Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Virgin, Optional Memorial
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
Pope Francis on Tuesday added the Sept. 5 feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta to the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar as an optional memorial.
Memorials rank third in the classification of feast days on the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar. The memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta will be optional, meaning it is voluntary whether to observe it. Popularly known as Mother Teresa, St. Teresa of Calcutta was an Albanian sister who founded the Missionaries of Charity. She died in 1997 at the age of 87 after spending most of her life serving the poor in Calcutta, India. She was canonised by Pope Francis in 2016.
“Radically living the Gospel and boldly proclaiming it, St. Teresa of Calcutta is a witness to the dignity and honour of humble service. By choosing not only to be the least, but the servant of the least, she became a model of mercy and an authentic icon of the Good Samaritan.”
“Jesus’ cry on the cross, ‘I thirst’ (Jn 19:28), cut St. Teresa to the quick. Thus, for her whole life she dedicated herself completely to satiate the thirst of Jesus Christ for love and souls, serving him among the poorest of the poor. Filled with the love of God, she radiated that same love in equal measure to others.”
Opening Prayer
O God, who called the Virgin Saint Teresa
to respond to the love of your Son thirsting on the Cross
with outstanding charity to the poorest of the poor,
grant us, we beseech you, by her intercession,
to minister to Christ in our suffering brothers and sisters.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
First Reading
See the fast that pleases me: breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke.
Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin.
Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing comes in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the glory of the Lord, your rearguard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer, you will cry, and he will say, I am here. If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word,
if you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.
The Lord will guide you always and give you relief in desert places. He will strengthen your bones; he will make you as a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11
R. (2) I will bless the Lord at all times.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear and be glad.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
Alleluia Verse
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Gospel
The Judgment of the Nations
When the Son of Man arrives in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his throne of glory.
All the nations will be brought before him; and just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
The king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.
For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
I was a stranger, and you welcomed me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to see me.
Then the righteous will ask him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food; thirsty and give you something to drink;
or a stranger and welcome you; or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to see you?’
The king will reply, ‘Truly, I say to you: just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Go, cursed people, out of my sight into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
For I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink;
I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me into your house; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.
They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked, or a stranger, sick, or in prison, and did not help you?’
The king will reply, ‘Truly I say to you: just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’
And these will go into eternal punishment; but the just, into eternal life.
Prayers of the Faithful
Prayer Over The Gifts
Receive, O Lord, the homage of our humble service,
which we present to you in commemoration of the Virgin Saint Teresa,
and grant through the one unblemished sacrifice
that we may constantly burn with devoted and holy love in your sight.
Through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE Missionary of Charity
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For you granted Saint Teresa
a share in the thirst of your Son dying on the Cross,
making her a missionary of Charity:
she took upon herself the rejection of the poor and,
placing herself at their service,
she radiated the light of your merciful love.
And so, with all the Angels and Saints,
we praise you as without end we acclaim:
Holy, holy, holy...
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
Amen, I say to you: Whatever you did to one of the least of my brethren
you did it to me, says the Lord.
Prayer After Communion
May the sacred mysteries we have received, O Lord our God,
foster within us the fire of charity
by which Saint Teresa, with a joyful spirit,
served Jesus Christ your Son in the poor.
Through Our Lord.