Women On The Frontlines: A Call To Compassionনমুনা

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: The Humble Road

Mother Teresa moved in compassion among the poor in her beloved Calcutta, India, and among the rich and famous around the world as well. She was a flesh-and-blood example of what compassion looks like, and she seemed to exhibit the qualities of humility and love wherever she was.

She was born in 1910 in what is today Macedonia and was the youngest of three children. At the age of twelve, Agnes strongly felt the call of God on her life, and she knew that she was destined to become a missionary. The overarching desire of her life from then on was to spread the love of Jesus Christ, particularly among the poor, the sick, and the outcasts of society.

Mother Teresa was known as an “angel of mercy” to the poor. Most people who lived in Calcutta during the 1940s lived in the worst possible conditions of extreme hunger, deprivation, squalor, and filth. She went through these great trials with the Indian people, so she knew how intense their suffering and hardships were. She gathered the city’s “throwaway children” from rubbish heaps. Many were orphans. She explained, “We do our best to nurse them back to life.” This valiant nun could see the life of Jesus in every child and adult, and she approached each one as if he or she was the Lord himself.

After being granted permission in 1950 to establish a new order of Catholic nuns, Mother Teresa opened Nirmal Hriday (“Pure or Immaculate Heart”), a home for the dying, in 1952.

One of Mother Teresa’s best-known mottos is, “Do small things with great love.” She also said, “Never forget you are co-workers of Jesus.” These two quotations form the framework of Mother Teresa’s life and ministry, and, when we apply them to our own lives, we will see exciting changes taking place in our life and ministry.

Reflect on these words by Mother Teresa and apply them to your life: “When there is a call within a call, there is only one thing to do, to say ‘yes’ to Jesus. That’s all. If we belong to him, he must be able to use us without consulting us...I had only to say a simple ‘yes.’”