What do many dream of? About fame and prosperity, about how to live a bright and interesting life, that the car was no worse than that of a neighbor ... She dreamed of serving the poor, to feed the hungry and calm the suffering. The life of Mother Teresa is simply amazing and unique. People like her are born once in a thousand years. Her memory will live for a very long time, followers continue her good deeds, her shelters and hospitals for the poor are operating all over the world. Who is Mother Teresa?
Biography. The beginning of the way
In Macedonia, in the city of Skopje, on August 26, 1910, a girl named Agnes was born into an Albanian family. Her father Nicola and mother Dranfile were Catholics. Deeply pious, they regularly attended church, devoting much time to prayers and charity.
Father Agnes died in unclear circumstances in 1919. The mother was left with three children in her arms. Accustomed to the security of an orphaned family, at first it was difficult. But Dranfile did not despair. She began to earn by sewing and embroidery for food, and not only led a comfortable life with her children, but also continued to help the poor.
Agnes Gong Boyaji was a pretty, obedient and smart girl. Helped my mother, sang in a church choir, composed poems. But from the age of 12 she knew that she wanted to devote her life to God. At 17, she asked her mother for blessings to become a nun. Dranfile experienced a real shock. She realized that she would never see Agness again, and with all her heart did not want this separation. However, after a night spent in thought and prayer, she nevertheless went to meet her daughter and blessed her for holy affairs.
September 26, 1928 on the way through the Indian Ocean to Calcutta in the monastic order of Loretto went no longer Agnes, but mother Teresa. A brief biography is not able to capture the whole gigantic power of her deeds, her inexhaustible mercy and unconditional faith in Jesus.
Service
Having reached the cloister of the Order of Loreto, Sister Teresa became a teacher. She taught children the lessons of history and natural history, studied with the lagging behind, and prayed a lot. She sang in the church choir, earned respect and honor, took the post of director of one of the schools. This went on for 16 years. And then the nun won the approval of Rome to become a free missionary and left the order on August 16, 1948.
She knew nothing of the need, easily coped with her duties, was pleased with her life, and suddenly decided to quit. Why did Mother Teresa do this? Her brief biography testifies that only a nun listened to the dictates of her soul, who wanted to devote her life to God - “King of the whole world” without a trace.
Who is Mother Teresa
This is a nun who, following the dictates of her heart, refused the comforts and peace of life in the community, instead bought a cheap white sari and stepped into the slums of Calcutta.
Then she had a nightmare - fetid dirty streets, hungry beggars, rotting bodies, the hopelessness of the dying, ragged children thrown into the street and other horrors. The first impression made the nun shock, with tears she ran away to her abode and turned her gaze to God. Mother Teresa’s prayer was unsophisticated. She asked the Almighty forces to fulfill what He intended her to do. God answered a fervent sincere appeal. The nun’s heart was filled with determination, courage and passionate love for all destitute and forgotten. In them, she saw Christ, literally fulfilling the covenants of the Bible.
Returning to the street, the missionary began to help the poor. She procured from the local authorities a large house that used to be a stable, cleaned it to shine and began to bring dying people from the streets there. Drug addicts with cancer and AIDS, lepers - all received care, shelter and nutrition in their last days. Thrown into the trash cans, infants and old people who were no longer needed also found a home here.
Mother Teresa got up at 4 in the morning, cooked for hundreds of needy, washed, washed, cleaned. She did all this hard and monotonous work with a smile and unlimited patience. Soon, inspired by her example, other nuns began to join the missionary. The helpers also saw their calling in serving the poorest of the poor in the name of Christ.
Who is Mother Teresa? “I am a pencil in the hands of the Lord,” she answered this question.
Fruits of mercy
Over the years of tireless work, the Order of Missionaries of Mercy has grown. In 1965, he numbered 300 sisters, today - several thousand. Hospitals, shelters, schools are open around the world. Mother Teresa often traveled to the hot spots of the planet, called for peace, opposed abortion, condemned feminists and under no circumstances accepted sexual minorities, considering them a disgusting fall, and AIDS called heavenly punishment for homosexual relations.
Who is Mother Teresa? This is the woman who called love the greatest feeling. For her charity work, she received several international awards, including the Nobel Prize.
She taught that one should always show kindness, tolerance and understanding, that there should be no place for revenge and hatred in the heart, that only faith and love can save the world.
After death - September 5, 1997 - she was counted among the saints. Her work lives and expands. Millions of followers who admired the spirituality of this little woman took the baton of mercy from her.