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Mother Teresa: Symbol of love beatified
By: Pallavi Sharma:The beatification of Mother Teresa took place today (Oct 19, 2003). The humble nun known as the `Saint of the Gutters`, was declared beatified by Pope John Paul II before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims massed in St Peter`s Square at the Vatican City.
By: Pallavi Sharma:
The beatification of Mother Teresa took place today (Oct 19, 2003). The humble nun known as the "Saint of the Gutters", was declared beatified by Pope John Paul II before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims massed in St Peter`s Square at the Vatican City.
Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who died in 1997. The beatification of the Macedonia-born nun took place in Rome, three days after the Pope celebrates the 25th anniversary of his Papacy.
The process leading up to the beatification has been the shortest in modern history. In early 1999—less than two years after Mother Teresa`s death—Pope John Paul waived the normal five-year waiting period and allowed the immediate opening of her canonization cause.
In 2002, the Holy Father recognized the healing of an Indian woman as the miracle needed to beatify Mother Teresa of Calcutta. That healing occurred on the first anniversary of Mother Teresa`s death. It involved a non-Christian woman in India who had a huge abdominal tumor and woke up to find the tumor gone. Members of the Missionaries of Charity prayed for their founder`s intervention to help the sick woman.
"Her life of loving service to the poor has inspired many to follow the same path. Her witness and message are cherished by those of every religion as a sign that `God still loves the world today," members of the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order she founded, said in a statement after Mother Teresa`s beatification was announced.
Since her death, they said, "people have sought her help and have experienced God`s love for them through her prayers. Every day, pilgrims from India and around the world come to pray at her tomb, and many more follow her example of humble service of love to the most needy, beginning in their own families."
In 2001, on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, officials closed the diocesan inquiry into Mother Teresa`s sanctity. The year long gathering of testimony from those who knew Mother Teresa was the first major step in a typically long process. A year earlier, at an August 26, 2000, celebration in Calcutta marking Mother Teresa`s birth anniversary, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim admirers joined in common prayers for her speedy canonization. After her beatification, the recognition of another miracle will be required for sainthood.
Process to sainthood
If Mother Teresa of Calcutta had lived in earlier centuries, the Church might have gathered at her funeral to declare her a saint. That’s the way things worked in ancient Christianity. Now achieving official sainthood is more complicated—and not without its own brand of politics and other human imperfections. But just as this "Saint of the Gutters" seemed above politics in her life, her utter and simple devotion to the poor will transcend bureaucratic obstacles between her and official sainthood.
Mother Teresa is already revered as a modern-day saint by Christians from all corners and denominations. She has been named a saint because she cleared away life’s clutter and allowed God to work through her in a powerful way. We should imitate her.
The beatification of Mother Teresa took place today (Oct 19, 2003). The humble nun known as the "Saint of the Gutters", was declared beatified by Pope John Paul II before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims massed in St Peter`s Square at the Vatican City.
Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who died in 1997. The beatification of the Macedonia-born nun took place in Rome, three days after the Pope celebrates the 25th anniversary of his Papacy.
The process leading up to the beatification has been the shortest in modern history. In early 1999—less than two years after Mother Teresa`s death—Pope John Paul waived the normal five-year waiting period and allowed the immediate opening of her canonization cause.
In 2002, the Holy Father recognized the healing of an Indian woman as the miracle needed to beatify Mother Teresa of Calcutta. That healing occurred on the first anniversary of Mother Teresa`s death. It involved a non-Christian woman in India who had a huge abdominal tumor and woke up to find the tumor gone. Members of the Missionaries of Charity prayed for their founder`s intervention to help the sick woman.
"Her life of loving service to the poor has inspired many to follow the same path. Her witness and message are cherished by those of every religion as a sign that `God still loves the world today," members of the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order she founded, said in a statement after Mother Teresa`s beatification was announced.
Since her death, they said, "people have sought her help and have experienced God`s love for them through her prayers. Every day, pilgrims from India and around the world come to pray at her tomb, and many more follow her example of humble service of love to the most needy, beginning in their own families."
In 2001, on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, officials closed the diocesan inquiry into Mother Teresa`s sanctity. The year long gathering of testimony from those who knew Mother Teresa was the first major step in a typically long process. A year earlier, at an August 26, 2000, celebration in Calcutta marking Mother Teresa`s birth anniversary, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim admirers joined in common prayers for her speedy canonization. After her beatification, the recognition of another miracle will be required for sainthood.
Process to sainthood
If Mother Teresa of Calcutta had lived in earlier centuries, the Church might have gathered at her funeral to declare her a saint. That’s the way things worked in ancient Christianity. Now achieving official sainthood is more complicated—and not without its own brand of politics and other human imperfections. But just as this "Saint of the Gutters" seemed above politics in her life, her utter and simple devotion to the poor will transcend bureaucratic obstacles between her and official sainthood.
Mother Teresa is already revered as a modern-day saint by Christians from all corners and denominations. She has been named a saint because she cleared away life’s clutter and allowed God to work through her in a powerful way. We should imitate her.