St. Stephen Catholic Church

09/05/2026

Today's the feast day of St. Teresa of Calcutta. Like her, may we strive to do small things with great love!

09/05/2026

St. Teresa of Calcutta, known worldwide as Mother Teresa, is one of the most recognizable saints of modern times. Her life of radical charity and service to the poorest of the poor continues to inspire people of all faiths and backgrounds.

Named Agnes at birth in 1910, she grew up in Skopje in North Macedonia. She felt called to religious life and joined the Sisters of Loreto, later traveling to India, where she taught at a school in Calcutta for two decades. She became known as a dedicated teacher and later served as the school’s principal.

In 1946, as she traveled by train, she experienced what she later described as a “call within a call.” She felt Jesus inviting her to leave the convent school and serve Him among the poor and destitute in the streets of Calcutta. After a period of discernment and approval from Church authorities, she left the Sisters of Loreto and began her new mission.

Four years later, she founded the Order of Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation devoted to serving “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers.” The sisters lived among the poor, offering care and support with dignity, love, and spiritual comfort.

One of her most significant works was establishing a home for the dying destitute called Nirmal Hriday (Pure Heart), where those who had been abandoned on the streets were given care, companionship, and the opportunity to die with dignity. Mother Teresa often described this work as “doing something beautiful for God.”

Although she experienced prolonged periods of spiritual dryness, she remained faithful to her mission and exemplified compassion and joy in serving the most vulnerable. As her global recognition grew, she received numerous honors. She was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Yet she was humble, pointing attention away from herself and toward Christ present in the suffering.

St. Teresa of Calcutta died on September 5, 1997, and was canonized in 2016. Beginning with twelve recruits, her Missionaries of Charity grew to five thousand nuns and 450 priests serving in 138 countries worldwide.

https://ewtnmission.com/dailysaint/st-teresa-of-calcutta/

09/05/2026

“I promised St. Francis that, if I was able to bring my children home alive, I would return to thank him and present them to him.”

09/05/2026

“Catholic and Christian couples don't just have to register for their home goods,” but can “also register for sacred arts, sacred jewelry, beautiful wall mounts, and icons,” James Reichert said.

09/05/2026

The guide is meant to assist in priestly formation on Catholic Social Teaching, so they can better communicate those teachings to their congregations.

09/05/2026

In collaboration with the Missionaries of Charity, the prayer social network Hozana has created a way to have petitions placed on St. Teresa’s tomb in India.

09/05/2026

09/05/2026

Meeting with contemplative nuns, Pope Leo XIV upholds their role in the Church as weavers of communion with the threads of prayer, work, and ...

09/05/2026

Gospel of the Day (Luke 6,1-5)

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?"

Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry? (How) he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions." Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2026/09/05.html

09/04/2026

On Sept. 3, Pope Leo XIV received at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace a group of seminarians from two Italian seminaries, thanking them on behalf of the Church for “the ‘yes’ you have spoken and continue to speak each day.”

“It is neither easy nor a given in today’s world, and the Church knows this well,” he stated during the audience granted to delegations from the Pius XI Pontifical Apulian Regional Seminary in Molfetta and the Interdiocesan Seminary of Aversa.

Both seminaries are celebrating significant anniversaries this year. Molfetta is commemorating the centenary of its new premises — commissioned by Pope Pius XI, after whom the seminary is named — while Aversa is celebrating the tercentenary of the opening of its current facility.

Leo XIV also expressed his gratitude to the families present. “A vocation never arises without a suitable context; it often requires a home, and parents who pray and know how to let their children go. My gratitude, and that of the entire Church, goes out to you, dear families,” he noted.

More: https://www.ewtnnews.com/vatican/pope-leo-xiv-to-seminarians-as-i-look-at-each-of-you-i-see-the-wonder-of-god