A Homily for the Memorial of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Friday, September 5, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Isaiah 58:6-11; Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11; Matthew 25:31-46
Audio Recording
The readings today could have been written for Saint Teresa of Calcutta, whose feast we celebrate today. Our first reading from the prophet Isaiah says that the fasting God desires is “sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked, and not turning your back on your own”.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that at the final judgment, the measure of our love for Him will be found in whether we fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger, and cared for the sick and imprisoned. These words are the foundation of holiness — and they were lived out fully in Mother Teresa’s life.
Mother Teresa understood that God is not impressed with pious gestures that lack love. True fasting, Isaiah says, means lifting burdens, feeding the hungry, and tending to the poor. That is why she made the streets of Calcutta her convent. For her, the poor were not a distraction from prayer; they were the very presence of Christ. She often said, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”
Matthew 25 is sometimes called the “Gospel of the least.” Here Jesus makes clear that our eternal destiny hinges on how we treat the most vulnerable. When Mother Teresa and her sisters picked up a dying man from the street, or bathed the wounds of the forgotten, they were not simply doing good deeds. They were worshiping Christ hidden in His distressing disguise.
What makes her example even more powerful is that she did all of this while enduring a “dark night of the soul” for nearly 50 years. After an early period of closeness to Jesus, she lived the rest of her life feeling interior silence and even abandonment. Outwardly she radiated joy, but inwardly she often felt empty. Yet she never stopped serving, never stopped smiling, never stopped loving.
This teaches us a profound truth: holiness is not about always FEELING God’s presence. It is about remaining FAITHFUL when God seems silent. Mother Teresa’s perseverance shows us that true love is proven when it costs us something. This is a lesson we all need to take to heart.
Love is real when it perseveres through inconvenience, fatigue, and even dryness of spirit.”
When Christine and I founded a homeless ministry in Knoxville in 2016, the work was not always easy. Each month for 7 years, we not only shopped for the food we served, but we also loaded our van with tables, supplies, and the groceries. We drove downtown, set everything up, and, with about 25 volunteers, served over 200 men and women experiencing homelessness. When the meal was done, we packed everything up, drove it back home, and unloaded again.
There were days when we just didn’t feel like doing it — when we were tired or busy with other things. But we knew our guests were counting on us. Their hunger could not wait for our convenience. So we showed up. Our work paled in comparison to Mother Teresa’s, but it carried the same lesson: love is real when it perseveres through inconvenience, fatigue, and even dryness of spirit.
The psalm today proclaims, “I will bless the Lord at all times… The poor one called out, and the Lord heard” (Ps 34). Even in her interior darkness, Mother Teresa blessed the Lord with her life. And so can we, in whatever ways God calls us to serve. In our own small ways — whether through participating as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul society here at Prince of Peace or at the food panty at Our Lady of Guadalupe (both of whom desperately need help right now), or by simply helping a neighbor — we, too, bless the Lord when we persevere in serving those who need us.
Today, as we honor Saint Teresa of Calcutta, we ask her to pray for us — that we may see Christ in the least of our brothers and sisters, and serve Him even when it’s inconvenient, even when it is exhausting, even when God seems silent. If we PERSEVERE IN LOVE, then we will be counted among the sheep and hear the voice of Christ the King say to us: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Saint Teresa of Calcutta…pray for us.