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Mother Teresa
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Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on Aug 27, 1919 in Shkup, Albania
(now Skopje, Macedonia) as the youngest of three children in a
middle class family. |
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As a child Agnes sang in a choir and also played the mandolin. |
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At the
age of twelve she felt for the first time the desire to spend her
life for Gods' work. She prayed a lot over it and talked about it
with her family. She asked her father: "How can I be sure?" He
answered: "Through your joy. If you feel really happy by the idea
that God might call you to serve Him, then this is the evidence that
you have a call."
In her teens, Agnes became a member of a youth group in her local
parish. Through her involvement with the group she developed an
interest in the activities of missionaries. She had a strong desire
to help the poor and needy. |
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When she
was only 17, Agnes took up the vocation of a Catholic missionary
nun. She went to Ireland and joined the Irish order, the Sisters of
Loretto, a community known for their missionary work in India. When
she took her vows as a Sister of Loretto, she chose the name Teresa
after Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Six weeks later, Teresa set sail to
Calcutta, India to serve as a teacher. |
In
Calcutta, Sister Teresa as she was known taught geography and
catechism (a way of teaching the bible) at St. Mary's High School.
In 1944, she became the principal of St. Mary's. In the same year
she contracted tuberculosis, and was sent to Darjeeling for rest and
recuperation. It was on the train to Darjeeling that she received
her second call -- "the call within the call". Mother Teresa
recalled later,
"I was to leave the
convent and work with the poor, living among them…to be God's Love
in action to the poorest of the poor. That was the beginning of the
Missionaries of Charity." |
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She
sought the permission of the Vatican to leave the Sisters of Loretto
and pursue her desire of helping the poor in 1948. She was granted
permission on the condition that she would not give up her vows.
Sister Teresa started a school in the slums to teach the children of
the poor. She also learned basic medicine and nursing and went into
the homes of the sick to treat them.
In 1949, some of her former pupils joined her. The group rented a
room so they could care for helpless people otherwise condemned to
die in the gutter. Mother Teresa adopted Indian citizenship, and her
nuns followed her practice of wearing a white sari with a blue
border (representing God's will) as their habit.
In 1950, the group was established by the Church as a Diocesan
Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese. It was named the Missionaries
of Charity. Members of the congregation take four vows on acceptance
by the religious community. In addition to the three basic vows of
poverty, chastity, and obedience, a fourth vow is required pledging
service to the poor, whom Mother Teresa described as the embodiment
of Christ. |
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In
1952, the Missionaries opened their first 'Home for the Dying',
'Nirmal Hriday' (Pure heart) in space made available by the
Calcutta Municipal authorities near a Kali temple. She and her
fellow nuns gathered dying Indians off the streets of Calcutta
and brought them to this home to care for them in their last
days. Ever since then, thousands of men, women and children have
been taken from the streets of Calcutta and transported to
Nirmal Hriday. Under Mother Teresa's guidance, the Missionaries
of Charity have also built, near Asansol, India, a leper colony
called 'Shanti Nagar' (Town of Peace). |
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In
an interview with Malcolm Muggeridge, in the book 'Something
Beautiful for God', Mother Teresa tells how she for the first
time picked up a woman from the street. "The woman was half
eaten up by rats and ants. I took her to the hospital, but they
could do nothing for her. They only took her because I refused
to go home unless something was done for her. After they cared
for her, I went straight to the town hall and asked for a place
where I could take these people, because that day I found more
people dying in the street. The employee of health services
brought me to the temple of Kali and showed me the "dormashalah"
where the pilgrims used to rest after they worshipped the
goddess Kali. The building was empty and he asked me if I wanted
it. I was very glad with the offer for many reasons, but
especially because it was the center of prayer for Hindus.
Within 24 hours we brought our sick and suffering and started
the Home for the Dying Destitutes." |
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Today
there are over 450 homes of the Missionaries in various parts of the
world. The mission has grown from 12 to thousands serving the
"poorest of the poor" in 450 centers from America to Albania. In
1966, the Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded.
Mother Teresa gained worldwide recognition with her tireless efforts
for the world's sick and homeless. Her work brought her numerous
humanitarian awards, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. |
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Fundu Fact |
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Mother Teresa was always thinking of ways to help the poor. When she
was invited to receive the Nobel Prize in 1979 she insisted on a
departure from the ceremonial banquet and asked that the funds for
the same ($6,000) should be donated to the poor in Calcutta. Mother
Teresa's reason - the money saved on just one banquet could help her
to feed hundreds for a year. |
Beginning in 1980, homes began to spring-up for drug addicts,
prostitutes, battered women, and more orphanages and schools for
poor children around the world.
In 1985, Mother Teresa established the first hospice for AIDS
victims in New York, U.S. In 1991, Mother Teresa returned for
the first time to her native Albania (now known as Serbia) and
opened a home in Tirana. By this year, there were 168 homes
established in India alone.
Mother Teresa travelled around the world in her quest. She
reached out to help the hungry in Ethiopia, |
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radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake victims in
Armenia. In 1982, during the siege of Beirut, she convinced the
Israeli army and Palestinian guerillas to stop shooting long
enough for her to rescue 37 children trapped in a front-line
hospital. For the Mother, no place was too dangerous for her, no
destination too distant. |
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In
November of 1996, Mother Teresa received the honorary U.S.
citizenship with the Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian
award. |
Mother was helped in her cause by various well-wishers. She
recalls an incident:
"Once a chairman of a multinational company came to see me, to
offer me a property in Bombay, he first asked: 'Mother, how do
you manage your budget?" I asked him who had sent him here. He
replied: 'I felt an urge inside me.' I said: "Other people like
you come to see me and say the same. It was clear God sent you,
Mr. A, as He sends Mr. X, Mrs. Y, Miss Z, and they provide the
material means we need for our work. The grace of God is what
moved you. You are my budget. God sees to our needs, as Jesus
promised." |
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Mother Teresa has had more than her fair share of criticism. In
1994 a British television documentary, "Hell's Angel: Mother
Teresa of Calcutta," accused her of taking donations without
questioning the sources. She has also received some criticism
for her strong views against abortion and divorce. Throughout
her life Mother was unaffected by criticism, stating, "No matter
who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own
work."
In the late 80s her declining health meant that she could no
longer carry on her work as actively as before. In 1990 she
decided to step down as head of the Misssionaries but was voted
back by all but one (herself). She finally stepped down on March
13 1997. Sister Nirmala was chosen to succeed her. |
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Nirmala whose name means 'pure' was born into a Nepali family in
the state of Bihar and was trained as a lawyer before joining
Missionaries of Charity. She had supervised the order's centers
in Europe and the United States and since 1979, led the
contemplative wing of the order, in which nuns devote their
lives to meditation, before she took over as head of the
mission. She is aided in her work by a council of four members.
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Mother Teresa passed away on September 5, 1997 following a massive
heart attack. She was 87. The inscription on her tombstone reads
"Love one another, as I have loved you"
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The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong
people, living day to day with no food. And they never curse, never
complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so
much to learn from them. |
Sainthood
Shortly after Mother Teresa's passing, her name was recommended
for sainthood. There is normally a rule that requires a
five-year wait after death to begin the process of sainthood.
But it was waived by the Pope in her case. Still the formal
process of sainthood will take a couple of years. The church
follows a strict set of rules in the process. First, to
determine who qualifies, the Vatican looks to its Congregation
for the "Causes of Saints" or proof that the life of the
candidate was a model of holiness. Once the applicant is
approved as a candidate, interviews with people who knew the
candidate are held and a position paper is prepared. If the
evidence proves a life of "heroic virtue", the person is given
the title "venerable" by the Pope. The next title, beatified
(blessed), is attained if it can be proven that a miracle
occurred after the death of the candidate, the result of someone
praying to that person for help. To finalize a canonization, it
must be established that a second miracle occurred. Verifying a
miracle is considered the most difficult hurdle in the process.
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