Feast of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Good morning. Today’s Gospel offers us a clear picture of living our lives by the letter of the law versus living our lives by the spirit of the law. What is it that exactly defines the difference between living our lives by the letter of the law as opposed to living by the spirit of the law? The difference is defined by living in accordance with God’s will. The spirit of the law is that which drives us to come to a realization of God’s intentions for us, to attain the fullness of life as God intended it to be for us. A legalistic posture is that which suggests that things are wrong because they are forbidden versus the spirit of the law where things are wrong because they get in the way of realizing God’s intentions for us. Today’s culture tends to be less inclined toward a legalistic view; current-day society instead tends to take the opposite extreme suggesting that everything is relative. Current-day society suggests that a good society is that which allows us to do whatever makes us happy. Servant of God Dorothy Day, however, suggests in her Autobiography, The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist, that a good society is that “kind of society where it is easier to be good.” A prime example of this relativist view is seen in our society’s current-day position regarding abortion: If the thought of an unwanted pregnancy stands in the way of our happiness, "Just get rid of it." There are those who profess to be Catholic and yet see no wrong in the taking of an unborn life or the practice of contraception. This cannot be, one cannot be Catholic and also believe in abortion or practice contraception. When it comes to right and wrong there are absolutes. There are clear rights and wrongs where it involves God’s intentions for us. God intends for us to be happy, but such happiness comes with living in accordance with His intentions for us. His intention for us is summed up in love. A good marriage is one which is summed up in love. Love is the law by which we all will be judged. Happiness is found in living a life of love, and it begins with our self. We celebrate the feast day of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta today and she suggests that love begins with one. “I can only love one person at a time - just one, one, one. So you begin. I began - I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand....The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin - one, one, one.” Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa Tells Us How To Love