Homily: September 5, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time (Be a saint)

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“When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently.”

In today’s first reading, St. Paul tells us about the hardships and patient endurance that marked his ministry. Before his conversion, Paul had what the world might consider a better and more comfortable life. He was well educated, a zealous Pharisee, respected among his own people, and a man with authority.

But after encountering Jesus, everything changed. He gave up his former way of life to follow Christ. And what did he receive in return? Persecution, rejection, suffering, imprisonment, and many hardships. 

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta. In some ways, her story reminds us of St. Paul. She came to India as a young religious sister with the Loreto Sisters. She became a teacher and eventually the headmistress of a school. She loved her religious life and her work.

But then something changed. While traveling by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling, she experienced what she later described as a “call within a call.” She felt Jesus asking her to leave the security of the convent and serve him among the poorest of the poor.

From that moment, her comfortable life changed. She stepped into uncertainty. She had very little money and initially very little help. She experienced rejection and misunderstanding. And most surprisingly, for many years she also experienced a profound interior spiritual darkness. Yet she remained faithful.

What made Mother Teresa a saint was not simply that she served poor people. It was that she remained faithful to Jesus when following him became difficult. She continued to love when she did not feel consolation. She continued to serve when she was tired. She continued to pray even in spiritual darkness.

We are all called to become saints. The road to Holiness is the same for us too. 

The question is not whether we will have hardships. The question is: What will we do with them?

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.



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