Mother Teresa - a Life of Giving

Mother Teresa - a Life of Giving

Known around the word for her tireless work on behalf of the poor, the sick, and the dying, Mother Teresa has devoted her life to giving hope to the hopeless in more than one hundred and thirty three countries. She inspires people to find a way to translate our spiritual beliefs into action in the world. Mother Teresa founded one of the most well-known convents in the world, the Missionaries of Charity, who through prayer and faith serve the less fortunate. They have improved the lives of countless souls and given dignity to the dying. There mission has expanded over the years, bringing Mother Teresa's compassion to communities where there is need. Taking the advice of John the Baptist, the charity closely follows the statement, "If you have two coats, give one to the person who has none." She's won numerous awards from different countries, but through all this Mother was humble, always giving God the glory. She often remarked that she was only a sister, a pencil in God's hands. (Shaefer 13)

Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in what is now Skopje, Capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Her true given name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Even though her birth was on the 26th of August, Mother considered her "true" birthday to be the 27th, the day she was baptized. Her father was a successful contractor and her mother was a housewife. She was greatly inspired by both her parents, as they always came to the aid of those in need. By age twelve, Mother Teresa had become convinced that her vocation was aiding the poor and at age eighteen she decided to become a nun. She then traveled to Dublin, Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto in 1937. (Le Joly 9)

After spending a year in the Ireland convent, Mother Teresa leaves to join the Loreto convent in Darjeeling, India where she spends seventeen years as a teacher and principal of St. Mary's high school in Calcutta. (Le Joly 11) It is during this time that Mother Teresa came face to face with the poor peoples of Calcutta's slums. On the train ride back from Calcutta to Darjeeling Mother Teresa experienced what she described as "the call within the call." (Vardey 13) She realized then that she was called to minister to the poor of Calcutta's slums. About a year later and after some hard convincing, Mother Teresa was given permission from the Catholic Church to leave the Loreto order and move to Calcutta's slums to set up her first school there. Later Mother Teresa said that, "To leave Loreto was my greatest sacrifice, the most difficult thing I had ever done. It was more difficult than to leave my family and country to enter religious life. Loreto meant everything to me. In Loreto I had received my spiritual training; I had become a religious there. I had given myself to Jesus in the institute. I liked the work, teaching girls." (Le Joly 13) Even though Mother Teresa initially started a school, she quickly turned to helping the starving and dying left out on the streets. In 1949, a few young women joined her efforts and set in motion the beginnings of a new religious convent helping the "poorest of the poor." (Shaefer 86) By 1950, the Vatican gave Mother Teresa permission to start her congregation called the Missionaries of Charity. From that moment onward, recruitment to the congregation never slowed. Candidates came in increasing numbers, from Bengal, the East Coast and South India.

In 1952 Mother Teresa opened the Kalighat Home of the Pure Heart, a free hospice for the poor and sickly. This "home for the dying" has treated over 100,000 people since it first opened it's doors. (Shaefer 89) The people who were brought to the home received the needed medical attention and were given the opportunity to die with their dignity intact. Mother Teresa stated, "No one is allowed to die on the streets. Someone, somewhere will bring him or her to us." (Vardey 92) Mother Teresa said the she could see the face of Jesus in the destitute and dying all across Calcutta's streets. Even though Mother Teresa was a Catholic and the Missionaries of Charity were a Catholic congregation, all religions were respected here and each of the dying that were brought in were able to die according to the rituals of their own faith. One of Mother Teresa's ardent followers commented, "We cannot view her through Catholic eyes or Hindu eyes, but only through human eyes, for she respects all religions and all people. By not making her religion exclusive, Mother Teresa's compassion encompassed persuasions and the irreligious and disbeliever's as well." Mother Teresa herself said, "I do not convert. I convert you to be a better Catholic, a better Hindu, a better Muslim or Jain or Buddhist. I would like to help you find God. When you find Him, it is up to you to do what you want with Him." (Shaefer 32) Mother Teresa said about death in the home, "A beautiful death, is for people who lived like animals to die like angels, loved and wanted." (Shaefer 32) After this Mother Teresa's turned her loving gaze towards people afflicted with leprosy. There are around 12,000,000 leprosy cases worldwide, most of them in Asia, with some 4,000,000 in India. Mother Teresa opened her first mobile leprosy clinic in 1957, followed by the construction of many facilities that would provide medical care, dormitories, schools