St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata
Objective
I can analyze the life of St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata as an example living out the works of mercy.
Warm Up
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46
Discussion Questions
How will Christ separate the nations when He comes in His glory?
What will Christ say to the righteous?
What does Christ mean when he says, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me”?
What will Christ say to those on His left and why will this be surprising to them?
What lesson do we learn from this story?
In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of the Corporal Works of Mercy. In other places in Scripture, Jesus speaks about the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
The Corporal Works of Mercy are concerned with meeting the physical needs of others. These are: Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead.
The Spiritual Works of Mercy are concerned with meeting the spiritual needs of others. These are: Instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, correct sinners, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses willingly, comfort the afflicted, and pray for the living and the dead.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy that began December 8, 2015, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. We are invited to know the love and mercy of the Father in a new way during this year.
In this lesson, we are going to look at a saint who always strove to treat her brothers and sisters with mercy and looked at them with the eyes of Christ. This saint is Mother Teresa of Kolkata.
St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata
Activity 1: St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata
Read the story of St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata’s life and then answer the focus questions.
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Activity 2: St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata Writing
Respond to the following prompts in complete sentences:
Why is it important that we build a society of justice and peace? Use examples from Scripture and our class discussions.
What do the saints teach us about justice, peace, and forgiveness?
Choose one of the Spiritual or Corporal Works of Mercy. How you can better live out that work of mercy in your own daily life?