Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on August 26, 1910 in what is now known as Skopje, North Macedonia. Her life’s work revolved around caring for the most impoverished and downtrodden of her part of the world. She opened orphanages, leper colonies, and homes to assist those with AIDS, terminal illnesses, and refugees. Enlisting others to help, her organization has since grown to over 5,700 workers.
Have you heard of this person? While you may not know her as “Agnes,” you definitely have heard of her by her other name: Sister Teresa or more commonly, Mother Teresa. And on this day in 2016, she became Saint Teresa.
“Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa of Calcutta a saint of the Roman Catholic Church in front of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City—to much applause.
“Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defence [sic] of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded… She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity…,” Pope Francis said in his homily that day. “Today, I pass on this emblematic figure of womanhood and of consecrated life to the whole world of volunteers: may she be your model of holiness!”1
How does one become a saint according to Roman Catholic doctrine? It takes four steps:
- After being dead for five years, an investigation into the life of the individual begins. If the evidence is strong enough that they had been a really good person, they receive the title “Servant of God.”
- The Church sends the case to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. Nine theologians review the evidence and vote. If they approve, the pope declares the person Venerable, meaning they lived a life of heroic virtue or offered their life for the faith
- More investigation is made into the person’s life, looking for a miracle that can be attributed to them. If one is found and verified, the Pope will grant beatification and the title Blessed.
- The investigation will continue, looking for a second miracle. If one can be found and verified, the person can be canonized by the Pope and granted the title Saint. This ensures that they are in Heaven and are worthy of veneration universally.2, 3
Let that soak in for a moment. This doctrine teaches that your eternal destination cannot be determined until at least five years AFTER you’re dead! And most in Roman Catholicism will never be saints. What does the Bible have to say on the subject?
“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, (2) Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:1-2) The “church of God” has been “sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “called saints” along with everyone everywhere who has “called upon the name of Jesus Christ.” Saints and sanctified all come from the same root word: hagios which is most frequently translated holy. It means to be separate and set apart, specifically unto God. Along with the definition comes the idea of moral and spiritual cleanness. “Saints” is who we are and how we are supposed to live.
Can you imagine if someone had to examine our lives and then vote as to whether we were “in” or not?!? We might be able to get enough friends to give us a recommendation but there would be many more who would say, “I don’t think so!”
Ephesians 5:1-3 says, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. (3) But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints…” These are all living saints, not dead ones. And, all the saints – all the believers in Jesus are told that there is a way Christians ought to live.
In letters written by Teresa, she wrote about “an emptiness and a spiritual darkness — essentially an inability to feel the presence of God.” “The darkness is so dark, and I am alone,” St. Teresa wrote. “Unwanted, forsaken. The loneliness of the heart that wants love is unbearable. Where is my faith? Even deep down, there is nothing but emptiness and darkness. My God, how painful is this unknown pain? It pains without ceasing.”
“St. Teresa wrote that “the place of God in my soul is blank, there is no God in me” and “I just long and long for God and then it is that I feel he does not want me — he is not there.”4
How sad that there was no assurance of salvation! No sense of the presence of God in her life! I don’t know Teresa’s heart but by her own admission, it would seem that she was not born again. Religious? Absolutely and extremely. Generous? Yes. Giving? Yes. Sacrificial? Yes. Did lots of good works? Yes. But Ephesians 2:8-9 makes it very clear that none of this is a part of the salvation, Gospel message. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.” There are no exceptions to this.
I am not bashing on Catholics or trying to be disrespectful of Teresa. I only use the historical event of her canonization to sainthood as an opportunity to share the truth of the Word of God and the transformative Gospel message. I’m not a saint because of what I’ve done. I’m a saint because of Who I know! Now, I am to live like the saint that I’ve been made through the blood of Jesus.
With joy, let all the true saints of God practice Colossians 1:12-14 today. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
1https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/september-4/mother-teresa-becomes-a-saint
2https://www.britannica.com/topic/How-Does-Someone-Become-a-Saint
3https://www.usccb.org/offices/public-affairs/saints
4https://ewtn.co.uk/article-mother-teresas-spiritual-darkness-was-not-depression-or-loss-of-faith-scholar-explains/
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
