Saturday, September 5, 2026

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin

optional memorial Ordinary Time

Selected Mass Reading

First Reading — 1 Corinthians 4:6b-15

But these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollo, for your sakes: that in us you may learn that one be not puffed up against the other for another, above that which is written. For who distinguisheth thee? Or what hast thou that thou hast not received, and if thou hast received, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? You are now full: you are now become rich: you reign without us; and I would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I think that God hath set forth us apostles, the last, as it were men appointed to death. We are made a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. We are fools for Christs sake, but you are wise in Christ: we are weak, but you are strong: you are honourable, but we without honour. Even unto this hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no fixed abode. And we labour, working with our own hands. We are reviled: and we bless. We are persecuted: and we suffer it. We are blasphemed: and we entreat. We are made as the refuse of this world, the offscouring of all, even until now. I write not these things to confound you: but I admonish you as my dearest children. For if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, by the gospel, I have begotten you.

Feast Days

Mother Teresa Nun, Missionary, Founder of a religious congregation 1910–1997

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje (then in the Ottoman Empire), was raised in a devout Catholic Albanian family and felt an early desire to give her life to God. At eighteen she left home for Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto, and soon after was sent to India, where she taught for many years in Calcutta and eventually became a headmistress. Yet the suffering around her—poverty, famine, and violence—pressed upon her heart. In 1946 she experienced what she called a “call within a call,” urging her to leave the convent school and live among the poor for Jesus. After basic medical training and years of humble beginnings, she founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, dedicated to wholehearted service of “the poorest of the poor.” Her congregation spread worldwide, caring for the sick, the dying, and the forgotten, and her witness inspired countless souls. She is venerated as a saint for her radical charity and steadfast faith, and is patroness of Colli al Metauro and Serrungarina. Her feast day is September 5.

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Obdulia Virgin, Martyr, Nun

Saint Obdulia is remembered in the Church as a martyr and a consecrated woman, honored with special devotion in Toledo. Though few details of her earthly life have come down to us—her birthplace and the dates of her birth and death are unknown—her witness remains clear: as a nun, she belonged wholly to Christ, and in martyrdom she sealed that dedication with the gift of her life. Her memory endures as a quiet but powerful testimony that holiness is not measured by how much is recorded, but by faithful love. On September 5, the faithful celebrate Saint Obdulia, asking her intercession for Toledo and for all who seek courage to remain steadfast in prayer, purity of heart, and fidelity to the Lord unto the end.