One of the most influence biographies that I ever read is Mother Teresa; her real name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu born on 26th August 1910 in Skopje, Yugoslavia. She decided to become nun at the age of 12 and she said to receive the calling to serve the poorest of the poor whom she gave the term ‘call within the call’. At one point she served in Missionaries of Charity, Delhi, India where most of the time she working in the slums of Calcutta. That’s her ‘favourite’ place to hang out I’m suppose. When asked to what extend she would go, she said, ‘If there are poor on the moon, we shall go there too!’
There is one time of her early ‘career’, where people called her ‘the Slum Sister’ which she responds positively, ‘I am glad to be just that for His Love and Glory’. When she saw how difficult it is for her leprosy patients to come from a far, or from the slums, she said ‘We must go to them. We must not stay behind our walls’. Can you imagine how I felt when I read this on a big comfortable cool library? Yes, offended.
(Don’t stop reading)
When asking about money she said, ‘Money, I never gives it a thought. It always comes. We do all our work for the Lord. He must look after us. If He wants something done, He must provide us with the means, and then it shows that He does not want that particular work. I forget about it." Then, she added, ‘The money I get is not for business. It’s sacrifice money. The people who give it sacrifice a lot. They buy cheaper clothes, go without meals.’ Upon this she also refers to the Hindus and Muslim’s families who helped her for shelter and helping hands. (Fact: MOST Muslim people are so kind that if you ask for help, they love to do it.)
Like many women I knew, she easily melds by children. “For me, even if a child dies within minutes, that child must not be allowed to die alone and uncared for. Even an infant can feel warmth. This is why a dying child must be loved and comforted”, “If there is an unwanted baby, don’t let it die, send it to me!” As I continued reading she said, “I cannot give the love a real mother can give, but I have never refused a child. Never, not once, each child is precious. Each is created by God”
(Please continue reading)
In her Nobel Peace Prize lecture, Oslo in 1979, as if she addressed this message to Malaysia regarding to incident few months ago, when she said that she believed that the greatest destroyer of peace was not war but abortion. Abortion was a ‘direct war’, murder committed by the mother herself. Many people are very concerned with child of India, with the child of Africa where quite a number die, maybe of malnutrition, of hunger and so on, but millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. If mother can kill her own child, what is left?
She continued, ‘We are frightened of nuclear war. We are frightened of this terrible new disease, AIDS, but we are not frightened to kill an innocent child. Today I feel abortion has become the greatest destroyer of peace... I feel that the poorest country is the one that has to kill the unborn child. They are afraid to feed one more child, so as to enjoy a few extra pleasures.’ Wow, that’s bold! Like what Dr John Maxwell said “none of the people move a muscles when she giving this message”, everyone at one point or another was offended (please imagine who were the attendance that day) including me and you I’m suppose.
(Begging you to keep on reading)
When Navin Chawla, the first writer of her biography, interviewed one of her thousands of volunteer about how much they have helped Mother Teresa. The volunteer said, “We had no money in the bank, so we sold our car. These things are not important. Life is more important. What the children give to my wife and me cannot be compares with anything material... some people say we are a little mad. I tell them that we invest in children”.
There’re many wonderful journey of her life that are very inspired. Most importantly, she walks the talk. She sees what others need; seek guidance from the Lord and go. Not everyone can do what she does but like what Camp Cameron teaches me during Lectio Divina, ‘The smallest good deeds that are base on the Love of God is significant in God’s sight’.
Mother Teresa, 87, died on 5th September 1997 due to health problems. She born as Albania, live as “the Slum Sister”, died as Indian, and lives again as a child of God. Besides all the prestige people said about her, she constantly refrain that she, herself, is nothing, I’m merely a Pencil in the hands of God.
Your Writer,
Richard Angelus
There is one time of her early ‘career’, where people called her ‘the Slum Sister’ which she responds positively, ‘I am glad to be just that for His Love and Glory’. When she saw how difficult it is for her leprosy patients to come from a far, or from the slums, she said ‘We must go to them. We must not stay behind our walls’. Can you imagine how I felt when I read this on a big comfortable cool library? Yes, offended.
(Don’t stop reading)
When asking about money she said, ‘Money, I never gives it a thought. It always comes. We do all our work for the Lord. He must look after us. If He wants something done, He must provide us with the means, and then it shows that He does not want that particular work. I forget about it." Then, she added, ‘The money I get is not for business. It’s sacrifice money. The people who give it sacrifice a lot. They buy cheaper clothes, go without meals.’ Upon this she also refers to the Hindus and Muslim’s families who helped her for shelter and helping hands. (Fact: MOST Muslim people are so kind that if you ask for help, they love to do it.)
Like many women I knew, she easily melds by children. “For me, even if a child dies within minutes, that child must not be allowed to die alone and uncared for. Even an infant can feel warmth. This is why a dying child must be loved and comforted”, “If there is an unwanted baby, don’t let it die, send it to me!” As I continued reading she said, “I cannot give the love a real mother can give, but I have never refused a child. Never, not once, each child is precious. Each is created by God”
(Please continue reading)
In her Nobel Peace Prize lecture, Oslo in 1979, as if she addressed this message to Malaysia regarding to incident few months ago, when she said that she believed that the greatest destroyer of peace was not war but abortion. Abortion was a ‘direct war’, murder committed by the mother herself. Many people are very concerned with child of India, with the child of Africa where quite a number die, maybe of malnutrition, of hunger and so on, but millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. If mother can kill her own child, what is left?
She continued, ‘We are frightened of nuclear war. We are frightened of this terrible new disease, AIDS, but we are not frightened to kill an innocent child. Today I feel abortion has become the greatest destroyer of peace... I feel that the poorest country is the one that has to kill the unborn child. They are afraid to feed one more child, so as to enjoy a few extra pleasures.’ Wow, that’s bold! Like what Dr John Maxwell said “none of the people move a muscles when she giving this message”, everyone at one point or another was offended (please imagine who were the attendance that day) including me and you I’m suppose.
(Begging you to keep on reading)
When Navin Chawla, the first writer of her biography, interviewed one of her thousands of volunteer about how much they have helped Mother Teresa. The volunteer said, “We had no money in the bank, so we sold our car. These things are not important. Life is more important. What the children give to my wife and me cannot be compares with anything material... some people say we are a little mad. I tell them that we invest in children”.
There’re many wonderful journey of her life that are very inspired. Most importantly, she walks the talk. She sees what others need; seek guidance from the Lord and go. Not everyone can do what she does but like what Camp Cameron teaches me during Lectio Divina, ‘The smallest good deeds that are base on the Love of God is significant in God’s sight’.
Mother Teresa, 87, died on 5th September 1997 due to health problems. She born as Albania, live as “the Slum Sister”, died as Indian, and lives again as a child of God. Besides all the prestige people said about her, she constantly refrain that she, herself, is nothing, I’m merely a Pencil in the hands of God.
Your Writer,
Richard Angelus
on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 5:19pm (Revised and Updated)
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
Thanks for writing this. :) -Girl-
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