By Ritam Banati
I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?: Mother Teresa
“Saint on Earth”, “Saint of Gutters”, “Angel of Mercy”, “Living Saint of Calcutta”. Mother Teresa, one woman who needs no introduction.
The pioneer of Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa gave her life selflessly to the cause of the deprived lot in India as well as abroad. At the tender age of 12, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, a Macedonian by birth, felt that her vocation was to serve the poor. At the young age of 17, she joined the Sisters of Loretto’s Missionary in India. It was then that she decided to call herself Teresa after Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
She was born in Skopje in former Yugoslavia on Aug 27, 1910 and passed away on Sept 5, 1997 of cardiac arrest at the ripe old age of 87. For her unparalleled contribution to society she was bestowed with the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. Not only this, on October 19, 2003, she was beatified by the Vatican in recognition of the fact that her healing cured an Indian woman of stomach cancer.
That she was an apostle of love is qualified well enough in the statement of an Indian beauty queen, who in one of the contests answered that if there was one human being she could question it would be Mother Teresa and the question would be: From where do you get all the love to give to so many?
In Mother’s own words, “Keep the joy of loving the poor and share this joy with all you meet. Remember works of love are works of peace. God bless you."
When she was asked that what she got by helping the poor with unflinching dedication, she answered that once she brought a person half eaten by moths home. She tended the person’s wounds knowing that he would not live but before dying he gave her a smile and said, “I have lived like an animal. But I am dying like an angel.” This she said was her reward.
The Missionaries of Charity started by her has indeed gone a long way in mitigating suffering not only in India but also in several other countries like Africa and Latin America. She and others like her have launched a global campaign against poverty. Though she is no longer present in flesh and blood yet her spirit lives on as is epitomised by the strength of the service and unstinted devotion of her Missionaries of Charity. She still is, even after her death “The living saint”.
Her words inspire not only the Missionaries of Charity but also other groups and individuals to contribute towards the full realisation of her dream. Postponement of a good deed is similar to justice delayed is justice denied.
Regret of the past is an exercise in futility. So begin work today as has been beautifully summarised by Mother Teresa herself, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."
Come let’s join hands to immortalise Mother Teresa.