Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
September 5
Saint of the day:
Saint Teresa of Calcutta
The Story of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the order she founded in 1950, as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.
Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia, Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father’s construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.
During her years in public school, Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18, she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.
In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”
After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community, and undertake her new work, Sister Teresa took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals–the ordinary dress of an Indian woman–she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.
The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Others helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, and the use of buildings. In 1952, the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging, and street people.
For the next four decades, Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home. Blessed Teresa was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5611
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-teresa-of-calcutta/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa
https://soundcloud.com/user-84758912-221844386/ep-35-st-theresa-of-calcutta
Prayer:
Visit:
Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Recipe:
Traditional Indian Samosas
Note: Makes about 24 samosas. These little turnovers contain yogurt in the dough and a curried vegetable filling. Serve them with chutney or a good tomato ketchup.
Ingredients:
Filling
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1 cup dry green or yellow split peas, rinsed
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2.5 cups water
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2 medium potatoes
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1 teaspoon salt
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1 tablespoon canola oil
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1 medium red onion, chopped
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1.5 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
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2 teaspoons ground coriander
(with a few whole coriander seeds sprinkled in) -
1 teaspoon garam masala
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1 to 2 teaspoons salt
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Vegetable oil for deep frying
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Chutney or tomato ketchup, for dipping
The Ingredients: Dough
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2 cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour preferred)
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1⁄2 teaspoon salt
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1⁄2 cup plain yogurt
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1⁄4 cup canola oil
Variation: If you are short of time, use potsticker wrappers in place of the traditional dough.
Directions:
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In a medium saucepan, combine split peas and water. Bring them to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until peas are tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Drain peas, and set aside.
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Boil potatoes with 1 teaspoon salt until they are tender. Drain, and mash the potatoes.
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Meanwhile, prepare the dough. Combine flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center and add yogurt and canola oil. Mix ingredients until they form a ball.
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Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover dough, and set it aside for 30 minutes.
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Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a heavy skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they are translucent. Add ginger, and continue stirring for another minute. Add coriander, garam masala, and salt, and cook, stirring, for about a half minute more. Add potatoes and peas, and mix well. Set filling aside.
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On lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring about 12 x 18 inches. Cut dough into 3-inch squares.
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Place 1 scant tablespoon of filling on each square. Use your fingers to moisten edges of dough with water, and fold dough diagonally in half to make a triangle. Press edges firmly together to seal in the filling.
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Heat 1 inch oil in a heavy skillet until it is hot but not smoking, about 350° to 380°. Fry samosas until golden, turning once. Drain samosas on paper towels, and keep them hot.
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Transfer samosas to a heated serving dish, and serve them with chutney or tomato ketchup.
Masala chai is a tea beverage made by boiling black tea in milk and water with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. The word chai means tea and the word masala means spices. Masala chai is spiced tea.
Masala Chai
Ingredients
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8 oz water
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4 oz whole milk
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granulated sugar to taste (about 2 heaped teaspoons per serving, traditionally)
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1 heaping tablespoon of black tea empty out tea bags to make a tablespoon if you don't buy loose leaves
Add the following for the flavoring or spice!
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4 cardamom pods smashed with side of a knife
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small piece of cinnamon stick
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1/4 " coin of fresh ginger
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pinch of fennel seeds about 10 seeds
Directions
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Bring water and milk to a simmer with desired spices in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to lowest setting and add tea. Steep until tea takes on a deep, pinky-tan color, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain into a cup and stir in sugar to taste.
