MOTHER TERESA: WOMEN OF FAITH Ep 2
Women of faith are Christian women who sincerely follow the teachings and principles of Christianity, living out their faith in their daily lives. They engage in practices like prayer, attending religious services, studying the Bible, and participating in community and charitable activities. Also, They may serve as leaders, teachers, or volunteers within the church.
The term emphasizes the importance of faith in Jesus Christ and Christian doctrine as the foundation of their beliefs and actions. Women of faith embody the virtues and teachings of Christianity in their relationships, families, and communities. Women of faith are often seen as role models and sources of inspiration, emphasizing the importance of faith in shaping their lives and actions.
Thus, Mother Teresa is a woman of faith and a figure who impacted lots of lives during her lifetime. She was a humanitarian, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, and the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Background of Saint Mother Teresa
Born on August 26, 1910, Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjeze Gonxhiu Bojaxhiu), popularly known as Mother Teresa and Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity.
According to her biography by Joan Graff Glucas, Anjeze was fascinated by the lives of missionaries and their service in Bengal. At age 12, she decided to devote her life to missionary work.
At 18, she left home to join the sisters of Loreto at the Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland. She started learning English to become a missionary, as English was the instruction language of the sisters of Loreto, India. She never saw her mother and sister again.
Anjeze would go on to take her solemn vows on May 14, 1937, while she was teaching at a convent in Entally, eastern Calcutta, adopting the style of “mother” as part of Loreto culture. Anjeze was always disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in Calcutta.
On a visit to Darjeeling in 1946, she received what she termed “a call within a call” and requested permission to leave She was permitted to leave and so she left the convent. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 to provide for the needy.
Impact of Mother Teresa’s Works
Mother Teresa’s humanitarian acts helped a lot of people around the world. In 1992, she opened her first hospice, a converted Hindu temple, and named it Kalighat, the home of the pure heart. Her tenacity and hard work won the hearts of different types of people around the world.
One of her most notable acts of selflessness was rescuing 37 children trapped in a frontline hospital from the siege of Beirut by negotiating a cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerillas. Mother Teresa visited Ethiopia to help the hungry and the victims of Chornobyl in Ukraine.
She also opened several homes for the needy and centres for the ailing poor, open to people of all races. She established a leper colony and leprosy outreach throughout Calcutta.
Challenges of Mother Teresa
Mother started her missionary work in Motijhil, Calcutta, to tend to the poor and the sick. She often felt tired and was almost tempted to go back to the comfort of her former convent. However, these were the early days of her long journey to take care of the impoverished.
She was criticised for her views on abortion and contraception. Also, there was criticism of the poor condition of her houses for the dying.
Mother Teresa often said she wasn’t fighting to end poverty but rather to take care of the poor and bring them closer to God. This was very hard to understand for some who viewed her as an ambassador of poverty.
During a period of her mother’s life, she experienced what was termed “long darkness.”. During this period, she felt an absence of God in her life. She said she couldn’t feel God, and it felt like his voice was far away from her. This is known through her letters to her spiritual directors and the recollections of priests who knew her. This period of her life is reported to have lasted for decades.
Legacy of Mother Teresa
In the last years of her life, missionaries of charity had over 4000 sisters. She also established the Missionaries of Charity Brothers, a male arm of the Missionaries of Charity with over 450 brothers. Missionaries of Charity operated in over 120 countries and had over a million aid workers working with the brothers and sisters of the mission.
Mother Teresa was a total humanitarian. World leaders respected her drive to help all types of people. During her lifetime, she received more than 100 awards and honours, including the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan, the then-president of the United States.
On September 4, 2016, in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Pope Francis canonized her as Saint Teresa. The ceremony was attended by thousands of people from across Italy, including 15 government delegates. On September 4, 2017, Sister Mary Prema Pierick, the superior-general of the missionaries of charity, announced that Saint Teresa would be made co-patron of the Calcutta archdiocese.
likewise, on September 5, 2017, Archbishop Thomas Souza confirmed that Saint Teresa would be made the co-patron of the Calcutta diocese alongside Saint Francis Xavier. The ceremony was presided over by D’Souza and the Vatican’s ambassador to India, Giambattista Diquattro, who led the mass. Also, the ambassador inaugurated a bronze statue of Mother Teresa carrying a child in the church.
Saint Teresa is the perfect example of a woman of faith. She led an exemplary life. She’s a role model for all Christian women around the world.
Content Credit/ Ajibola Emmanuel Adebayo
Picture Credit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa#/media/File:Memorial_house_of_Mother_Teresa.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa#/media/File:Mother_Teresa_1.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalighat_Home_for_the_Dying#/media/File:Nirmal_Hriday_facade.jpg
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