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Mother Teresa |
Who was Mother Teresa? Growing up I remember images of her in her white nun's habit with blue stripes. It reminded me of something Egyptian in origin. She always seemed so small and I can remember wondering how she became so famous across the world. But the power was in her love - her love for the unlovable. Mother Teresa truly embodied Christ's teachings of love for our fellow man. She was willing to work with the sickest and the poorest of Calcutta. Her devotion to them and her ability to see God in each of them was truly the secret of her strength.
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910. She was not Indian - in fact she was born in the former Yugoslavia. She became interested in missionaries as a young girl and joined the Sisters of Loretto, an Irish missionary nun order. She took the name Teresa after St. Therese of Lisieux. She was sent as a missionary to Calcutta India. She became sick with Tuberculosis and while she was recuperating she got a strong message from God that she was to leave the order and take her mission to the poorest in Calcutta.
Mother Teresa learned some basic medicine and joined by others who followed her helped rescue the poorest people left to die in the streets. Her group was called the Missionaries of Charity. Over time they spread to over 450 centers around the world.
Mother Teresa was given many honors including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize, and the Medal of Freedom.
She died on September 5, 1997 at the age of 87. She was an example of love for all of us. As we see the poor, the helpless, the homeless, we must remember that they, too, were made in God's image and he considers them and all of us his children.
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