Contemporary Disciples: Mother Teresa
Description
Mother Teresa is most known for serving the poor and destitute. Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic nun. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India. Missionaries of Charity was a facility where poor people who were dying in the streets were brought and taken care of. Mother Teresa originally taught at St. Mary’s High School from 1931 to 1948 where she often saw the condition of poor people that deeply impacted her and made her want to serve the destitute. From 1948, Mother Teresa left the convent school to take on the task of helping poor slum dwellers in Calcutta. She started an open-air school for children from slums where she was joined by volunteers. Mother Teresa also learnt basic medical techniques as she realized the lack of basic facilities for the poor. She used the basic medical techniques she knew to help the poor who were unable to afford medication. Mother Teresa helped everyone. In 1980, she opened homes for people who had no one to look after them. These people included people suffering from incurable diseases, prostitutes, drug addicts as well as orphans. In 1985, Mother Teresa established a centre for people suffering from AIDS where thousands of patients were provided shelter.
Interpretation
Mother Teresa wanted to spread the word of love and compassion to the whole world. This is the reason why she made the decision to become a catholic nun. Mother Teresa now stands as the icon of peace, love and compassion. For Mother Teresa to spread the word of love and compassion, she wanted to help the poor in Calcutta, India. There, Mother Teresa was able to recognize the what the people needed there and was able to help them by giving basic medical attention and also by giving them a place to live. Mother Teresa also opened homes for people with diseases, prostitutes and drug addicts to show that love and compassion just isn’t for poor and rich people, but for anyone.
Reflection
One of the aspects from Mother Teresa’s life that is a source of inspiration to me is the unlimited love she gave to people and her determination. Mother Teresa was always determined to help people until the day she died. Even when she was ill, Mother Teresa did the best she could to help others. Once Mother Teresa put her mind on something, it was like there was no turning back because she was going to do it to help others. What I can learn from this is to stay focused, not to give up and strive to do what I believe from my heart. This lesson could be applied my school work at home and at school and in the future when I have a career. Although the things I am determined to do will not be as great as the things Mother Teresa did, having the determination can get me anywhere in the long run.
Analysis
Mother Teresa never wanted recognition or rewards for the work she did. When she first started, she had no funds to support herself but that didn’t stop her. It was her determination that led her to keep on going. When Mother Teresa opened an open-air school for slum children, volunteers joined to help her and this was also when she started getting financial aid. She used the donations she received to establish centres and homes for the poor and people who were unwanted and dying. Mother Teresa wrote letters telling about the anguish and pain she suffered from watching the poor and dying people on streets as well as a sense of abandonment. This is how I believe Mother Teresa took up the cross. She shared the same suffering as Jesus as well as the humiliation Jesus received as she sacrificed lots of things such as earning a proper income to help support herself to be able to buy basic needs for herself such as food so she could help others less fortunate just like Jesus sacrificed his life for us. Mother Teresa had to suffer humiliation as she wanted to help the poor by giving them a home, love and food but she found herself in their position at one stage begging for food on the streets and not having a place to stay.
Mother Teresa was never tempted to quit through discouragement but tempted to quit through many other reasons. Due to not having a proper income to support herself as she was trying to help the poor, Mother Teresa found herself having to beg others for food in the streets to feed herself. Mother Teresa used to walk until her arms and legs ached to find a home and was often tempted to return to the convent she taught at and to live in comfort, but what kept her from going back to her old ways was her great determination and faith to help the less fortunate. Mother Teresa also struggled with faith. In letters that she had written, it tells us that for over 50 years, she persistantly tried and failed to feel the presence of God and consequently felt “lost and empty.” Mother Teresa almost gave up her work as she started to doubt that God even existed.
One way that Mother Teresa showed servant leadership was by serving others. Mother Teresa helped serve others in many ways by opening homes for people and giving basic medical attention to the poor. Christ showed servant leadership in this way when he washed the feet of his disciples in John 13:12-15. Another way that Mother Teresa showed servant leadership was through compassion. Jesus showed compassion weeping over his friend in John 11:35 and also coming to defend the sister of Lazarus in Luke 10:42. Mother Teresa showed compassion by opening the door to the sick, dying and abandoned children. She also worked with people suffering from leprosy. She washed the wounds of leprosy sufferers and let them die with dignity. Lastly, Mother Teresa showed servant leadership by living a quality life. Mother Teresa didn’t live in luxury but instead chose to live her live doing good deeds for other like Jesus did (Acts 10:38). Mother Teresa illustrates the values of the beatitudes including making peace (Matthew 5:9) and being merciful (Matthew 5:7). Mother Teresa illustrated the ninth beatitude by making peace to the world. She wanted to help all no matter if they were fat, skinny, drug addicts, poor, dying, she wanted to help them and promote peace the world by showing love and compassion. Mother Teresa also illustrates the fifth beatitude by being merciful. Mother Teresa showed mercy by showing love to those who were miserable and need some form of help. She sympathized for them and proved her mercy by opening centres for those people.
Evaluation
Before being able to help the poor and destitute, Mother Teresa had to ask superiors to leave the convent school and be granted permission. Initially, they told Mother Teresa that if she wanted to do missionary work, she must no longer be a nun. Mother Teresa felt that that was not fair and fought to be able to still be a nun while doing missionary work. For Mother Teresa to do missionary work she had to become a nun first. Becoming a nun meant that she was not allowed to marry and was not able to socialize with the outside world. From an early age, Mother Teresa attended prayers and devoted herself in the worship of the Almighty. She was influenced by her mother and priest from an early age to do missionary work and to be able to carry out missionary work, Mother Teresa became a nun.
Mother Teresa also had strong views on abortion. She believed that the greatest destroyer of peace today was abortion due to its direct killing, direct murder by the mother herself. When Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she read a scripture stating, ‘even is a mother could forget her child- I will not forget you- I have carved you in the palm of my hand.’ Mother Teresa believed that we are carved in the palm of his hand, so close to him that unborn child has been carved in the hand of God. What struck her the most was the beginning of the sentence of the scripture, that even if a mother could forget something impossible- but even if she could forget- I will not forget you. Many people did not like her views on abortion and criticized her work and beliefs. Mother Teresa did not take other’s views personally and was not discouraged by their criticism about her firm stand against abortion stating, ‘no matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work.’
In the circumstances where it should be okay to go against social values or the ruling authorities to do God’s work is when you absolutely believe that something is wrong in society and you believe you can have the ability to change it.

Bibliography:
Croucher, Rowland, ‘Jesus: Servant Leader’ 2005, John Mark Ministries, June 7, [Online] Available: http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/15279.htm [2010, May 24]
Hitchens, Christopher, ‘The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice’ 1995, [Online] Available: http://www.naturalthinker.net/trl/texts/Hitchens,Christopher/MissionaryPosition.html [2010, May 30]
Malone, Andrew, ‘Did Mother Teresa Believe in God’ 2007, Mail Online, August 24, [Online] Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-477573/Did-Mother-Teresa-believe-God.html [2010, May 24] ‘Mother Teresa’ 2010, Famous People [Online], Available: http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/mother-teresa-24.php [2010, May 24]
‘Mother Teresa’ 2010, Wikipedia, May 28, [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa [2010, May 30]
Wells, Bob, ‘Beatitudes—Their Significance and Meaning’ 2010 [Online], Available: http://robertwells.tripod.com/Beatitudes.html [2010, May 24]