Blessed Teresa of Calcutta spoke in a like vein when she said, "Our work calls us to see Jesus in everyone. Jesus told us that He is the hungry, the naked one, the thirsty one. He is the one without a home. He is the one who is suffering." The beautiful examples of Hospitality of this humble Missionary Sister of Charity were recognized by Pope John Paul II when he declared her Blessed in October, 2003.

The charism or gift of Hospitality enables a Christian to channel God’s love in a welcoming and caring way, as one reaches out to those who are hungry, homeless, and friendless.

"My house isn’t clean. I have little food to offer. I am not a good listener. I am afraid to have strangers in my house" -- all these terms are unknown to the hospitable person. Rather, one with the gift of Hospitality would be more inclined to say, "Come on in. I don’t have a banquet to serve you, but you are welcome to what I have in the line of shelter, food, a bed, and a listening ear." One need not be an expert in Hospitality to invite the hungry, the homeless, the friendless. One can be just a beginner to make the words of Dorothy Day ring true: "It is always a feast where love is; and where love is, God is."

Blessed Teresa and her Sisters provide the world with marvelous examples of Hospitality. While serving in India in an elite school as a Sister of Our Lady of Loreto, she agonized in the knowledge that on the other side of her convent walls, people were living in shacks. She felt called to leave her post, her religious community, and to start a new community dedicated to serving the poor. Sister Teresa met with much opposition from the hierarchy, but she was adamant in her desire to give her life for the poor, and eventually won church approval. When her Sister Missionaries of Charity make vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, they add a fourth vow to serve the poor. They dress in the sari, the garb of the poor. Each Sister wears on her shoulder a small crucifix attached with a safety pin.

Depriving herself of the ordinary comforts of carpeted floors, comfortable furniture, and washing machines, Mother Teresa led her Sisters in the practice of a very simple lifestyle. When the community was given such luxuries, they were soon sold to provide food and shelter for the poor. Living close to the poor and the sick, Mother Teresa and her Sisters daily opened their doors to gather up the dying and help them be comfortable in a bed with clean sheets at least during their last hours.

"As long as you did it to the least of My brothers and sisters, you did it unto Me."