Today marks the Roman Catholic Church’s canonization of Mother Teresa: she is to be St. Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata).

The title “Saint” derives originally from a term meaning “set apart,” specifically, “set apart for God.” Here at The Stream we’ve spoken of Mother Teresa’s desire to follow God in ministering to the poorest and sickest, her unflinching standfor innocent, helpless babies, her misunderstood heart of forgiveness. What motivates a person to be this way?Ultimately the answer is the God, whom she knew she had been set apart to serve.

God’s heart goes out to the poor, as he asks (Isaiah 58:6-7) whether his call on us isn’t:

    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

She sought justice and protection for helpless innocent babies because the God she loved stands for justice and protection (Psalm 147:5,7-9)

Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
…
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners,
he upholds the widow and the fatherless;
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

Speaking before the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994 she opened her talk with a strong reminder of Jesus’ call (Matt. 25:31-46) to love “the least of these.”

She forgave because she knew she was forgiven (Matthew 6:9-15) and because she knew of God’s call for peace among us (Matt. 5:9).

She loved because she knew Jesus gave his life to love us (Romans 5:8; John 13:34-35).

God made just one Mother Teresa; one to lead in ministry on the streets of Calcutta, one to garner the world’s attention, one to be honored with Nobel Peace Prize, one to speak with unparalleled moral authority to world leaders.

Yet her God is our God. Her God’s heart is our God’s heart. He still calls on us to stand for the weak and the oppressed, the helpless and the innocent, always with the humility of knowing how desperately we need God’s forgiveness, always with the joy of knowing He grants it to us in love, always depending on the life He uniquely gives us as we trust in Him through Christ.

We cannot and need not become Mother Teresas. We all have our own unique callings. But as we travel the paths of our callings we can all follow Mother Teresa’s God, the one true Lord of all creation, the God of you and me as much as any saint: the great God of the Bible revealed in Jesus Christ.

You and I, too, are set apart to serve Him.