CELEBRATING MIRACLES: Seven Days of Saints HONORING THE CANONIZATION OF MOTHER TERESA

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Ric Francis for CRS

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved.

‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us.’

–HEBREWS 12:1

Miracles are a mark of sainthood. Extraordinary events, nearly beyond belief: someone coming back to life, a storm suddenly rising up, a man walking through locked doors or a tumor disappearing overnight. We celebrate the saints for their miracles, but also for their lives of sacrifice and goodness.

In our own lives too, we are inspired by the daily, extraordinary events we see happen because of people like you. With every gift to the needy—whether offered in time, money or prayer—we honor the example of the saints who have gone before us.

At Catholic Relief Services, we recognize you and the part you play in responding to our most vulnerable brothers and sisters around the world. In thanks, we have compiled this e-book, sharing images from the communities where your gifts are making a difference, paired with quotes from a few of the saints who spent their lives working to alleviate the suffering of people in need.

Thank you for caring. Thank you for bringing hope. Thank you for the miracles you help happen all around the world.

Photo by Michael Stulman/CRS

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Eduardo Naranjo for CRS

ST. SCHOLASTICA, patron in times of storms, summoned a thunderstorm

God hears us in our time of need. On April 16, 2016, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador, one of the largest in decades. CRS and others around the world responded immediately, sending prayers and gifts that gave people hope and ensured rebuilding began right away.

‘I asked you and you would not listen. So I asked my God and he did listen.’

–ST. SCHOLASTICA

‘Compassion, my dear brothers, is preferable to cleanliness. Reflect that with a little soap I can easily clean my bed covers, but even with a torrent of tears I would never wash from my soul the stain that my harshness toward the unfortunate would create.’

—ST. MARTIN OF PORRES

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Jennifer Hardy/CRS

When Ngoc Thi Anh Tran was a baby, her grandmother, Ky Thi Chu, was told Ngoc would never sit, stand, walk or talk. CRS helped their family arrange for homeschooling twice a week, and today Ngoc can move around on her own and is learning basic reading and math. Here, Ky marvels at the miracle of hearing Ngoc call her “grandma.”

ST. MARTIN OF PORRES, patron of public health workers, healed the sick

Today in the world, 65 million people are displaced, half of them children. As desperate families flee warfare and violence, others step up to give respite and refuge to the homeless, provide medical care for the sick and hurting, and listen to the stories of trauma and loss.

‘Love must not be hidden. It must be living, active and true!’

—ST. FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo courtesy of Natalia Tsoukala/Caritas

ST. FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI, patron of the displaced, healed a sick baby

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Oscar Leiva for CRS

ST. JOHN PAUL II, patron of World Youth Day

Climate change has affected more than just the Earth. Farmers and their livestock struggle to figure out how to survive in increasingly harsh conditions. In Bolivia, farming families learn to conserve water needed to keep their land—and futures—strong.

‘Dear brothers and sisters: your determined efforts to meet the needs of the countless number of people around the world who turn to you for help bear eloquent testimony to the Christian virtue of charity.’

—ST. JOHN PAUL II

Many mothers and fathers don’t have access to good health care for their children—and many children don’t live past age 5. But your gifts make a difference in more than 100 countries around the world. Thanks to you, mothers in Zambia are learning how to improve their newborns’ nutrition. And they’re using mosquito nets to protect their children against malaria.

‘Act in a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you, because you have received much from God.’

—ST. FAUSTINA KOWALSKA

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Jim Stipe/CRS

ST. FAUSTINA KOWALSKA, patron of mercy, healed the sick

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Ismail Ferdous for CRS

ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, patron of the homeless, raised a dead child to life

Natural disasters strike Bangladesh year after year. Through training, communities learn ways to prevent deaths and reduce destruction, such as tying down roofs, storing grain and securing livestock. These measures save lives and give families courage to face future storm seasons.

‘Lord, by thy cruel death, and by thy dear mother Mary, deliver these poor souls from their sufferings. Lord, by thy five sacred wounds, save us.’

—ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY

©2015 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Asad Zaidi for CRS

Ethiopia is suffering through the worst drought in 50 years. Communities are taking matters into their own hands through CRS-supported trainings that teach them how to conserve water. Though still waiting for rain, these 150 women are determined to save their families.

‘We must speak to them with our hands—by giving—before we try to speak to them with our lips.’

—ST. PETER CLAVER

ST. PETER CLAVER, patron of slaves, raised a dead man to life

‘We do not need to carry out grand things in order to show a great love for God and for our neighbor. It is the intensity of love we put into our gestures that makes them into something beautiful for God.’

—ST. TERESA OF CALCUTTA

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS

ST. TERESA OF CALCUTTA, patron of the poor and dying, healed the sick

We may never see a saint’s miracle in our lifetime, but your gifts and prayers have caused miracles too: a dry field yielding a harvest; a malnourished child near death, now healthy; a destroyed home, fully rebuilt; a grandmother hearing her granddaughter learn to speak. Miracles.

©2016 Catholic Relief Services. All Rights Reserved. AG1646

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES IS THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AGENCY OF THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES. WE EASE SUFFERING AND PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE IN NEED IN 101 COUNTRIES, WITHOUT REGARD TO RACE, RELIGION OR NATIONALITY.

CRS is efficient and effective. In 2015, 93 percent of our expenditures went to CRS programming that benefits poor people overseas.

To learn more, visit crs.org.

Together with the entire Church, Catholic Relief Services celebrates the canonization of St. Teresa of Calcutta. CRS and Mother Teresa worked together before her work was well-known. We have been a friend of the Missionaries of Charity, religious sisters devoted to “wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor,” for nearly 50 years. This long history forever binds us to her and her incredible work.

“You do your work with CRS beautifully, until it hurts. Why? Because that is your love for the poor, and the greater your love, the greater the help we’ll be able to give to our people—here in Manila and all over the world.”

—MOTHER TERESA TO CRS, 1997

Mother Teresa’s tireless efforts on behalf of God’s most vulnerable children made her the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and an example for millions worldwide devoted to protecting human life and dignity.

And now we rejoice that as of September 4, 2016, she will forever be St. Teresa of Calcutta, as the Church celebrates her profound legacy and declares with joy her sainthood before the world.

We invite you and your communities of faith to use this e-book to celebrate her and the “cloud of witnesses” that go before us.

Photo by CRS staff