The approach I’m going to take to poverty today is our attitude towards those we help. For this, I’m going to use an incredible woman as an example. Her name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She is better known to most of us as Mother Teresa of Calcutta. At the young age of 18, she left her home to become a missionary. In 1948, she received permission from her superiors to found another convent (she’d joined a convent when she left home) to help the poorest of the poor in Calcutta (these sisters are known as the Missionaries of Charity, which was officially founded on October 7, 1950). Her work included teaching the children, helping the sick, attending to the spiritual needs of the poor, and anything else that needed to be done. She has received 124 awards for her efforts, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She died on September 5, 1997. Her attitude towards the poor was truly incredible.
Mother Teresa said to do “ordinary things with extraordinary love” (copyright Missionaries of Charity). She, in her simplicity, helped all around her faithfully and with this extraordinary love. She always had a smile on her face when she was attending to the poor. She ignored her needs and her desires for the greater good of others. Throughout part of her life, she suffered from a “darkness” that denied her the ability to feel God’s love in her life. However, this was not known til long after her death. Her extraordinary capability to overcome herself and her needs out of love of others is what makes her truly influential in overcoming poverty.
How can we apply these traits to our own lives? Well, remember to look at the person you are helping with love. A good way for Christians to do so is to look at the other person as if they were Christ. Love him or her as you do Christ and act as if you were helping Christ. (After all, Christ said that whatever we do to the least of our brethren, we do unto Him). Realize that the person whom you are helping is not just a picture or an idea…but a real person. Also, recognize other people’s importance. Sometimes, helping someone not starve to death is better than buying that bag of cookies that you’ll just regret buying later because it makes you feel fat. Helping someone have shoes during the winter is better than having a hundred new pairs of shoes that you never wear anyway. Helping someone get some kind of transportation so that they don’t have to walk the many miles every day to work and school so that they can lead better lives is better than buying the best and most expensive car out there. Let us rise above ourselves to help others. “What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together, we can do something beautiful for God.” (Mother Teresa, copyright Missionaries of Charity)
Sources:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html
http://www.motherteresa.org/layout.html
Picture:
http://www.monroegallery.com/showcase/images/MotherTheresa.jpg
Respect Life
Good post. She was an extraordinary woman that those of all faiths (and none) can learn a lot from. It's easy to forget that one doesn't need to share your beliefs to be an inspiration... until you come across someone like Mother Theresa. It becomes harder at that point to maintain a belief that one should only look so far as one's own religious community or society to find sources of inspiration and support. They're everywhere... if one is willing to look less at the differences that separate us and more at actions that unite us.
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~Fallon~
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.- Russell
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