Blessed Mother Theresa : Serving God in the Poor : ( 1910 - 1997 ) Mother Theresa is undoubtedly one of the greatest Christian witnesses of 20th century. She taught the world how to be human and she showed that by being human one can become divine. She preached God’s love through simple actions rather than through lofty words. I was privileged to converse with her for a few moments in 1992 when I was still a young seminarian. As I knelt in front of her and said to her that I am preparing to become a priest, Mother placing her hands on my head said, “Become a good priest... you know...” After many years it still keeps ringing in my ears. Internet and Social Media are aglow with her images, quotes and prayers. As it keeps multiplying day after day, we can conclude that her inspiration lives on forever and she always remains a model of human and Christian virtues. A serious thought to the following pithy saying will remind us of Jesus’ own beatitude given in Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps it is a practical way of living the manifesto of Jesus. It is ushering the Kingdom of God among us. One such popular quote is: People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. Mother Theresa was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje in former Yogoslavia. From her teen-years she was active in her local parish and with a guidance of a Jesuit priest became interested in missionary vocation. At the age of 17 Agnes joined Loretto Sisters and took the name of Theresa wanting to be like St. Therese of Lisieux. Mother travelled to India in 1929 and professed to be a religious two years later. On the day of her Perpetual Profession she vowed to be a “spouse of Jesus for all eternity”. She started her missionary activity as a school teacher and eventually became the principal Loretto Girls School in Calcutta. In his homily on the day of Beatification St. Pope John Paul II would say, “A person of profound prayer and deep love for her religious sisters and her students, Mother Teresa’s twenty years in Loreto were filled with profound happiness. Noted for her charity, unselfishness and courage, her capacity for hard work and a natural talent for organization, she lived out her consecration to Jesus, in the midst of her companions, with fidelity and joy.” But her heart always longed for doing more for Jesus and reaching out to more people especially those who are poor and abandoned. On 10 September 1946 during the train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her annual retreat, Mother Teresa received her “inspiration,” her “call within a call.” On that day, in a way she would never explain, Jesus’ thirst for love and for souls took hold of her heart and the desire to satiate His thirst became the driving force of her life. In the coming weeks and months she prayed fervently and asked the Lord to show her his will for her. Jesus revealed to her the desire of His heart for “victims of love” who would “radiate His love on souls.” Mother Theresa clearly heard the Lord calling her, “Come be My light.” He revealed His pain at the neglect of the poor, His sorrow at their ignorance of Him and His longing for their love. Mother began to spend more time in prayer and discernment. With due permission from Church’s authorities on August 17, 1948, she dressed for the first time in a white, blue-bordered sari and passed through the gates of her beloved Loreto convent to enter the world of the poor. On 21 December she went for the first time to the slums. She visited families, washed the sores of some children, cared for an old man lying sick on the road and nursed a woman dying of hunger and Tuberculosis. She started each day in communion with Jesus in the Eucharist and then went out, rosary in her hand, to find and serve Him in “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.”After some months, she was joined, one by one, by her former students. Having started the new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity on 7 October 1950 in Calcutta, it grew rapidly in other parts of India and later spread to South America and Africa. By 1990s she reached out to America, Europe and even to communist countries. Her missionary society did not restrict itself to service to the poor, but Mother also started other branches of missionaries who spent time in contemplative prayer and do priestly activities. In 1981 Mother began the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests as a “little way of holiness” for those who desire to share in her charism and spirit. Ultimately all her activities were geared to the holiness of individuals and the whole world. Her numerous works earned for her numerous recognitions and awards. With humility she received them on behalf of the poor for the greater glory of God. The highest civilian award of India, Padmashri in 1962 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 are noteworthy. After her death on 5th September 1997, she was made Blessed by her great admirer and friend Pope John Paul II on On October 19, 2003 only after five years of her death. Amidst the busy service to the poor, Mother Teresa’s life bore witness to the joy of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love, and the surpassing worth of friendship with God. Her numerous sayings powerfully bring out her deep seated thoughts. She would say, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples…We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop was not there, the ocean would be missing something…A life not lived for others is not a life.” Throughout her mission for the poor she kept the Christian and religious identity. She once said, “There are so many religions and each one has its different ways of following God. I follow Christ: Jesus is my God, Jesus is my Spouse, Jesus is my Life, Jesus is my only Love, Jesus is my All in All; Jesus is my Everything. ( Rev. Father: Lazar Arasu SDB ) Director: Don Bosco Technical Institute, Kamuli, Uganda.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 10:25:04 +0000
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