Mother+Teresa

Overview
Calcutta, India is home to refugees, poverty, disease, and anguish. Out of its citizens 200,000 of them look to the streets for shelter from the previously mentioned iniquities. TIME Magazine describes this seen as people, “building tiny fires to cook their scraps of food, defecating at curbsides, curling up in their cotton rags against a wall to sleep—and often to die.” At age 38 Mother Teresa arose from this scene. As a Roman Catholic nun, with the Irish sector of the Loreto nuns, she began her mission, to serve and provide faith. Mother Teresa is known for her willingness to care for others. At a time when Mother Teresa struggled for charity, she provided it for others.

Critical Issue
Mother Teresa is described as, “slightly bent from hardship, her man-sized hands are gnarled, her Albanian peasant face is seamed,” by TIME Magazine. Her body has shown the effects of hard work and dedication toward helping others. Mother Teresa has been seen recovering babies from garbage, and bandaging them, console the dying as they lay in the streets, and approach the abandoned suffering from leprosy. Because of her efforts numerous organizations focused on serving the weak and distraught have been formed. These orders perform from Australia to New York across 67 countries. They include: 1300 missionaries, 1132 nuns, and 150 brothers. Mother Teresa’s daily schedule consists of rising at 4:30am; after mass, a meal for her and her fellow sisters is provided. Then the streets of Calcutta await her mercy.

Conclusion/Historical Significance
Mother Teresa has received countless recognition for her work in Calcutta and around the world. She was awarded India’s Order of the Lotus and the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize. Mother Teresa is truly the Christian example of the 20th century. Her caring was never subjective; her love was never biased. She challenged a judgmental world to see the lonely man with a torn shirt and dirty chin. Mother Teresa has been called the living saint of our time. As Mother Teresa explained, “Our work brings people face to face with love.”