Friendship, as has been said, consists in a full commitment of the will to another person with a view to that person's good.
-Pope Saint John Paul II
Friendships feed our souls in a very particular way. During these times of social distancing, fall out from a global pandemic, and the ensuring separation we've experienced from our friends and family, we have a special place to turn to for friendship.
The holy women of our Catholic Faith: the Saints, the venerables, the servants of God. We have reason to believe through the Church's guidance that these multitude of unique, relatable, remarkable women are worshipping before the throne of God, taking our intentions before Him. They want us to join them in Heaven, after all.
The Saints, Our Friends
We've assembled a grouping of a dozen women who fit this description, lived in the last century or so, and span all walks of life from vocation to nearly every continent, to a plethora of challenges they faced. Eleven are lay women!
The complete discussion of their lives and reflections on how they lived the Works of Mercy out is available in our Misericordia study.
Let's get to know our heavenly friends better and allow a beautiful friendship (or friendships!) to blossom.
Find more companionship with our sister Saints
and be inspired by their Works of Mercy in Misericordia!
Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Teresa is a world-famous Saint. She was born in Skopje, Macedonia, in 1910. She responded to a “call within a call” when she asked permission to found a new order of sisters, leaving behind the Sisters of Loretto, and instead leading the Missionaries of Charity in 1948.
Jesus revealed to her His great pain at the abandonment of the poorest and the sickest. She answered His call to “Come be My light” and after receiving permission, she opened the first house for her new order. Calcutta, India, was replete with people living on the streets—abandoned, sick, and dying. Each day she would walk out, rosary in hand, to serve the “unwanted, unloved, uncared for.”
After her death, a stunning revelation came to light that for the majority of her life, she suffered from a “dark night of the soul” wherein she didn’t feel or experience communication from God, but rather separation and rejection. Nevertheless, she counseled the doubtful and served the poorest of the poor while herself feeling abandoned.
She is such an example of being steadfast in our Faith regardless of the struggles and dryness we inevitably will face.
Friends with Saints Series // Saint Teresa of Calcutta #BISblog //Click to tweet
Saint Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!