Pope Benedict XVI offered a luncheon to people assisted by the various Roman communities
of the Missionaries of Charity, in order to mark the hundredth anniversary of the
birth of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The lunch, which took place in the
atrium of the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, was attended by 350 people from various welcome
centres, and by 150 religious, including Missionaries of Charity, Contemplative Brothers,
priests and seminarians. Following some words of greeting by Sr. Mary Prema Pierick,
superior general of the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the
Pope arose to address the assembly. "May the light of the Baby Jesus, of the Son of
God made man, illuminate our lives to transform them into light, as we see happen
particularly in the lives of saints", he said. In this context, he also recalled the
witness of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, which he defined as "a reflection of
the light of God's love. Celebrating a hundred years since her birth is a cause for
gratitude and reflection, for a renewed and joyful commitment to serve the Lord and
our brothers and sisters, especially the most needy". "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta",
the Holy Father said, "showed charity to everyone without distinction, but with a
preference for the poor and abandoned: a luminous sign of God's paternity and goodness.
In all people she was able to recognise the face of Christ, Whom she loved with her
entire being. She continued to encounter the Christ she adored and received in the
Eucharist in the streets and lanes of the city, becoming a living 'image' of Jesus
Who pours the grace of merciful love onto man's wounds. "To those who ask why Mother
Teresa became as famous as she did, the answer is simple: because she lived humbly
and discretely for and in the love of God. She herself said that her greatest prize
was to love Jesus and serve Him in the poor. Her diminutive figure, her hands joined
in prayer or caressing the sick, a leper, the dying, a child, was the visible sign
of an existence transformed by God. In the night of human pain she made the light
of divine Love shine and helped many hearts to find the peace which only God can give. "We
thank the Lord", Benedict XVI added, "because in Blessed Teresa of Calcutta we all
see how our lives can change when we meet Jesus; how they can become a reflection
of the light of God for other people. To so many men and women who experienced poverty
and suffering, she gave the consolation and certainty that God never abandons anyone,
ever. Her mission continues through those who, here as elsewhere in the world, live
the charism of being missionaries of charity. "We are very grateful, dear sisters
and brothers, for your humble and discreet presence, hidden to the eyes of mankind
but extraordinary and precious to the heart of God. Your life witness shows man -
who often searches for illusory happiness - where true joy is to be found: in sharing,
in giving, in loving with the same gratuitousness as God, which breaks all the logic
of human selfishness". The Holy Father concluded his remarks with assurances of
his prayers. "Know that the Pope loves you", he said, "and carries you in his heart,
gathering you all together in a paternal embrace".