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Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 27, 1910, Mother Teresa was of Albanian descent. She knew deep
down at the age of twelve that God was calling her to become a missionary. At the age of 18 she left home and joined the
Sisters of Loreto, an Irish comunity of nuns.
After a few months training in Dublin she was sent to India, where on May 24,1931 she took her initial vows. From '31
to '48 she taught school at St Mary's High school.
The suffering she witnessed beyond her convent walls touched her deeply and she sought and received permission to leave
there and work with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta slums. She had no funds but depended solely on Divine Providence and
started an 'open air' school for slum children. Many volunteers joined her and soon financial support followed.
Mother Teresa received permission to start her own order on October 7, 1950, 'The Missionaries of Charity' , whose main
task was to care for those who were unwanted and ease suffering.
In '65 the Society became an International Religious Family by decree fo Pope Paul VI. This Society has grown to an astounding
degree, having spread all over the world. They provide effective help to the poorest of the poor, relief work in the wake
of natural catastrophes such as floods, famine, aid to refugees and housing for the homeless. They also work with Aids sufferers
and Alcoholics.
Mother Teresa's work has achieved monumental strides in aiding the suffering in the world and has received many awards
in recognition such as the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, the Pop John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971 and the Nehru Prize for her promotion
of international peace and understanding in 1972 among others.
Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997 at the age of 87 in her Missionaries of Charity home in central Calcutta after
a life lived fully to the cause of peace, giving and faith in God.
By Mary6
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Quotes From Mother Teresa:
Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.
Each one of them is Jesus in disguise
Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so
that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins
the disruption of peace of the world.
Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
Good works are links that form a chain of love.
I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.
I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I don't know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us,
he will NOT ask, How many good things have you done in your life?, rather he will ask, How much LOVE did you put into what
you did?
I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.
I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil
in it.
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature -
trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.... We need silence
to be able to touch souls.
SUFFERING TODAY is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing. Jesus made it very clear. Whatever you do
to the least of my brethren, you do it to me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you receive
me.
Bact to Great Legacies of Peace
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