Saint of Gutters? — Mother Theresa Essay English
Born to an Albanian builder,
little Teresa was the youngest of three children. Her name then was
Agnes Gonxha Bajaxhiu. Her father passed away when she was just seven.
Her mother brought up the three children with great difficulty.
At a tender age of twelve
Gonxha as she was fondly called, meaning 'flower bud', declared she
wanted to become a nun. She felt called to dedicate her entire life for
the service of mankind. When she was eighteen, she joined the Loretto
sisters. As a Loretto Nun she was sent to Kolkata to teach in a Loretto
Convent. It was on becoming a nun that Gonxha took up the name of
Teresa.
Gradually, Sr. Teresa began
to see the suffering humanity around her. The more she saw, the more it
disturbed her, and her heart ached to do something to lessen the pain
she saw. She began feeling suffocated within the comforts of the high
walls of the school.
She finally left the convent
with just Rs. 5/- in her pocket to help the poor. She lived with the
poor. Seeing the kind of life she lived some girls voluntarily joined
her. Soon she founded an order of Nuns called the “Missionaries of
Charity". People then, fondly called her 'Mother Teresa, the Saint of
the Gutters'.
Dressed in a white sari with
blue border, very soft-spoken, fair-looking, she worked tirelessly to
relieve pain, disease and unhappiness of the poor, the disabled and the
diseased. She worked with love and compassion in her heart and faith in
God.
She started alone but today
her Order with more than 4000 nuns works in more than 120 countries
where it runs over 180 educational establishments, about 1500 clinics
and some 800 homes. The moving spirit of Mother Teresa fires the heart
of every worker of the Order.
There is nothing but respect
and whole-hearted support for the workers of Sisters of Charity. The
world has felt and acknowledged her power of love, service and
compassion. She has been showered with praises, respect, honours,
awards, money and everything.
Books have been written
about her. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Leo Tolstoy
International Award, the Bharat Ratna and hundreds of other honours. The
great dignitaries of the world, including the Pope, showed their
appreciation and respect for Mother Teresa.
On September 5, 1997 Mother Teresa
passed away. But her work and influence continues. The fire she has
lighted goes on. Her followers continue to walk along the path shown by
her. Mother Teresa lives in their heart.