Mother Teresa and Her Journey to Nunhood

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love”. This quote was written and lived out by a saint who touched the lives of those in need around the world. This woman is best known for her unselfish charity and her care of the sick and dying. Living among the poor on the streets of Calcutta, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the poor, the sick, and dying around the world. Mother Teresa’s journey to nunhood was atypical, and she faced many challenges along the way. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, later known to the world as Mother Teresa, was born on August 27, 1910 in Skopje, Yugoslavia to a couple of devout Roman Catholics. Nikola Bojaxhiu, Agnes’s father, died of a heart attack at age 42, resulting in a lack of income and change of circumstances for the family. She felt the call to a religious vocation at an early age and meditated on this decision for around six years. Finally, at age 18, she chose to become a nun while praying at the sanctuary for Our Lady of Letnice, and left her home on September 26, 1928 to join the Loreto Sisters in India, taking the name Teresa after Saint Teresa of Lisieux. Sister Teresa began teaching geography at St. Mary’s High School for Girls in Calcutta in 1929. During this time, the streets of the community were crowded with beggars, lepers, and homeless. God called Sister Teresa a second time on September 10, 1946, while she was on a train to Darjeeling. In this call, God asked her to serve only the poor for the rest of her life. After receiving permission to work as a free nun in 1948 by Pope Pius XII, she abandoned her position as a teacher and walked from the Loreto Sisters’ convent with only the clothes she wore, setting out to fulfill her mission of serving those in need. Staying true to her values of humility and poverty, Sister Teresa chose a plain white Sari with a blue border and a simple cross pinned to her left shoulder for her habit. Sister Teresa studied nursing for three months with the American Medical Missionaries in Patna, India, the only medical training she ever received. From here she began caring for the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although her early life was not what she had planned, Sister Teresa was still able to do great things.

Sister Teresa’s call from God inspired her to lead a movement and began training other missionary nuns to help those in need. She established a few homes for the sick and dying around India, gradually gaining supporters along the way. Upon returning to Calcutta, she formed the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, and became Mother Teresa. She and her novices took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, charity, and a special vow to serve the truly destitute without expecting anything in return. Applicants to this group must be healthy of mind and body, be able to learn, have common sense, and have a cheerful disposition. The first home she opened after this was the Kalighat Home for the Dying, which was located in an abandoned temple to Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction. In the mid-1950s, Mother Teresa was given a 34-acre plot of land on which she built a leper colony called Shanti Nagar, meaning “Town of Peace”. By 1987, the Missionaries of Charity had over 3,000 sisters, 400 brothers, and had spread to over 25 different countries. The first foreign place to welcome her help was Venezuela, closely followed by Rome, Ceylon, Tarzania, Australia, and eventually the United States. Houses opened by Mother Teresa followed this general schedule: Wake up at 4:40 am, prayers from 5:00-6:00 am, Mass at 6:00 am, breakfast of unleavened bread and bananas at 6:45 am, and different activities throughout the day. Each sister owned only two or three cotton sairs, underclothes, bedding, a tin laundry bucket, prayer books, a pen, a pencil, and paper. All other unnecessary belongings were given to those staying in the houses or donated. As a result of all of her efforts, Mother Teresa received many awards, including the Congressional Gold Medal, the Nobel Peace Prize for “work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes as a threat to peace,” the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, and countless others. She did not attend the ceremonies or banquets for these awards, and even asked that the $192,000 fund for the Nobel Peace Prize be given to the poor.

Mother Teresa suffered two heart attacks in 1990, and passed away on September 5, 1997 from another massive heart attack. The Indian government honored her with an extravagant funeral, which was attended in large numbers by the people who her work affected, and others who had heard about her efforts. Two miracles were performed in Mother Teresa’s name, one in 2003 that beatified her and made her Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and another in 2008 that, by the rules of the Catholic church, allowed her to become a saint. Mother Teresa was officially canonized on September 4, 2016 and we celebrate her feast day on September 5. Mother Teresa touched the lives of many without expecting recognition. Her peace came from within by seeing how the work of her nuns touched the lives of the poor. Mother Teresa taught that one may find Jesus in all persons, but he is especially present in the poor and those considered grotesque. Mother Teresa selflessly served those in need her entire life. She opened homes around the world for the sick and dying and overcame many struggles in her life so she could dedicate it to others. Living as a role model of faith for many people, she exemplified what it means to serve others by how God wants us to. Mother Teresa changed the lives of numerous underprivileged families not by doing great things, but by doing small things with great love.