Biography Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
Mother Teresa
Mother
Teresa (1910-1997) was a Roman Catholic nun, who devoted her life to
serving the poor and destitute around the world. She spent many years in
Calcutta, India where shed founded the Missionaries of Charity, a
religious congregation devoted to helping those in great need. In 1979,
Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and has become a symbol
of charitable selfless work. She was beatified in 2003, the first step
on the path to sainthood, within the Catholic church.
“It is not how much we do,
but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving.”
– Mother Teresa
Short Biography Mother Teresa
Mother
Teresa was born, 1910, in Skopje, capital of the Republic of Macedonia.
Little is known about her early life, but at a young age she felt a
calling to be a nun and serve through helping the poor. At the age of 18
she was given permission to join a group of nuns in Ireland. After a
few months of training, with the Sisters of Loreto, she was then given
permission to travel to India. She took her formal religious vows in
1931, and chose to be named after St Therese of Lisieux – the patron saint of missionaries.
On
her arrival in India, she began by working as a teacher, however the
widespread poverty of Calcutta made a deep impression on her; and this
led to her starting a new order called “The Missionaries of Charity”.
The primary objective of this mission was to look after people, who
nobody else was prepared to look after. Mother Teresa felt that serving
others was a key principle of the teachings of Jesus Christ. She often
mentioned the saying of Jesus,“Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.”
As Mother Teresa said herself:
“Love cannot remain by itself — it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service .” –
She
experienced two particularly traumatic periods in Calcutta. The first
was the Bengal famine of 1943 and the second was the Hindu/Muslim
violence in 1946 – before the partition of India. In 1948, she left the
convent to live full time amongst the poorest of Calcutta. She chose to
wear a white Indian Sari, with blue trimmings – out of respect for the
traditional Indian dress. For many years, Mother Teresa and a small band
of fellow nuns survived on minimal income and food, often having to beg
for funds. But, slowly her efforts with the poorest were noted and
appreciated by the local community and Indian politicians.
In
1952, she opened her first home for the dying, which allowed people to
die with dignity. Mother Teresa often spent time with those who were
dying. Some have criticised the lack of proper medical attention, and
refusal to give painkillers. But, others say that it afforded many
neglected people the opportunity to die knowing someone cared.
Over
time the work grew. Missions were started overseas, and by 2013, there
are 700 missions operating in over 130 countries. The scope of their
work also expanded to include orphanages, and hospices for those with
terminal illness.
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
—- Mother Teresa
Mother
Teresa never sought to convert those of an another faith. Those in her
dying homes were given the religious rites appropriate to their faith.
However, she had a very firm Catholic faith and took a strict line on
abortion, the death penalty and divorce – even if her position was
unpopular. Her whole life was influenced by her faith and religion, even
though at times she confessed she didn’t feel the presence of God.
The
Missionaries of Charity now has branches throughout the world including
branches in the developed world where they work with the homeless and
people affected with AIDS. In 1965, the Society became an International
Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.
In the 1960s, the
life of Mother Teresa was first brought to a wider public attention by
Malcolm Muggeridge who wrote a book and produced a documentary called
“Something Beautiful for God”.
In
1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for work undertaken in the
struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a
threat to peace.” She didn’t attend the ceremonial banquet, but asked
that the $192,000 fund be given to the poor.
In later years, she
was more active in western developed countries. She commented that
though the west was materially prosperous, there was often a spiritual
poverty.
“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
-— Mother Teresa
When she was asked how to promote world peace, she replied.
“Go home and love your family”
Over
the last two decades of her life, Mother Teresa suffered various health
problems but nothing could dissuade her from fulfilling her mission of
serving the poor and needy. Until her very last illness she was active
in travelling around the world to the different branches of “The
Missionaries of Charity” During her last few years, she met Princess Diana in the Bronx, New York. The two died within a week of each other.
Following
Mother Teresa’s death the Vatican began the process of beatification,
which is the second step on the way to canonisation and sainthood.
Mother Teresa was formally beatified in October 2003 by Pope John Paul II and is now known as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa was a living saint who offered a great example and inspiration to the world.
Awards Mother Teresa
- The first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize. (1971)
- Kennedy Prize (1971)
- The Nehru Prize –“for promotion of international peace and understanding”(1972)
- Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975),
- The Nobel Peace Prize (1979)
- States Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985)
- Congressional Gold Medal (1994)
- Honorary citizenship of the United States (November 16, 1996),
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