Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Going Against the Grain

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was beatified six years ago today, on World Mission Sunday of 2003.

She may or may not be declared a saint. From what I see, she looks like a shoo-in for sainthood: but I don't have all the facts, and I'm content to wait until - and if - the church says she's one of the saints.

Which brings up an interesting question: what is a saint?

I ran into a pretty-good definition in a news article:

"A saint is one who doesn't put themselves at the center, but rather chooses to go against the grain and live according to the Gospel, says Benedict XVI...."
(ZENIT.org)

That "going against the grain" may be part of the reason that people like Mother Teresa of Calcutta get called 'hypocrites' (Mother Teresa of Calcutta: She's No Princess Di" (May 8, 2009)) - or worse.

But nobody said that following the gospels was a guarantee for top billing in the world's 'most popular' lists. I'm just glad that Mother Teresa of Calcutta, with some remarkable exceptions is admired by so many.

Maybe some of the people who think Mother Teresa of Calcutta was doing something right will find out why she acted the way she did.

Back to that "going against the grain" thing. I used a couple of quotes for a post in another blog last week. I think at least one of them applies here:

"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."
G. K. Chesterton, "Everlasting Man" (1925)

"Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice."
G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News (ILN) September 11, 1909)

Both via The American Chesterton Society.
(Apathetic Lemming of the North "Going With the Stream; Setting Up False Devils" (October 13, 2009))

Related posts:

• "Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Albanian Government Wants Her Body"
  (October 14, 2009)
• "Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Born August 26, 1910"
  (August 26, 2009)
• "Mother Teresa of Calcutta: She's No Princess Di"
  (May 8, 2009)
• "Mother Teresa of Calcutta"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (August 31, 2007)

Background:

• "Beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta"
  The Holy See (the Vatican)
  Including
  • "Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)"
• "Pope: Saints 'Go Against the Flow' "
  ZENIT.org News Agency (October 12, 2009), via EWTN
  
• "September 5 To Mark Feast Day of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta"
  Catholic News Agency (August 30, 2009)
• "Pope beatifies Mother Teresa"
  CNN (October 20, 2003)
• "John Paul II's Anniversary and Mother Teresa's Beatification"
  L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English (October 22, 2003), via EWTN
• "Pope Beatifies Mother Teresa in Front of 300,000"
  ZENIT (October 19, 2003)
• "Will Mother Teresa be sainted?"
  Answers.com
• "Making Saints"
  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops backgrounder