MOTHER TERESA

Mother Teresa, No Greater Love

Mother Teresa, No Greater Love

Thesis Statement

“Mother Teresa is a symbol of Love, Peace and religion”.

Introduction

Mother Teresa (1910-97) was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, the capital of the Albanian republic of Macedonia. Her parents, Nikolle Bojaxhiu and Drana Bernai, were married in 1900. Her sister Aga was born in 1905 and her brother Lazar was born in 1907. Her father died when she was 9 years old, bringing the family even more closely together (Rademacher, 2011).

Discussion

Early Call to God

Already a devout Catholic, Agnes heard the “call to God” at the age of 12 and was compelled to devotion in religious life. At the age of 18, Agnes traveled to Ireland to join the Loreto order of nuns who were active in India. Agnes received her holy habit and was sent as a novitiate to work in Darjeeling. Agnes learned English, Hindi, and Bengali. In 1937, Agnes professed permanent vows and took a new name, Teresa, after the patron saint of missionaries of whom it was said did no great things—only small things with great love. The young sister moved to Calcutta, where she became the headmistress of St. Mary's, a Bengali school for girls (Teresa, 2007).

On September 10, 1946, Sister Teresa heard her second call to God, this time imploring her to leave the convent at Loreto to serve the poor. In 1948, she walked through the convent gates wearing only a simple white sari with blue trim, her sole possession and the emblem of her commitment to poverty. Sister Teresa opened a school for poor children, without walls or desks; her only equipment was a stick to write in the sand. Sister Teresa also traveled to Patna to study emergency medicine with doctors who specialized in obstetrics and infectious diseases ...