Today, Sunday, September 4, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was declared a Saint of the Church. Everywhere throughout the world, there were celebrations marking this great grace for the Church. We, too, had the opportunity to join with the Church here in the Diocese of Jacmel to thank God for the gift of Mother Teresa with her sisters who serve in Jacmel. In Immaculate Conception Church in Zoranje, we gathered for the Eucharist and united our voices with heaven in thanksgiving for the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

In Rome this early morning, in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis prayed in his homily, “May this tireless worker of mercy help us increasingly to understand that our only criterion for action is gratuitous love, free from every ideology and all obligations, offered freely to everyone without distinction of language, culture, race or religion. Mother Teresa loved to say, he recalled: ‘Perhaps I don’t speak their language, but I can smile.’ Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer. In this way, we will open up opportunities of joy and hope for our many brothers and sisters who are discouraged and who stand in need of understanding and tenderness.”