was riding in a train from Calcutta to the Himalayan foothills for a retreat when she said Christ spoke to her and told her to abandon teaching to work in the slums of Calcutta aiding the city's poorest and sickest people. 

But since Mother Teresa had taken a vow of obedience, she could not leave her convent without official permission. After nearly a year and a half of lobbying, in January 1948 she finally received approval to pursue this new calling. That August, donning the blue-and-white sari that she would wear in public for the rest of her life, she left the Loreto convent and wandered out into the city. After six months of basic medical training, she voyaged for the first time into Calcutta's slums with no more specific a goal than to aid "the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for."

The Missionaries of Charity

Mother Teresa quickly translated this somewhat vague calling into concrete actions to help the city's poor. She began an open-air school and established a home for the dying destitute in a dilapidated building she convinced the city government to donate to her cause. In October 1950, she won canonical recognition for a new congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, which she founded with only a handful of members—most of them former teachers or pupils from St. Mary's School.

In 1952, Mother Teresa found a woman dying in the streets, half-eaten by rats and ants, with no one to care for her. She picked her up and took her to the hospital, but nothing could be done. Realizing that there were many others dying alone in the streets, Mother Teresa opened within days Nirmal Hriday (Pure Heart), a home for the dying. In the first 20 years alone, over 20,000 people were brought there, half of whom died knowing the love of the Missionaries of Charity. Nirmal Hriday is where one dying man, lying in the arms of Mother Teresa after being plucked from the gutters and bathed and clothed and fed, told her, “I have lived like an animal, but now I am dying like an angel.”

Later_, Santhi Nagar (leprosy home) for leprosy patients and Nirmal Shishu Bhavan (home for the orphans) were also started. As the ranks of her congregation swelled and donations poured in from around India and across the globe, the scope of Mother Teresa's charitable activities expanded exponentially. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, she established a leper colony, an orphanage, a nursing home, a family clinic and a string of mobile health clinics.

Nirmal Hriday was the focus of the 1969 British television documentary produced by the late Malcolm Muggeridge, Something Beautiful for God. It made Mother Teresa famous, though by then she had already spent 23 years in the slums, living off alms and toiling in obscurity.

In 1971, Mother Teresa traveled to New York City to open her first American-based house of charity, and in the summer of 1982, she secretly went to Beirut, Lebanon, where she crossed between Christian East Beirut and Muslim West Beirut to aid children of both faiths. In 1985, Mother Teresa returned to New York and spoke at the 40th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly. While there, she also opened Gift of Love, a home to care for those infected with HIV/AIDS. 

International Charity and Recognition

In February 1965, Pope Paul VI bestowed the Decree of Praise upon the Missionaries of Charity, which prompted Mother Teresa to begin expanding internationally. By the time of her death in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity numbered more than 4,000—in addition to thousands more lay volunteers—with 610 foundations in 123 countries around the world.

The Decree of Praise was just the beginning, as Mother Teresa received various honors for her tireless and effective charity. She was awarded the Jewel of India, the highest honor bestowed on Indian civilians, as well as the now-defunct Soviet Union's Gold Medal of the Soviet Peace Committee. And in 1979, Mother Teresa won her highest honour when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work "in bringing help to suffering humanity."

Controversy

Despite this widespread praise, Mother Teresa's life and work have not gone without its controversies. In particular, she has drawn criticism for her vocal endorsement of some of the Catholic Church's more controversial doctrines, such as opposition to contraception and abortion. "I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion," Mother Teresa said in her 1979 Nobel lecture.

In 1995, she publicly advocated a "no" vote in the Irish referendum to end the country's constitutional ban on divorce and remarriage. The most scathing criticism of Mother Teresa can be found in Christopher Hitchens's book The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, in which Hitchens argued that Mother Teresa glorified poverty for her own ends and provided a justification for the preservation of institutions and beliefs that sustained widespread poverty.

Death and Legacy

After several years of deteriorating health, in which she suffered from heart, lung and kidney problems, Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, at the age of 87. In 2002, the Vatican recognized a miracle involving an Indian woman named Monica Besra, who said she was cured of an abdominal tumor through Mother Teresa's intercession on the one year anniversary of her death in 1998. She was beatified as "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta" on October 19, 2003 in a ceremony led by Pope John Paul II. 

Since her death, Mother Teresa has remained in the public spotlight. In particular, the publication of her private correspondence in 2003 caused a wholesale re-evaluation of her life by revealing the crisis of faith she suffered for most of the last 50 years of her life.

In one despairing letter to a confidant, she wrote, "Where is my Faith—even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness—My God—how painful is this unknown pain—I have no Faith—I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart—& make me suffer untold agony." While such revelations are shocking considering her public image, they have also made Mother Teresa a more relatable and human figure to all those who experience doubt in their beliefs.

For her unwavering commitment to aiding those most in need, Mother Teresa stands out as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century. She combined profound empathy and a fervent commitment to her cause with incredible organizational and managerial skills that allowed her to develop a vast and effective international organization of missionaries to help impoverished citizens all across the globe.

However, despite the enormous scale of her charitable activities and the millions of lives she touched, to her dying day she held only the most humble conception of her own achievements. Summing up her life in characteristically self-effacing fashion, Mother Teresa said, "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."

On December 17, 2015, Pope Francis issued a decree that recognized a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the way for her to be canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. The second miracle involved the healing of Marcilio Andrino, a Brazilian man who was diagnosed with a viral brain infection and lapsed into a coma. His wife, family and friends prayed to Mother Teresa, and when the man was brought to the operating room for emergency surgery, he woke up without pain and cured of his symptoms, according to a statement from the Missionaries of Charity Father. Mother Teresa will be canonized as a saint on September 4, 2016, a day before the 19th anniversary of her death. Pope Francis will lead the canonization service, which will be held in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. 

Reflection:

To Love and to be Loved: Mother Teresa offered tender, loving care to those most in need, the poorest of the poor, all over the world independently of their race, colour, nationality, cast or creed. In each human being, she saw a child of God, created for greater things: to love and to be loved. Respecting this innate value and dignity of each person, she endeavoured to bring this love where it was lacking, offering her humble service to whoever was in need, without considering their religious affiliation. She remarked, “The greatest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody,” she would explain. “The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbour.”

Against Abortion and Contraception:  She spoke out against abortion as the “greatest destroyer of peace during her speech in Oslo at the Nobel ceremony. She shocked the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington when she reminded them of the Christian tradition on the immorality of contraception.

Saint of Gutters: She insisted that she was in the gutters for one reason alone — to bring the love of Christ to each of the souls abandoned there.

Religious Habit Symbol of Religious Vows: The religious dress of the Missionaries of Charity bears special significance. The colour of their sari - white - stands for truth and purity while the three blue borders each signify the vows that the nuns of the Order take: the first band represents Poverty, the second Obedience and the third broad band represents the vows of Chastity and of Wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor. The Cross worn on the left shoulder symbolises that for the Missionaries of Charity Jesus on the Cross is the key to the heart.

Please note that the content of this blog has been adopted from the following website

Adopted from : http://www.biography.com/people/mother-teresa-9504160

Following websites are worth refering
http://www.motherteresa.org/
http://blog.americancatholic.org/the-mother-teresa-i-knew