Editorial

The 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, an unassuming but courageous woman who went everywhere to serve Christ in the poorest of the poor, falls today.

“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus,” Mother Teresa would say.

Small in stature, rocklike in faith, Mother Teresa saw herself entrusted with the mission of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity, especially for the poorest of the poor. Not even conflict and war could stand in her way in her compassion towards the poor and suffering.

In December 1948, Mother Teresa went for the first time to the slums of Calcutta, in India. She visited families, washed the sores of some children, cared for an old man lying sick on the road and nursed a woman dying of hunger and TB. Rosary beads in her hand, she used to go out to find and serve Jesus in “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for”.

After some months, Mother Teresa, who had earlier been a teacher, was joined, one by one, by her former students. On October 7, 1950 her new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established in Calcutta.

“God still loves the world and he sends you and me to be his love and his compassion to the poor,” the iconic good Samaritan used to preach through word and deed. She was a soul filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for him and burning with one desire, “to quench his thirst for love and for souls”.

Mother Teresa, who, in December 1979, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, died on September 5, 1997. Perhaps what really influenced her is best explained in what she said in her Nobel Lecture: “I think that we in our family don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy to bring peace – just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world.”

Her service to those most in need continued to spread around the globe through her sisters, brothers, and priests.

The “Saint of Calcutta” is also remembered for her pro-life and anti-abortion interventions. She often used to say: “If you hear of some woman who does not want to keep her child and wants to have an abortion, try to persuade her to bring the child to me. I will love that child, seeing in him the sign of God’s love.”

Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa on October 19, 2003. He referred to her as a diminutive woman in love with God, a humble Gospel messenger and a tireless benefactor of humanity. “In her we honour one of the most important figures of our time. Let us welcome her message and follow her example.”

Mother Teresa’s life’s message was one of love for the destitute and the emarginated. Her example was one of loving until it hurts; of doing always a little more than one feels ready to do. Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind continue to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations.