Note: This narrative is offered by Liz Sorensen Wesssel
She was born in 1919, as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia. In her eighth year, her father died mysteriously and rumor has it that he was poisoned by political foes. Her mother, Drana was devout in her unending quest to help those in dire need.
Although they were not wealthy, Drana opened her home to share meals. Agnes asked her mom, “Who are these people?” Her mom responded, "Some of them are our relations but all of them are our people. My child never eat a single mouthful unless you are sharing it with others.” These words must have penetrated Agnes’s being, leaving an indelible mark because she lived for the sake of others.
Agnes first experienced God's calling at age 12, while on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Black Madonna in Letnice, France. In 1928, she entered religious life by joining the Sisters of Loreto in Dublin and received the name Sister Mary Teresa. Within a year she set off for missionary work in Darjeeling, India.
Then she was assigned to teach at Saint Mary's High School for Girls in Calcutta. There she became fluent in Bengali and Hindi and taught geography and history while attempting to alleviate poverty through education.
In 1937, she took her vows professing a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Known as Mother Teresa she demonstrated her devotion to Christ. Humbly she prayed, "Give me the strength to be ever the light of their lives, so that I may lead them at last to you."
Mother Teresa heeded God's calling in a way that would touch the lives of countless souls. She left the convent as an embodiment of Christ to minister to "the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for" in the slums of Calcutta. Upon arrival she sprang into action to start an open-air school and a home for the dying in a donated dilapidated old building. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity with a handful of woman, mostly former teachers and students from St. Mary's School.
Over the next 20 years, Mother Teresa established several community services such as mobile health clinics, an orphanage, nursing home and a leper colony. In 1982, she secretly visited Beirut, Lebanon, where she crossed between Christian and Muslim territories to bring aid to children of both faiths. Mother Teresa was eventually awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work "to bring help to suffering humanity."
Throughout her life, Mother Teresa worked tirelessly for the benefit of others as she witnessed unimaginable misery. Overtime self-neglect took its toll. Described by some as the “dark night of the soul” she wrote, "Where is my Faith—even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness—My God—how painful is this unknown pain—I have no Faith—I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart—& make me suffer untold agony." Yet, she never gave up and continued to offer herself as a sacred salve for the multitudes.
By the time of her death in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity grew to more than 4,000 with thousands of volunteers and 610 foundations in 123 countries worldwide. This Sunday Mother Teresa will be canonized as a saint by Pope Francis. In summing up her life Mother Teresa once shared, "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."
It is remarkable to think that one person was able to accomplish so much with so little. We might be tempted to give up before even trying by the enormity of world problems. That is, until we recall her words, “We must do small things for one another with great Love."
A Miracle unfolds whenever fear is transformed by Love.
This reflection is dedicated to all caregivers who offer their diverse and beautiful gifts help to heal brokenness and to Erie Chapman whose lifetime of dedicated leadership in caring for caregivers continue to shine a beacon of light for so many of us.
Liz Sorensen Wessel
Mandala by ~liz
