The power of absolute dispossession
Stripping herself externally and internally, this was Teresa’s destiny during her religious life. Small in physical stature, she remains rock solid in her faith! Her charity on a global scale makes her a colossus of dedication and yes to life in the face of a new world order that spreads her individualistic ideology and her culture of death throughout the planet. She, who began each day with Jesus in the Eucharist and then went out, rosary in hand, to find him and serve him in the rejected, the unloved, the abandoned, conquered the world with her compassion.
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Biography of Mother Teresa
Gonxha Agnès Bojaxhiu was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia. her parents, of albanian originThey were Catholic. Gonxha lost his father when he was eight years old and received his religious training from his mother and the Jesuit parish of the Sacred Heart. She was interested very early in the idea of becoming a missionary, she realized this project at the age of eighteen and left for Dublin in Ireland to enter the Institute of the Virgin Mary, also called Sisters of Loreto. There she received the name of Sister Maria Theresa, in honor of Saint Therese of Lisieux.
A year later, in 1929, she was sent to Calcutta in India to the Loreto community in Entally, Sister Teresa made her first vows in 1931 and became a teacher at Santa Maria Girls School. In 1937 she made her perpetual vows becoming, according to herself, “the bride of Jesus for eternity”. From then on it is called Mother Teresa. In 1944 she becomes director of the school. She stands out for her great qualities, she is pious, charitable, hard-working and full of love for her sisters and her students.
On September 10, 1946, on her way to her annual retreat, Mother Teresa received her “call within the call” on the train. Inside her, she hears Jesus say to him: “Come be my light” and intensely feels the thirst of Jesus for souls and to be loved by souls; the desire to please Jesus becomes Mother Teresa’s goal. Later, Jesus revealed to her, through locutions and interior visions, her heart’s desire to have “the unloved, to spread her love over souls.” Jesus expressed his pain at the abandonment of the poor and his suffering at being ignored by them.
He asked Mother Teresa to establish a religious community: the Missionary Sisters of Charity, dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Two years of trial and discernment would pass before Mother Teresa received permission in 1948 to found this order. She then dons her famous white sari with blue trim and temporarily takes up residence with the Little Sisters of the Poor. Mother Teresa began each day with the Eucharist and then went out, rosary beads in hand, to the slums to care for the rejected, the unloved, the abandoned. After a few months, her former students joined her one by one.
On October 7, 1950, the congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established in the Archdiocese of Calcutta. Ten years later, Mother Teresa began sending her sisters to other parts of India. In 1965, Pope Paul VI gave his approval and the congregation opened houses on all continents. In view of the rapid growth of those foundationsthe world turned its gaze to Mother Teresa and her construction site. She received numerous awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. During these years, however, Mother Teresa experienced an inner trial, called “night of faith“. At the end of her life, Mother Teresa faced increasingly serious health problems and in March 1997 she blessed the new Superior General. She died in Calcutta on September 5, 1997, she was 87 years old.
Given his reputation for holiness, his cause for beatification it opened promptly two years after his death. After the recognition of a first miracle, Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003 by John Paul II. Pope Francis celebrated her canonization on September 4, 2016.
The work of Mother Teresa: the Missionaries of Charity
The great work of Mother Teresa is the foundation of the Missionaries of Charity, but she didn’t stop there. To meet the physical and spiritual needs of the poor, Mother Teresa founded the Brothers Missionaries of Charity in 1963, in 1976 the contemplative branch of the sisters, in 1979 the Contemplative Brothers and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. Mother Teresa explained that each branch of the great family of the Missionaries was hidden in one of Jesus’ wounds. She said: “I asked Our Lady to keep the Company hidden in the five wounds of Jesus.
Thus the Missionary Brothers and Sisters correspond to the wounds of the hands, the Contemplative Brothers and Sisters to the wounds of the feet and the priests to the wound of the Heart of Jesus.
Mother Teresa also thought of the laity for whom she formed the Cooperators of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Cooperators. In 1981 Mother Teresa launched the Corpus Christi Movement to help priests by giving them a “little path to holiness” according to their personal charism. When Mother Teresa died in 1997, there were around four thousand sisters established in 610 foundations in 123 countries.
Miracles of Mother Teresa
The miracle recognized for the beatification It is that of Monica Besra in 1998. This Indian woman suffered from an ovarian tumor and was in one of the Missionaries of Charity centers. Her sisters took her to the chapel where she saw a bright light come out of the photo of Mother Teresa. Later, her sisters placed a medal blessed by Mother Teresa on her and asked for her intercession. A few hours later the young woman got up without help and noticed that the pain had disappeared as well as the swelling. In 2002, a group of five experts unanimously recognized the instantaneous, complete, permanent, and inexplicable nature of the cure.
The second miraclewhich this time resulted in canonization, was that of the Brazilian Marcilio Haddad Andrino. In 2008 it was discovered that he had brain tumors. Together with his wife, he began to pray to Mother Teresa and apply relics of the saint to her head. His condition worsened and he was scheduled for an operation. As Marcilio lay on the operating table, doctors found him inexplicably awake and pain-free. Several days later, tests revealed that the tumors had completely disappeared. Mother Teresa’s intercession for her family did not end there, as the couple who had only a 1% chance of having children had two children.
Mother Teresa Quotes
Mother Teresa had a word powerful, it put Christ and prayer at the center of its teachings. Here are some beautiful quotes that will help to understand her spirituality based on love of neighbor.
• On love of neighbor
“At the end of our days, we will not be judged by the number of titles received, the money we have accumulated or the achievements under our belt. We will be judged by our response to: “I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you dressed me. I was homeless and you took me in.”
• About charity
“We know very well that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”
• About children
“The child is a gift from God to the family. Every child is created in the image and likeness of God for great things, to love and be loved.”
• About the family
“The family that prays together stays together, and if it stays together, each will love the other as God loves each member of the family. And works of love are always works of peace.” (Find out how pray as a family)
“Love begins at home, and destruction and hatred also begin at home. More and more people are realizing that if we don’t return prayer and love to the family, we will never have peace.”
• On holiness:
“Holiness is not a luxury reserved for a few; It’s a simple duty, for you and me. Being everything for Jesus through Mary. Be holy. God bless you!”.
• About confession
“If we are full of sin, God cannot fill us, because God himself cannot fill what is full. That is why we need forgiveness: we empty ourselves and God fills us with himself”.
• About life
“Life is an opportunity, take it.”
Prayers to Mother Teresa
Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Jesus called you to bring the light of his love to those who live in darkness.
Through your love and tenderness for the poorest, you have become a sign of God’s presence, of his love and compassion in the midst of suffering and pain.
With your example, help us to recognize the face of Jesus in our suffering brothers and sisters and to serve him with humility and joy.
Teach us to be living witnesses of God’s love, tenderness and mercy, so that we may be the sign that God always loves the world through each one of us. Amen.
Novena prayer to Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Saint Teresa of Calcutta, you allowed the thirsty love of Jesus on the cross to become a living flame within you, and thus you became the light of his love for all. Intercede before the Heart of Jesus (Mention here the favor you wish to obtain).
Teach me how to let Jesus penetrate me and completely possess my whole being so that my life can also radiate his light and love for others. Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cause of Our Joy, pray for me. Saint Teresa of Calcutta, pray for me.
Praying to Mother Teresa with
offers you beautiful prayers to meet Saint Teresa of Calcutta and delve into his spirituality of love for others.