OLD COURSE Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa      - F. G. Herod

Introduction

Mother Teresa (1910-1997) was born in Skopje, Macedonia. She joined a group of nuns called the Sisters of Loreto, who worked in India. After her training in Dublin, she moved to India and embraced the local culture. On October 7, 1950, she started the Missionaries of Charity, a group dedicated to helping the poorest and most neglected people. Though born in Yugoslavia, she considered herself Indian and served people all over the world, ignoring social, religious, and cultural differences.

Mother Teresa began her work in Calcutta, a city known for its extreme poverty. She found dying people on the streets and insisted on getting them care at hospitals. Many people in Calcutta lived in terrible conditions, struggling to survive on the streets.

She decided at the age of twelve that she wanted to be a missionary. At eighteen, she became a nun and was sent to India, where she worked as a teacher and later became the Principal of St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta. The sight of nearby slums disturbed her, and she felt a strong calling to help the poor. After two years of waiting for special permission from the Pope, she left her comfortable life at the school and started working directly in the slums with just five rupees in her pocket.

She started a school for five children in a slum, using mud to write the alphabet. Over time, more people began to help her, and her efforts grew into many schools and missions. Her first helper was a former student, and soon others joined, forming the Missionaries of Charity. The sisters who joined gave up everything to serve the poorest of the poor. They took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and a promise to give free service to the needy.

The sisters lived very simply, owning nothing, and focused on seeing Jesus in everyone they helped. They believed that by caring for the poor, they were serving Jesus. The work was difficult, but they were committed to it because they saw it as an act of love, not just social work.

Mother Teresa faced many challenges, including criticism, threats, and accusations, but she never gave up. She started homes for dying people, unwanted children, and leprosy clinics. She opened thirty-two homes for dying people, where many recovered because of the care they received. She also saved abandoned babies and children, making sure they were loved and cared for. Her work with lepers was especially important, as she set up seventy clinics to treat and care for them.

The Indian government recognized her efforts and gave her land and money to continue her work. The Pope also supported her by giving her his car, which she sold to fund her mission. Despite facing criticism, she stayed focused on helping others, seeing it as her duty to God.

Mother Teresa never asked for money but relied on donations to support her work. Her order grew to include sixty-one centers in India and twenty-eight in other countries, with about a thousand sisters and two hundred brothers. All the members worked hard but were well cared for. Mother Teresa herself was always involved, never asking others to do what she wouldn’t do herself.

In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and used the prize money to expand her mission. Though small and frail, she was very strong and determined, driven by her faith in God. She believed that God had taken care of her work for twenty-seven years without needing any income. People who met her felt a special warmth and happiness, showing her deep commitment to her work. Despite her humility, it’s clear that Mother Teresa was an incredibly important and inspiring figure.