Priestly branch. The gospel for the 23rd sunday in ordinary time today is taken from the gospel of saint luke, chapter 14, versus 25 to 33. The gospel will be read in latin. Allay lieu ul alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia great crowds accompanied jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. If any man comes to me without his father, mother, wife, children, yes, his own life, too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Indeed which of you here intending to build a tower would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it . Otherwise if he had laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the wo work, they would start making fun of him and say here is a man who started to build a tower and was unable to finish it. Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with 10,000 men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with 20,000. If not then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys so in the same way none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions. The gospel of the lord. Luke, 14 2533. And now we await the words of the holy father pope francis. That will be after the same gospel is proclaimed in greek. And as it happens very rarely. And this certainly is a very special liturgy. Praise to you o lord. Praise to you. For those just joining us, that was the proclamation of the gospel chanted in greek, language of the new testament. Sundays gospel for the 23rd sunday of ordinary time so fitting for mother theresa today, luke 14 2533, language of discipleship. And for those of who you have just joined us, youre listening to vatican radios live broadcast from st. Peters square, the holy mass presided over by pope francis with the canonization of Mother Teresa of calcutta. Here with father tom to accompany you an assist you especially if you are homebound or perhaps sight impaired and are relying on our commentary and our description of the events taking place in st. Peters square right now. In just a few moments, well listening to the words of pope francis, his homily at this mass and well be doing our best to translate that for you so that you, too, can enter into the spirit of this wonderful celebration. Taking place on this glorious rome summer morning. Very warm. Once again for those of you watching an joining us, you see the magnificent image of Mother Teresa hanging. The unveiling takes place at the beatification. Pope francis begins by referencing the book of wisdom, the reading, First Reading we heard at mass today, who can learn the counsel of god. The question in the book of wisdom that we have just heard in the readings as pope francis suggests that our life is a mystery, that we do not possess the key to understanding it. There are always two protagonists, god and man. Our task is to perceive the call of god and theno do his will. But in order to do his will, we must ask ourselves what is gods will in my liflife. We find the answer in the same passage of the book of wisdom. People were taught in order to ascertain the call of god, we must ask ourselves and understand what pleases god. On many occasions, the prophets proclaimed what was pleasing to god . The message found a wonderful synthesis in the words i want mercy, not sacrifice. Got is pleased by every act of mercy because in the brother or sister that we assist, we recognize the face of god which no one can see. Each time we bend down to the needs of our brothers and sisters, we give jesus something to eat and drink. We clothe, we help and visit the son of god. We have touched the flesh of god, the flesh of christ. We are called to translate into concrete acts that which we enstroke in prayer and proceed says in faith. There is no alternative to charity. Invoke in prayer and pr says in faith. There is no alternative to charity. Those who put themselves at the service of others even when they dont know it, others who love god. The Christian Life is not really extending a hand in times of ne need. If it is justice, it can be certainly a lovely expression of human solidarity, but it is sterile because it lacks roots. The task which the lord gives us on the contrary is the vocation to charity in which each of christs disciples puts his or her entire life at his service so as to grow each day in love. We heard in the goospel larg crowds were traveling with jesus. Today this large crowd is seen in the great number of volunteers who have come together here for the jubilee of mercy. You are that crowd who follows the messiah, and to make visible his concrete huff for each pers person. I repeat to you the words of the apostle paul, i have indeed received much joy and comfort from your love. Because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. How many hearts have been comforted by volunteers . How many hands they have held, how many tears they have wiped away . How much love has been poured out in the hidden, humble and Selfless Service . This praiseworthy Service Gives voice to the faith and expresses the mercy of the father who draws near to those in need. Following jesus is a serious task, at the same time one filled with joy. It takes a certain daring and courage to recognize the divine master in the poorest of the poor. And to give ones self in their service. In order to do so, volunteers who out of love of jesus serve the poor and needy do not expect any thanks, rather, they renounce all this because they have discovered true love. Each of us can say that just as the lord has come to me and has stooped down to my level in my hour of need, so, too, do i go to meet him bending low before those who have lost faith or who live as though god did not exist, before young people without values or ideal, before families in crisis, before the ill and imprisoned, before refugees and immigrants, before the weak and defenseless in body and spirit, before abandoned children, before the elderly who are on their own. Wherever someone is reaching out asking for a helping hand, in order to get up. This is where our presence and the presence of the church which sustains and offers hope must e be. And we remember this when we think of our lord stretching his hand out to us when we were literally down and out. Mother teresa in all aspects of her life was a generous can it is pens dispenser of divine , making herself available to everyone and her defense of human life. Those unborn, and those abandoned and discarded. She was committed to defending life, proclaiming that the unborn are the weakest, the smallest, the most vulnerable. She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their godgiven dignity. She made her voice heard before the powers of this world so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime of poverty. Before the crime poverty that the powers created, for matter theresa, mercy was the salt which gives flavor to the work. It was the light which shown in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering. Her mission to the urban and existential peripheries remains for us today and eloquent witness to gods closeness to the poorest of the poor. Today i pass on this emblematic figure of womanhood and kons con a crated volunteers. May she be your model of holiness. Con a crated volunteers. May she be your model of holiness. Consecrated volunteers. May she be your model of holiness. We might have difficulty in calling her saint teresa. With great spontaneity, i think well continue to call her Mother Teresa. May this tireless worker of mercy help us to increasingly understand that our only criteria for action is love freely given. Free from every ideology and obligation, freely offered to everyone without distinction, language, culture, race, or religion. Mother theresa loved to say maybe i dont speak their language, but if i can smile. Let us carry her smile in our heart hearts. Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give that smile to those we nemeet on our journey, especially those who suffer. In this way well open up so many horizons of joy and hope. For our many brothers and sisters who are discouraged and who are so much in need of understanding and tenderness. What a magnificent brief, to the point homily of summing up this womans life and the life of the gospel. And now a moment of silence to absorb, digest and reflect, to take these words to heart. Unfortunately, father tom, silence on radio doesnt really work. So with due respect, your First Impressions of this homily which touches you personally and particularly i know because i dont know if you were paying attention there, the second to last paragraph, pope says for Mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavor to her work, the light which shown in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering. You several years ago founded a media Radio Tv Center called salt and complete. Im very moved, choked up as translating this as the pope spoke. She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die another side of the of the road, seeing in them their about god given dignity. For mother theresa a, pl, mercy the light which shown for the many who did not have tears to shed. Our first major telecast was the pea bee atity if i indication of mother theresa a. And now the creed sung in latin. [ speaking italian ] the first prayer of the faithful is read in albanian, fill her with your spirit, lord, satisfy the thirst of their brothers and sisters for jesus. Let us pray to the lord, lord hear our prayer. Second prayer in french. Lord grant them interior freedom, freed from all earthly cares, may their lives be ever dedicated to the riches of heaven. Let us pray to the lord. Lord hear our prayer. Third prayer of the faithful is for governments and assemblies. The prayer is recited in bengally. Guide them, lord, choose what is best for humanity. May governments and legislations defend the life and dignity of each person and work for justice and peace. Let us pray to the lord. Lord hear our prayer. The fourth prayer is in portuguese. Hear the cry which rises up to you. May christians be moved to works of charity. And the fifth and final prayer of the faithful is for persecuted christians. The prayer is made in chinese. Comfort them lord by your presence, guide them in dark night and make your justice dawn upon them. Let us pray to the lord. You alone lord know what is truly good for us. Hear our prayers and accomplish your will within us through christ our lord. Amen. As the altar is prepared for the sacrifice of mass, the procession takes place. Aside from the bread and wine that will be used, there are also gifts that are being brought up to the altar. At ceremonies like this, there are gifts for mass, but also symbolic gifts representing the life of this very holy person. At the time of her death in 1997, september 5, there were 595 local communities of missions of charities sisters in 120 countries and the number of cities at that time was 3914. There were also 363 brothers. And as of august 16th of this this year, 758 houses in 139 countries with a total of 5161 sisters and 416 brothers of charity. The singer has gone, the song continues to be sung around the world. We are seeing two of her sisters bringing up the gifts to the holy father right now. We heard several of them praying the prayers of faithful. About 200 we said earlier are present in st. Peters square and the other several thousand stayed at home. Superior general said we dont close our houses. There is a dimension of the sisters of charities the me missionaries that will take place roight after this mass. A number of pizza makers from naples have been brought to rome at the invitation of pope francis. Their ovens are all set up and they will feed about 1500 poor people brought from all over italy from the different hostiles. So immediately after mass, 250 sisters will serve pizza from naples to the poor. How fitting it is because the sisters spend their lives around the world feeding and housing and clothing. Theyre perfect examples of mothers dream of putting in to practice the spiritual works of mercy. A special meaning at this mass and also afterwards with pizza. And Mother Teresa with her down to earth way would have approved. She would have been serving. Here we see the priests who are chosen most of them studying will rome, and they will be bringing Holy Communion to the end of st. Peters square. Thousands have gathers and many watching this on large screens. And one of the beautiful things that strikes me is the internationality of the presence. Within the embrace of st. Peters square, you do have the whole church and the Universal Church in miniature gathered around today the. There was a line not scripted. At a certain point he improvised the line saying it will be difficult for us to call her saint teresa. And i think in the end well probably just keep on calling her Mother Teresa. I had this conversation in my other. Is she saint Mother Teresa of calcutta, mother saint teresa and pope francis clarified that for us. She remains for most of us and continue to know her and love her as simply Mother Teresa. She never sought honor in great ceremonies like this. And when the story of the darkness came out a few years ago in that magnificent book come be my life we realized that in this immense charity work, she went through her own dark night of the soul. What truck struck me as i read book, and i paused several times thinking she never let on her own sisters. She kept that cross. She was not born by huge emotion and waiting for huge signs of consolation. She experienced what the great mystics have experienced and that alone has brought her in a deeper solidarity with so many people in the world today as they search and seek and who dont have that spiritual rush, that emotion. Its day in and day out following jesus. Some people tried to say she was without faith, it was faithless. For me, that was one of the confirmations of todays ceremony was almost a necessity, the purification and darkness and her plea be my light, come be my light. It is so fitting. In the eyes of spirituality, that experience was essential. . And i think thats what makes this so appealing to so many people. I know many people in that state right now. And perhaps in our own lives. Shes a comfort and inter intercessor. Inter cessor. Cessor. This celebration is truly the heart of the jub democratilee o. This is not to say that there are not other Mother Teresas around the woshrld. I know many. But shes the symbol. O god who gives us the gift of true prayer of peace, graciously grant that through this offering, we may do fitting homage to your majesty and by partaking of the sacred mysteries, we may be faithfully united through mind and heart. [ speaking italian ] [ speaking italian ] he sign of peace is exchanged, Cardinal Oswald from mumbai who is one of the principal advisors of the cardinal and also the archbishop of calcutta, many bishops and cardinals are concelebrating. And we have the concelebrating priests that you see here, but also the many priests now carrying the blessed sacrament to the ends of the earth, to the peripheries of st. Peters square. Over 100 people will be nourished with the body and blood of christ, the bread of life. As im watching this this and s seeing the many images that the world has seen, shes on every news channel, newspapers and whatever, i say to myself a message here was communicated in a remarkable way. She did not study television. She had no background in all of this, and yet it was that smile, those hands in prayer, the kindness. And she also challenged people. She took leaders to task. I believe that she is the perfect saint for this year of mercy. What a wonderful symbol. This does not mean there are not others. I could name you at least ten women religious and many laypeople doing heroic things. A few weeks ago fwi visited the loss of mercy in new york an i was brought to tears seeing what they were doing in the poorest neighborhoods. And we could name different individuals. She was so aware of her need for mercy before god. She was very much at home in poverty and for that reason Mother Teresa offers her poverty to us and it becomes wretchnerio us. It is a reminder that before god we all stand in mercy. We are beggars, were coming to stand in need of his love and his mercy. I also think that this is Mother Teresas message, that calcutta is not only incutta is everywhere. She is an icon of mercy and no coincidence that as we move toward the conclusion, she is proposed as an icon, as a simple saint of mercy. Mercy one of the definitions of mercy is forgiveness. And so this is what she had to say about forgiveness and taken from an interview i did with her over 30 years ago. And i transcribe what she said. And when i spoke to her then about forgiveness, she respond ed if by not just to forgive, we need to forget. And in order to forget, we need humility. We need to forget the hurt and humidity and love she used to say completes forgiveness because the fruit of i have toness forgiveness is to forget that hurt. It is so much easier to forgive than to forget. But if we dont, we havent truly forgiven. With jesus, hes able to forgive so much because he loves so much. Great love can forgive great sin. The terms that she would use, she tended to say the same things in different contexts, but always very todown to earth very much heart to heart. And i cant help but see many similarities between her and pope francis. This is a match made in heaven. Its remarkable the simplicity of words. The homily we just heard, very short, very brief and there are many lines there that are probably being quoted now throughout the world. Pope francis referred to Mother Teresa using her own language. She gave me her Business Card one day, she puts this Business Card in my hand after mass and as i walked out, i was struck by two things. First of all, her address, there was no email at the time, but no address. Just said Mother Teresa, mc. But on the other side it so happened that the fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace. God bless you, Mother Teresa. Who more do you need. Truly a synth