By Glaiza Salanio

To commemorate the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta, Ateneo Senior High School students, teachers, and staff gathered together at the third floor of the Formation Learning Center building on Thursday, September 5.

The eucharistic celebration was presided over by Father Firmo N. Bargayo Jr., SJ, the Executive Director of the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service Foundation, Incorporated, which was the primary beneficiary of the mass.

Fr. Firmo started his homily by asking the root word of “pananampalataya,” before discussing how faith comes to us as God reveals Himself to us.

“Do you know the root word of pananampalataya? The root word of pananampalataya is “taya.” But in faith, this is our nature. We did something because this is what faith had given us. But these are fruits of the faith during the mission of Christ,” he explained.

After sharing his personal story about how he met God in his life which strengthened his faith, he said, “Faith can grow because of the love that we have for the Lord.”

Shortly after the mass, a tribute and prayer for Arch Michael Barcelona, an ASHS student who recently passed away, happened. The community also gave blessings to the athletes for the upcoming UAAP Season 87 and other tournaments led by the Blue Babble Battalion.

Meanwhile, the class of 12-Navarro was assigned to create the publication materials for the mass, and students from 12-Evans and 12-Grodecky were assigned as readers.

Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta

Every year, we celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta on September 5, marking her death anniversary.

In 1950, Mother Teresa founded Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation that helps “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

She also established various institutions, serving the poor, sick, and vulnerable. Through these initiatives, she won different awards, such as the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize, the Nobel Peace Prize, and more.

On September 4, 2016, Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa in St. Peter’s Square, officially welcoming her into sainthood.

St. Teresa’s life and work will surely continue to inspire people around the world. As she once said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”