Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Lived: August 27, 1910—September 5, 1997 (aged 87)
Career: Catholic nun, humanitarian
Mother Teresa was one of the great servants of humanity.
“It was a call within my vocation. It was a second calling. It was a vocation to give up even Loreto where I was very happy and to go out into the streets to serve the poorest of the poor. It was in that train, I heard the call to give up all and to follow Him into the slums—to serve Him in the poorest of the poor…I knew it was His will and that I had to follow Him. There was no doubt that it was going to be His work.” ~Saint Mother Teresa
Calcutta had been heavily affected by World War II, famine, and ongoing riots. Countless people were homeless, poor, uneducated, and suffering intensely. After securing a place to live, Mother Teresa began caring for the poor. She dressed their wounds, showed compassion for the suffering, listened to their stories, provided them with food, and treated them as if they were Jesus. This was a novel approach in India where poverty was sometimes viewed as a result of bad karma.
In addition to the usual three vows, the Missionaries of Charity took a fourth vow “to devote themselves with abnegation to the care of the poor and needy who, crushed by want and destitution, live in conditions unworthy of human dignity.”
Mother Teresa was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which she accepted:
“In the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the leprous, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared, thrown away of the society, people who have become a burden to the society, and are ashamed by everybody.”
God stripped her of every interior consolation so that her charity would be absolutely pure and devoid of all selfish motivation, resulting in pure selfless giving, fueled by unshakable faith, and driven by divine hope. She was truly a mystic in the deepest sense, an icon of the satiation of Christ’s Thirst.
5 Wonderful Mother Teresa Quotes
1. “True love is love that causes us pain, that hurts, and yet brings us joy. That is why we must pray to God and ask Him to give us the courage to love."
2. “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you."
3. “Poverty was not created by God. It is we who have caused it, you and I through our egotism."
4. “I do not pray for success; I ask for faithfulness."
5. “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.”
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Lived: August 27, 1910—September 5, 1997 (aged 87)
Career: Catholic nun, humanitarian
Mother Teresa was one of the great servants of humanity.
“It was a call within my vocation. It was a second calling. It was a vocation to give up even Loreto where I was very happy and to go out into the streets to serve the poorest of the poor. It was in that train, I heard the call to give up all and to follow Him into the slums—to serve Him in the poorest of the poor…I knew it was His will and that I had to follow Him. There was no doubt that it was going to be His work.” ~Saint Mother Teresa
Calcutta had been heavily affected by World War II, famine, and ongoing riots. Countless people were homeless, poor, uneducated, and suffering intensely. After securing a place to live, Mother Teresa began caring for the poor. She dressed their wounds, showed compassion for the suffering, listened to their stories, provided them with food, and treated them as if they were Jesus. This was a novel approach in India where poverty was sometimes viewed as a result of bad karma.
In addition to the usual three vows, the Missionaries of Charity took a fourth vow “to devote themselves with abnegation to the care of the poor and needy who, crushed by want and destitution, live in conditions unworthy of human dignity.”
Mother Teresa was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which she accepted:
“In the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the leprous, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared, thrown away of the society, people who have become a burden to the society, and are ashamed by everybody.”
God stripped her of every interior consolation so that her charity would be absolutely pure and devoid of all selfish motivation, resulting in pure selfless giving, fueled by unshakable faith, and driven by divine hope. She was truly a mystic in the deepest sense, an icon of the satiation of Christ’s Thirst.
5 Wonderful Mother Teresa Quotes
1. “True love is love that causes us pain, that hurts, and yet brings us joy. That is why we must pray to God and ask Him to give us the courage to love."
2. “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you."
3. “Poverty was not created by God. It is we who have caused it, you and I through our egotism."
4. “I do not pray for success; I ask for faithfulness."
5. “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.”