Mother Teresa:Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu IPA: [ˈagnɛs gɔnˈʤa bɔˈjaʤiu]) (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997), was a Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. For over forty years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying in Kolkata (Calcutta), India.
As the Missionaries of Charity grew under Mother Teresa's leadership, they expanded their ministry to other countries. By the 1970s she had become internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary, and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.[2][3].
As the Missionaries of Charity grew under Mother Teresa's leadership, they expanded their ministry to other countries. By the 1970s she had become internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary, and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.[2][3].
Early life:
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on 26 August 1910, in Skopje, which today is capital of the Republic of Macedonia.[4] She was the youngest of the children of an Albanian family from Shkodër, born to Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu. Nikola was involved in the politics of the day and devoted to the Albanian Cause. After a political meeting he felt ill and died.
Agnes at the time was about eight years old.[4] After her father's death she was raised as a Roman Catholic by her mother. According to a biography by Joan Graff Clucas, during her early years, Agnes was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service, and by the time she was twelve, she was convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life.[5]She left her home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. Agnes would never again set eyes on her mother or sister.[6]
Agnes initially went to the Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland in order to learn English, which was the language the Sisters of Loreto used when instructing school children in India.[7] Arriving in India in 1929, she began her novitiate in Darjeeling, near the Himalayan mountains.[8] She took her first vows as a nun on 24 May 1931. At that time she chose the name Teresa after the patron saint of missionaries.[9] She took her solemn vows on 14 May 1937, while serving as a teacher at the Loreto convent school in eastern Calcutta.[10][11]
Although Teresa enjoyed teaching at the school she was increasingly disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in Calcutta.[12] A famine in 1943 brought misery and death to the city; and the outbreak of Hindu/Muslim violence in August 1946 plunged the city into despair and horror.[13]
Agnes at the time was about eight years old.[4] After her father's death she was raised as a Roman Catholic by her mother. According to a biography by Joan Graff Clucas, during her early years, Agnes was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service, and by the time she was twelve, she was convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life.[5]She left her home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. Agnes would never again set eyes on her mother or sister.[6]Agnes initially went to the Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland in order to learn English, which was the language the Sisters of Loreto used when instructing school children in India.[7] Arriving in India in 1929, she began her novitiate in Darjeeling, near the Himalayan mountains.[8] She took her first vows as a nun on 24 May 1931. At that time she chose the name Teresa after the patron saint of missionaries.[9] She took her solemn vows on 14 May 1937, while serving as a teacher at the Loreto convent school in eastern Calcutta.[10][11]
Although Teresa enjoyed teaching at the school she was increasingly disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in Calcutta.[12] A famine in 1943 brought misery and death to the city; and the outbreak of Hindu/Muslim violence in August 1946 plunged the city into despair and horror.[13]
Missionaries of Charity:
On September 10, 1946, Teresa experienced what she later described as "the call within the call" while traveling to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling for her annual retreat. "I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith."[14] She began her missionary work with the poor in 1948,
replacing her traditional Loreto habit with a simple white cotton chira decorated with a blue border and then venturing out into the slums."[15] Initially she started a school in Motijhil; shortly thereafter, she started tending to the needs of the destitute and starving.[16] Her efforts quickly caught the attention of Indian officials, including the Prime Minister, who expressed his appreciation.[17]
Teresa wrote in her diary that her first year was fraught with difficulties. She had no income and had to resort to begging for food and supplies. Teresa experienced doubt, loneliness and the temptation to return to the comfort of convent life during these early months. She recorded in her diary:
Our Lord wants me to be a free nun covered with the poverty of the cross. Today I learned a good lesson. The poverty of the poor must be so hard for them. While looking for a home I walked and walked till my arms and legs ached. I thought how much they must ache in body and soul, looking for a home, food and health. Then the comfort of Loreto [her former order] came to tempt me. 'You have only to say the word and all that will be yours again,' the Tempter kept on saying ... Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard. I did not let a single tear come.[18].
replacing her traditional Loreto habit with a simple white cotton chira decorated with a blue border and then venturing out into the slums."[15] Initially she started a school in Motijhil; shortly thereafter, she started tending to the needs of the destitute and starving.[16] Her efforts quickly caught the attention of Indian officials, including the Prime Minister, who expressed his appreciation.[17]Teresa wrote in her diary that her first year was fraught with difficulties. She had no income and had to resort to begging for food and supplies. Teresa experienced doubt, loneliness and the temptation to return to the comfort of convent life during these early months. She recorded in her diary:
Our Lord wants me to be a free nun covered with the poverty of the cross. Today I learned a good lesson. The poverty of the poor must be so hard for them. While looking for a home I walked and walked till my arms and legs ached. I thought how much they must ache in body and soul, looking for a home, food and health. Then the comfort of Loreto [her former order] came to tempt me. 'You have only to say the word and all that will be yours again,' the Tempter kept on saying ... Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard. I did not let a single tear come.[18].
Teresa received Vatican permission on October 7, 1950 to start the diocesan congregation that would become the Missionaries of Charity.[19] Its mission was to care for, in her own words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden t
o the society and are shunned by everyone." It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta; today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine.[20]
In 1952 Mother Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying in space made available by the City of Calcutta. With the help of Indian officials she converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dying, a free hospice for the poor. She renamed it Kalighat, the Home of the Pure Heart (Nirmal Hriday).[21] Those brought to the home received medical attention and were afforded the opportunity to die with dignity, according to the rituals of their faith; Muslims were read the Quran, Hindus received water from the Ganges, and Catholics received the Last Rites.[22] "A beautiful death," she said, "is for people who lived like animals to die like angels — loved and wanted."[22] Mother Teresa soon opened a home for those suffering from Hansen's disease, commonly known as leprosy, and called the hospice Shanti Nagar (City of Peace).[23] The Missionaries of Charity also established several leprosy outreach clinics throughout Calcutta, providing medication, bandages and food.
As the Missionaries of Charity took in increasing numbers of lost children, Mother Teresa felt the need to create a home for them. In 1955 she opened the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, the Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart, as a haven for orphans and homeless youth.[24]
The order soon began to attract both recruits and charitable donations, and by the 1960s had opened hospices, orphanages, and leper houses all over India. Mother Teresa then expanded the order internationally, with new homes opening throughout the globe. The order's first house outside India was in Venezuela, opened in 1965 with five sisters.[25] Others followed in Rome, Tanzania, and Austria in 1968; during the 1970s the order would open houses and foundations in dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States.[26]
Despite Mother Teresa's success in growing the Missionaries of Charity' worldwide, both the philosophy behind her approach and its implementation have faced some criticism. Whilst noting how little evidence Mother Teresa's critics were able to find against her, David Scott writes that Mother Teresa limited herself only to keeping people alive rather than tackling poverty itself.[27] She has also been criticized for her view on suffering: According to an article in the Alberta Report, it was her opinion that suffering would bring people closer to Jesus.[28] On the more practical level, the quality of care offered to terminally ill patients in the Homes for the Dying has been criticised in both The Lancet and the British Medical Journal, which reported poor living conditions, such as using cold baths for all patients, reusing hypodermic needles and an anti-materialist approach that precluded the use of systematic diagnosis.[29].
o the society and are shunned by everyone." It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta; today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine.[20]In 1952 Mother Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying in space made available by the City of Calcutta. With the help of Indian officials she converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dying, a free hospice for the poor. She renamed it Kalighat, the Home of the Pure Heart (Nirmal Hriday).[21] Those brought to the home received medical attention and were afforded the opportunity to die with dignity, according to the rituals of their faith; Muslims were read the Quran, Hindus received water from the Ganges, and Catholics received the Last Rites.[22] "A beautiful death," she said, "is for people who lived like animals to die like angels — loved and wanted."[22] Mother Teresa soon opened a home for those suffering from Hansen's disease, commonly known as leprosy, and called the hospice Shanti Nagar (City of Peace).[23] The Missionaries of Charity also established several leprosy outreach clinics throughout Calcutta, providing medication, bandages and food.
As the Missionaries of Charity took in increasing numbers of lost children, Mother Teresa felt the need to create a home for them. In 1955 she opened the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, the Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart, as a haven for orphans and homeless youth.[24]
The order soon began to attract both recruits and charitable donations, and by the 1960s had opened hospices, orphanages, and leper houses all over India. Mother Teresa then expanded the order internationally, with new homes opening throughout the globe. The order's first house outside India was in Venezuela, opened in 1965 with five sisters.[25] Others followed in Rome, Tanzania, and Austria in 1968; during the 1970s the order would open houses and foundations in dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States.[26]
Despite Mother Teresa's success in growing the Missionaries of Charity' worldwide, both the philosophy behind her approach and its implementation have faced some criticism. Whilst noting how little evidence Mother Teresa's critics were able to find against her, David Scott writes that Mother Teresa limited herself only to keeping people alive rather than tackling poverty itself.[27] She has also been criticized for her view on suffering: According to an article in the Alberta Report, it was her opinion that suffering would bring people closer to Jesus.[28] On the more practical level, the quality of care offered to terminally ill patients in the Homes for the Dying has been criticised in both The Lancet and the British Medical Journal, which reported poor living conditions, such as using cold baths for all patients, reusing hypodermic needles and an anti-materialist approach that precluded the use of systematic diagnosis.[29].
Global recognition and awards:
Reception in India and Asia:
Mother Teresa was granted a state funeral by the Indian Government in gratitude for her services to the poor of all religions in India.[39] In tribute, Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan said that she was "a rare and unique individual who lived long for higher purposes. Her life-long devotion to the care of the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged was one of the highest examples of service to our humanity."[40] Mother Teresa had first been officially recognised in the region long before her death. In 1962, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government. That same year she received the Philippines-based Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding, given for work in South or East Asia. The citation said that "the Board of Trustees recognizes her merciful cognizance of the abject poor of a foreign land, in whose service she has led a new congregation".[41] She continued to receive major Indian rewards in successive decades including, in 1972, the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding and, in 1980, India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.[42]
Indian views on Mother Teresa were not uniformly favourable. Aroup Chatterjee, a London-resident but Calcutta-born and -bred critic of hers, reports that "she was not a significant entity in Calcutta in her lifetime". Chatterjee blames Mother Teresa for promoting a negative image of his home city.[43] Her presence and profile grated in parts of the Indian political world, for she and the Hindu Right frequently opposed each other. The Bharatiya Janata Party clashed with Mother Teresa over the Christian Dalits, but praised her in death, sending a representative to her funeral. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, on the other hand, opposed the Government's decision to grant her a state funeral. Its secretary Giriraj Kishore, said that "her first duty was to the Church and social service was incidental" and accused her of favouring Christians and conducting "secret baptisms" of the dying. Parvathi Menon, writing the front page tribute for the Indian fortnightly Frontline, dismissed these charges as "patently false" and said that they had "made no impact on the public perception of her work, especially in Calcutta". Although praising her "selfless caring", energy and bravery, Menon was critical of Mother Teresa's public campaigning against abortion and that she claimed to be non-political when doing so.[42] More recently, The Telegraph, an Indian daily, has referred to her as "the Saint of the Gutters", also mentioning calls for "Rome to investigate whether she did anything to alleviate the condition of the poor or just took care of the sick and dying and needed them to further a sentimentally-moral cause".[44]
Indian views on Mother Teresa were not uniformly favourable. Aroup Chatterjee, a London-resident but Calcutta-born and -bred critic of hers, reports that "she was not a significant entity in Calcutta in her lifetime". Chatterjee blames Mother Teresa for promoting a negative image of his home city.[43] Her presence and profile grated in parts of the Indian political world, for she and the Hindu Right frequently opposed each other. The Bharatiya Janata Party clashed with Mother Teresa over the Christian Dalits, but praised her in death, sending a representative to her funeral. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, on the other hand, opposed the Government's decision to grant her a state funeral. Its secretary Giriraj Kishore, said that "her first duty was to the Church and social service was incidental" and accused her of favouring Christians and conducting "secret baptisms" of the dying. Parvathi Menon, writing the front page tribute for the Indian fortnightly Frontline, dismissed these charges as "patently false" and said that they had "made no impact on the public perception of her work, especially in Calcutta". Although praising her "selfless caring", energy and bravery, Menon was critical of Mother Teresa's public campaigning against abortion and that she claimed to be non-political when doing so.[42] More recently, The Telegraph, an Indian daily, has referred to her as "the Saint of the Gutters", also mentioning calls for "Rome to investigate whether she did anything to alleviate the condition of the poor or just took care of the sick and dying and needed them to further a sentimentally-moral cause".[44]
Spiritual life:
Analyzing her deeds and achievements, John Paul II asked: "Where did Mother Teresa find the strength and perseverance to place herself completely at the service of others? She found it in prayer and in the silent contemplation of Jesus Christ, his Holy Face, his Sacred Heart."[56]
In his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Benedict XVI mentioned Teresa of Calcutta three times and he also used her life to clarify one of his main points of the encyclical. "In the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta we have a clear illustration of the fact that time devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our neighbour but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that service."[57] Mother Teresa specified that "It is only by mental prayer and spiritual reading that we can cultivate the gift of prayer.""[58]
Although there was no direct connection between Mother Teresa's order and the Franciscan orders, she was known as a great admirer of St. Francis of Assisi.[59] Accordingly, her influence and life show influences of Franciscan spirituality. The Sisters of Charity recite the peace prayer of St. Francis every morning during thanksgiving after Communion and many of the vows and emphasis of her ministry are similar.[59] St. Francis emphasized poverty, chastity, obedience and submission to Christ. He also devoted much of his own life to service of the poor, especially lepers in the area where he lived.
Mother Teresa wrote numerous letters to her confessors and superiors over a 66-year period. She had asked that her letters be destroyed, concerned that "people will think more of me -- less of Jesus."[60] However, despite this request, the correspondences have been compiled in "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light" (Doubleday).[61][45] In one publicly released letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, she wrote, "Jesus has a very special love for you. [But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand." Many news outlets have referred to Mother Teresa's writings as an indication of a "crisis of faith." [62] However, others have drawn comparisons to the 16th century mystic St. John of the Cross who coined the term the "dark night" of the soul to describe a particular stage in the growth of some spiritual masters.[45] The Vatican has indicated that the letters would not affect her path to sainthood. [63] In fact, the book is edited by the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, her postulator, the official responsible for gathering the evidence for her sanctification.[45]
In his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Benedict XVI mentioned Teresa of Calcutta three times and he also used her life to clarify one of his main points of the encyclical. "In the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta we have a clear illustration of the fact that time devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our neighbour but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that service."[57] Mother Teresa specified that "It is only by mental prayer and spiritual reading that we can cultivate the gift of prayer.""[58]
Although there was no direct connection between Mother Teresa's order and the Franciscan orders, she was known as a great admirer of St. Francis of Assisi.[59] Accordingly, her influence and life show influences of Franciscan spirituality. The Sisters of Charity recite the peace prayer of St. Francis every morning during thanksgiving after Communion and many of the vows and emphasis of her ministry are similar.[59] St. Francis emphasized poverty, chastity, obedience and submission to Christ. He also devoted much of his own life to service of the poor, especially lepers in the area where he lived.
Mother Teresa wrote numerous letters to her confessors and superiors over a 66-year period. She had asked that her letters be destroyed, concerned that "people will think more of me -- less of Jesus."[60] However, despite this request, the correspondences have been compiled in "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light" (Doubleday).[61][45] In one publicly released letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, she wrote, "Jesus has a very special love for you. [But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand." Many news outlets have referred to Mother Teresa's writings as an indication of a "crisis of faith." [62] However, others have drawn comparisons to the 16th century mystic St. John of the Cross who coined the term the "dark night" of the soul to describe a particular stage in the growth of some spiritual masters.[45] The Vatican has indicated that the letters would not affect her path to sainthood. [63] In fact, the book is edited by the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, her postulator, the official responsible for gathering the evidence for her sanctification.[45]
No comments:
Post a Comment