Mother Teresa
In Service to Others
Lucy B
Living by your morals-
Mother Teresa
Lucy B
7B Religious Studies
14.06.05
Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, Macedonia on August 27th, 1910. She dedicated her life to the service of others. She nursed the dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted and the unloved. In recognition of her efforts, Mother Teresa was awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. Mother Theresa lived her life by her conscience, giving herself to the “poorest of poor”.
At the age of twelve, Mother Teresa strongly felt the call of God. As she went on to learn more about God, she felt the urge to become a missionary and spread the love of Christ. At age 18, she left the home where she had grown up and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. She took her vows in 1937 and chose the name Teresa after the saint of foreign missionaries.
Mother Teresa began her career as a teacher at St Mary’s School in Calcutta. She saw the sick and poor people on the streets and felt she needed to do something about it. She asked for permission to leave her teaching job and begin a ministry among the sick. Mother Teresa began her work with the poor by offering slum children an education. She was helped by people who volunteered their time and their money. For Mother Teresa building the school, teaching the poor and nursing the sick was a sort of prayer. Every day through her actions, she lived by her conscience because she believed so strongly in the love of God that she wanted to share her love unconditionally.
Working with the sick is not a pleasant thing. Mother Teresa thought it was an honour. “When I wash a lepers wounds, I feel I am nursing the lord himself” she once said. These thoughts can be found in the bible “As long as you did it to one of these, the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.” For Mother Teresa, these weren’t just thoughts, these became her actions.
Mother Teresa soon had many people joining her in this work for the poor and dying. She was granted permission to begin her own order, The Missionaries of Charity. Four vows are taken: poverty, chastity, obedience and pledging service to the poor. These missionaries have spread all over the world offering help to the poorest of poor, the sick, the dying, alcoholics, AIDS suffers and the homeless.
Helping the sick was a daring thing to do because not many people would want to work with diseases that are contagious. Mother Teresa never changed her mind about being helpful, no matter what risks this meant to her own health. In 1982, Mother Teresa talked the Israeli army into stopping shooting so she could rescue 37 children who were in danger of their lives. She didn’t think of her own life, only the lives of these innocent children. In 1994, Mother Teresa was accused of accepting donations from controversial people including dictators. “No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work,” said Mother Teresa, “the poor could benefit from a despot’s generosity and he would benefit from the giving.” No matter what difficulties she faced, Mother Teresa listened to her conscience.
Mother Teresa made people look at the world through different eyes. She never felt sorry for the poor. She thought that the way the never complained was a lesson for everyone.
Not only did Mother Teresa help hundreds of people through giving her love, but she inspired thousands of people by how she lived her life. Mother Teresa was dedicated, compassionate and selfless. She died September 5th, 1997 but will never be forgotten.
Bibliography
http://www.canoe.ca/MotherTeresa/biography.html
Mother Teresa of Calcutta,” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2005
Nobel Lectures, Peace 1971-1980, Editor in Charge Tore Frangsmyr, Editor Irwin Abrams, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1997
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