Mother Teresa

One year later she travel along Darjeeling, India, in May 1931 she made her first Professional Vows. Afterwards she was sent to Calcutta, to teach at Saint Mary’s High School, for girls. She learned how to speak both Bengali and Hindi fluently, and she taught geography and history. On May 1937 she took her Professional Final Vows to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She took the name Mother upon her Final Vows and became know as Mother Teresa.

For some years, she was a principal of the school and was also in charge of the Daughters of St. Anne, the Indian religious order attached to the Loreto Sisters. By December 1, 1928 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu had chosen the name of Sister Mary Teresa of the Child Christ after Teresa of Liseux. “On May 24, 1937, Sister Teresa committed herself to her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for life and in doing so became, as was then usual for Loreto nuns, ‘Mother Teresa’” (Spink 17). In 1946, she wanted to work directly with the poor. She applied for permission to go out and work among the poor in the slums of the city.

There were three children in her family, and she was the youngest. Mother Teresa had a very happy and comfortable childhood until her father died (9). “When Agnes became a teenager she liked to spend time at church. She joined a youth group that helped the priests, nuns, and other members of the parish. Suddenly, an idea came to her; she thought about traveling to far-off countries to do God’s work.

Mother Teresa’s biggest hobby was to carry out the will of God. Mother Teresa grew up in a generous family and the family was extremely involved in the church. When mother Teresa was a child she would bring food and medicine to people who needed it. She saw that as a religious duty. When she was eight her father passed away and mother Teresa became close to her mother.

During her time in Calcutta, Mother Teresa quickly became disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in her daily life. She witnessed the Bengal Famine of 1943 and the misery and death that it brought about, and the Direct Action Day in 1946 that initiated a time period of Muslim- Hindu violence and tension. This poverty could have been a major factor in initiating Saint Mother Teresa’s involvement in various charities and missionary works. During her travels from Calcutta to the Loreto convent for her annual retreat, Mother Teresa experienced what she described afterward as, “the call within the call” (Mother Teresa, 1946). She stated during this time, "I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.

Many factors influenced the way Mother Teresa lived her life. Teresa lived a childhood that was deeply rooted in faith. This faith lead her to join church groups and distribute materials to the needy at a very young age. Slowly she began her life as a nun and taught many to do the same. Her faith only grew stronger as she aged and lead her to start her own order.

At age 12, Agnes felt a calling from God but did not know for certain. After sometime she decided to talk with the Father confessor to ask how she can be sure. The father informed her that the deep inner joy that she feels is the compass that indicated her direction in life. In 1929, when Agnes was only 19 she was in Calcutta preparing to become a teacher and a nun. Ever since the beginning of her journey she was always concerned for the poor, but she spent her early adulthood in her assigned ministry as a geography teacher.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway. This poem written by Mother Teresa is something that can truly make the difference in a persons life and gives us all an example to live by. The lines of the poem reflect how she herself lived her life and how she thought people should aspire to live theirs. Personally I have been deeply inspired by Mother Teresa’s actions and philosophy. I believe that if more people followed these teachings we would have a better world.

In January of 1830, Catherine Laboure became a postulant in the hospice of the Daughters of Charity at Catillon-sur-Seine. Three months later she was again in Paris, this time to enter the Seminary at the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity. Shortly after she entered her new home, God was pleased to grant her several extraordinary visions. On thr... ... middle of paper ... ...d any praise and promise so she fled from it. She wanted to be left alone to carry out her humble duties as a Daughter of Charity.

Drana worked hard and became successful. She eventually started her own business (Rice, 1998, pp 5-13) (Tilton, 2000, pp 8-9). Agnes decided she wanted to be a nun when she was twelve. This is a young age, but she waited six years to make sure that it was what she wanted. In 1928, Agnes said her goodbyes to her family and friends and went to live with the Sisters of Loreto in Rathfarnham, Ireland.