7 November 2017
Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s epistle taken from the Letter to the Romans, Paul admonishes the Christian inhabitants of the Eternal City in which those graced with the various gifts of the Holy Spirit should express these gifts. One of the recommendations is that acts of mercy should be done with cheerfulness. Nothing could provide a greater contrast to the dour and sever distribution of charity described by Charles Dickens in such novels as Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol than the work of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Her recommendation to begin every encounter with a smile since a smile begins the encounter with love takes great courage. When we think of what Mother Teresa encountered in her life, we are amazed at her great courage and resolve, especially being able to smile in the face of great tragedy, and especially the courage it takes to smile with only 10 teeth. Inspired by St. Teresa of Calcutta, we do what we can with what we have to bring about the kingdom of God.