Monday, November 02, 2015
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu - Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa came
into the world on 26 August 1910 and left it on 5
September 1997.
She was born of Catholic parents of Albanian descent, Nikola
and Dranafile Bojaxhiu, in Skopje, the Republic of Macedonia;
she was named
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, and died as Mother
Teresa in Calcutta, India.
She received her education at the Institute
of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As a young girl she responded to a divine call and
entered the Loreto order of nuns,
in Ireland in September 1928, and then in India
on 6 January 1929.
After she became a Loreto nun on May 24, 1931, she went to
Calcutta as Teresa, a teacher.
Teresa took her final vows on May 24, 1937 and
officially became Mother Teresa.
She also became the principal of St. Mary's
convent.
Then she received the second divine call, the
call within a call.
Mother Teresa patiently sought permission from her
superiors and finally left the convent on August 16, 1948.
Later she founded
the new Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic order of nuns dedicated to helping
the poor.
She was totally dedicated and lived among those she helped.
That was
her vocation following the
call of God.
Mother Teresa and her helpers built homes for
orphans,
nursing homes for lepers and hospices for the terminally ill in
Calcutta.
Her organization expanded to cater for the dying, lepers, and AIDS
sufferers in over a hundred countries;
and her work became known all over the
world.
Mother Teresa's task was overwhelming.
She
started out as just one woman, with no money and no supplies,
having just three
cheap white cotton saris, each one lined with three blue stripes along its
edge.
Her missionary work began with her aim to reach out to the unwanted, the
unloved, the uncared for.
She found some children in the slums, and began
teaching by drawing letters in the dirt with a stick.
Her smiles and her
limited medical knowledge helping the families and others in the area followed.
When donations came in she converted a small rented hut into a classroom.
In
March 1949, a former pupil from Loreto joined her, followed by ten former
pupils thereafter.
At the end of her provisionary year, Mother Teresa
petitioned to form her own order of nuns.
Her request was granted by Pope Pius
XII, and the Missionaries of Charity was established on October 7, 1950.
Her
order has established a hospice, centers for the blind, aged and disabled, and
a leper colony,
helping millions of poor, starving, and dying that lived on the
streets of India.
Mother Teresa's selfless effort has earned her
fame internationally.
She has also expressed many thoughts which became famous
quotations.
She died in September 1997,
by which time the Missionaries of
Charity numbered more than 4,000 with thousands more lay volunteers,
and 610
foundations in 123 countries on the seven continents.
She was awarded the Jewel of India, the
highest honor bestowed on Indian civilians,
and the Soviet Union's Gold Medal
of the Soviet Peace Committee.
In 1979, Mother Teresa won her highest honor
when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
in recognition of her work in
bringing help to suffering humanity.
Mother Teresa declined the Nobel Peace Prize
ceremonial banquet;
she asked that the $192,000 funds be given to the poor in
India,
stating that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help
the needy.
Mother Teresa has lived a very varied citizenship,
being Ottoman subject (1910–1912),
Serbian subject
(1912–1915),
Bulgarian subject
(1915–1918),
Yugoslavian subject
(1918–1943),
Yugoslavian citizen
(1943–1948),
Indian subject
(1948–1950),
Indian citizen (1948–1997).
Mother Teresa said, "By blood, I am
Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun.
As to my
calling, I belong to the world.
As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart
of Jesus."
Mother Teresa was beatified as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in
October 2003.
When she was asked,
"What can we do to promote world peace?"
she answered "Go home
and love your family.
