Posted on 12/18/2015 7:34:57 AM PST by SeekAndFind
ROME — Mother Teresa, who dedicated her life to helping India's poor, will be made a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican said Friday.
She will likely be canonized in September to coincide with the 19th anniversary of her death and Pope Francis' Holy Year of Mercy, according to an Italian Catholic newspaper report.
The pontiff marked his 79th birthday on Thursday by approving a decree that the nun had performed a second miracle 11 years after her death, the Vatican confirmed in a statement.
She was beatified in 2003 as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta for healing an Indian woman's tumor through divine intervention, but full sainthood requires the declaration of two miracles.
Her Missionaries of Charity helped the poor on the streets of the city, now known as Kolkata. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
"We are all absolutely delighted about the news," Sister Ita of the Missionaries of Charity told NBC News from its headquarters in the center of the city. "We are very happy to hear about the canonization and we look forward to hearing more details in due course."
The miracle needed for her canonization involved the curing of a man in Santos, Brazil, with a serious viral brain infection, according to Father Brian Kolodiejchiuk, a Missionaries of Charity Father who worked closely with Mother Teresa for 20 years and spearheaded the cause of her sainthood.
"The patient's wife continuously sought the intercession of the Blessed Mother Teresa for her husband," he said in a statement explaining the event.
The unidentified man was in a coma and about to undergo an emergency operation when a neurosurgeon "returned to the operating room and found the patient inexplicably awake and without pain," the statement said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Interesting, since at her death, Mother Theresa claimed she didn’t know if she believed in God.
Praise be to God.
It has always been my understanding that God alone could perform miracles,so....yes,praise be to Him.
“Interesting, since at her death, Mother Theresa claimed she didn’t know if she believed in God.”
That’s not true. Many people confuse Mother Teresa’s (please note correct spelling of her name) mentioning if not feeling the presence of God with atheism. The two are not the same. The former is a loss of consolations from God, a test and challenge by God, while the latter is a belief that no God exists.
Clearly, Mother Teresa continued to believe in God even when she felt abandoned by Him:
“Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The Child of your Love — and now become as the most hated one — the one — You have thrown away as unwanted — unloved. I call, I cling, I want — and there is no One to answer — no One on Whom I can cling — no, No One. — Alone ... 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.”
“Such deep longing for God — and ... repulsed — empty — no faith — no love — no zeal. — [The saving of] Souls holds no attraction — Heaven means nothing — pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything.”
Thank-you God For this second miracle, which CONFIRMS what I do believe about Blessed Mother Teresa, that she IS a SAINT. Amen
A miracle ( at least for me ), of the Biblical kind, is something that is seen DIRECTLY and whose effect is IMMEDIATE that cannot be explained by any medical or scientific explanation and observed by MANY PEOPLE.
Examples of these are:
* a man born blind from birth being able to see again after Jesus touches his eyes ( seen by many people ).
* Five loaves of bread and two fishes multiplying to feed 5,000 people
* A man dead for 4 days rising again, as observed by many people
* 10 men who were leprous spontaneously being healed of their leprosy.
I’d really like to see THOSE KINDS of miracles.
I believe you are correct here. Good distinction between the Psalmist’s cries and unbelief. Don’t know if it was Teresa of Avila or not who said, “Lord, if this is how you treat your friends no wonder you have so few.”
Very good answer.
Agreed - and I’m not sure where the two-miracle minimum for sainthood appears in the Bible. In fact, the communion of saints refers to all believers.
She turned me into a newt.
Interesting, since at her death, Mother Theresa claimed she didn’t know if she believed in God.
I’ve never heard that but I recall she had written about doubts. I expect any believer to have moments of doubt.
RE: Agreed - and I’m not sure where the two-miracle minimum for sainthood appears in the Bible.
I spoke to a Priest and he told me that the two-miracle minimum is a safeguard to make sure that the first one that might have happened through the saint’s intercession did not happen by chance.
One miracle is required for beatification, in which case the Servant of God is given the title “Blessed.”
A second miracle after beatification is required for sainthood.
Many have the notion that the Catholic Church is looking for miracles from the servant of God’s life. That is not the case. The miracles required for canonization must take place after the death of the candidate for sainthood.
Now, what is a miracle according to the definition of the Catholic Church?
Their explanation is that it is an extraordinary event, perceptible to the senses and produced by God in a religious context as a sign of the supernatural.
That simple definition, however, is followed by a five-page summary of two millennia of study on miracles and their meaning. The entries include a variety of views on the nature and recognition of miracles expressed by theologians over time.
Divine intervention in a miracle points out the authenticity of the holiness of the servant of God. The Pope makes the ultimate decision regarding these matters and he relies on the aid of the Holy Spirit, via miracles, in moving ahead to beatify or canonize any servant of God.
Saint Teresa. If anyone deserves it, she does.
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