The Life of Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Childhood
Mother Teresa was born on August 16 1910 somewhere in Europe, her real name was Angus Bojaxhiu. She was called Mother Teresa for religious purposes. Her parents are Nikole and Drana, the mom. Teresa was the youngest of her siblings. Her siblings are a sister named Aga and a brother named Lazar. A couple days after she was born, Mother Teresa was baptized at church.
Mother Teresa had a happy childhood. She attends a catholic school and does well. She also belonged to a religious group for female children. It was called the daughters of Mary. She was interested in religion. Her father died suddenly in 1919.
“We were all very united, especially after the death of my father. We lived for each other and we made every effort to make one another happy. We were united and a very happy family.”
The Convent
On September 1928, Mother Teresa went on a trip to Dublin, the home of the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto. Before reaching her destination, she traveled by train through all kinds of different countries. On December 1928, Mother Mother Teresa leaves for India. On the sixth day of the next year, Mother Teresa arrives at Calcutta. She stayed there for a week before she is sent to a city near the Himalayas, where she will start her novitiate. In May 1931, Teresa gave herself the name “Teresa”.
“I chose the name Teresa for my religious vows. But it wasn’t the name of the great Teresa of Avila. I choose the name Teresa of the Little Flower, Theresa of Lisieux.”
After her temporary vows, Mother Teresa, known as “Sister Teresa” at the time, now lives at Calcutta and serves as a teacher at a school for many years. The school she taught at was run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto. It was called St. Mary’s School. She renewed her temporary vows tons of times. She made her final vows as part of the group. She eventually became the director of St. Mary’s School.
“I was the happiest nun in Loreto. I dedicated myself to teaching. That job, carried out for the love of God, was a true apostolate. I liked it very much.”
Leaving The Convent
On September 1946, God calls Mother Teresa to serve the poor, she liked to call the day “A day of inspiration.”.
“While I as going by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling to participate in spiritual exercises, I was quietly praying when I clearly felt a call within my calling. The message was very clear. I had to leave the convent and consecrate myself to helping the poor by living among them. It was a command. I knew where I had to go, but I did not know hot to get there.”
Two years after the call from God, Mother Teresa gets permission from Rome to leave the convent, but still be a nun. It was difficult and sad for Mother Teresa to leave the convent area. Mother Teresa left the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto on her 38th birthday. She put on a sari that was white and dark blue. She left Calcutta to take a three month nursing class. When she finished, she served some of the poorest areas in India.
The Missionaries of Charity
Mother Teresa’s mission is known as The Missionaries of Charity, it follows her goal to help poor, homeless and/or dying people. In 1949, Mother Teresa gets her first follower. Her name is Subashini Das. She was one of Mother Teresa’s students when Mother Teresa was a teacher. She visited Mother Teresa and asks to join her. She eventually would become the first nun to be part of a religious order in the future. Das was the first of many followers of Mother Theresa, most of them were ladies and former students.
“After 1949, I saw young woman arriving one after another. All of them had been students of mine. They wanted to give everything to God and they were in a hurry to do so.”
In 1952, Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying opened. Many people who were about to die arrived looking for care and peace. The sisters operated the Home for the Dying. Most of these people want to find God and forgiveness before their death. The sisters even helped put the dead bodies to rest including burying and cremating the dead bodies.
The Missionaries of Charity got itself a motherhouse after the sisters made a lot of prayers for a house for their convent. Eventually, they earned enough money to buy themselves a home for the religious female covent. It will become the headquarters for the sisters. Near this house will eventually be a house owned by the convent for homeless children. These two houses for the convent weren’t the only houses Mother Teresa and her “sisters” owned, They would go on to own houses all over the world. Many were for the homeless and the dying. Some of the houses were in India and very close to their headquarters, other were as far as the US. By the dawn of the 1970s, the convent had 50 homes run by the sisters for the people in need.
On February 1962, Mother Teresa earned the Order Of The Lotus Award. The Missionaries In Charity was doing great. It had been around for 15 years, more than 300 woman around the world became sisters for the convent. In 1969, The Missionaries of Charity became attached to the co workers of the church. Mother Theresa earns many more awards during her life including the Noble Peace Prize.
Late Years
The 80’s were pretty promising years for the Missionaries of Charity. They were blessed with the ability and funds to add more buildings and new homes for the poor. The homes stretched all around the world. 44 homes opened in the first three years of the 80’s alone. Countries also started to open up to charity buildings and the sisters started to plant homes in these countries as well. Even in the late 80’s when the Pope went to visit Mother Teresa and the sisters, the first religious thing he saw in the trip was all of the progress the Missionaries in Charity has made. She celebrated 1988, the Marien Year by opening a roman house for the homeless.
Death and Beyond Death
Unfortunately for Mother Teresa, she has to go to the hospital twice. Mother Teresa is having heart troubles. She starts to overwork doing good for the homeless people despite her health. Even the Pope tells her that she is working too hard and she needs to relax. As her health gets worse, Mother Teresa follows the Pope and sisters’ advice and rests more. A couple months later, she goes back to work.
Although still very active Mother Teresa’s health declines. She collapsed in public and had to go to the hospital. In the hospital she instructs the sisters that are the closest to her. On September 1997, Mother Teresa has a heart attack and dies. After she dies, she is given a very rare title, Saint.
