What is a summary of the life of Mother Teresa?

Answer 1

1. She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Albania, to a financially comfortable family - they lived in one of the two houses they owned. Her father died when she was 8 years old, which ended her family's financial security.

2. Agnes was fascinated with missionaries from an early age, and she knew by age 12 that she would commit herself to a religious vocation.

3. When she was 18 years old, Agnes left home and joined the Sisters of Loreto in Rathfarnham, Ireland.

4. Although she lived to be 87 years old, she never saw her mother or sister again after the day she left for Ireland.

5. After a year learning English in Ireland, Agnes transferred to the Sisters of Loreto convent in Darjeeling, India.

6. She took her vows as a nun in 1931, and that's when she chose the name Teresa - to honor Saints Therese of Lisieux and Teresa of Avila.

7. Therese of Lisieux is the patron saint of missionaries - which attracted Agnes to her - as well as the patron saint of florists, Australia, AIDS sufferers and others. Teresa of Avila is the patron saint of people in religious orders, lacemakers, Spain and more.

8. Teresa began teaching history and geography in Calcutta at St. Mary's, a high school for the daughters of the wealthy. She remained there for 15 years and enjoyed the work, but was distressed by the poverty she saw all around her.

9. In 1946, Teresa traveled to Darjeeling for a retreat. It was on that journey that she realized what her true calling was: "I heard the call to give up all and follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor."

10. It took two years of preparation before she was able to begin doing the work she felt compelled to do. She needed to receive permission from the Sisters of Loreto to leave the order - while retaining her vows - as well as permission from the Archbishop of Calcutta to live and work among the poor. She also prepared by taking a nursing course.

Answer 2

Catholic Answer

Mother Theresa, a Catholic nun who entered the Sisters of Loretto in Ireland to become a teaching nun, was sent to India to teach. Later, moved with compassion, and the love of God, she received a "call" from God to help the poorest of the poor. The rest of her life was spent in "darkness" which I discuss below.
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Modern people, and most people who call themselves Christians, think that going to Church on Sunday, saying some things, and being nice to people is what it is all about. They are completely missing the mark. Those kind of things are just the tip of the iceberg. Mother Teresa helped others by loving God above all things, putting Him first in her life, and doing His Will no matter how painful it was for her, and it was very painful.
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Mother spent most of her life in a dark night with no real feeling or personal knowledge of God. This is very common with the founders of religious orders, they are strong enough in their faith to make their way through life totally depend on Faith, Hope, and Charity: the three cardinal virtues bestowed on us in Baptism. She sacrificed herself completely for God, and was called a saint and a prophet for it.
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Mother Theresa helped others the way we are all called to help others, by getting up in the morning, and taking some time to give to God first. She spend an hour in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, went to Holy Mass, received Our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist, and went to confession frequently, and regularly. And, then, when she had done these things, she went out and lived her faith by seeing her God in every individual in front of her, especially the poor, the sick, the aged, and the abandoned. She served God by serving Him in them - which is nothing more nor less than she lived the Gospel with every breath in her body.
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Mother Teresa showed compassion for those who were less fortunate than she was. She gave them food, lifted their spirits, and helped them survive. She is and was considered a hero to many people. After her death, she was put on the short list for canonization, and in 2012 I believe she has already had one miracle attributed to her, and has been beatified. Of course, she loved children.
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The Church often says that the only real way to help people, the way to become a good spouse, parent, teacher, or whatever, is to become a saint. Mother Teresa believed and lived this. She helped the poor by becoming a saint.
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The various ways that she accomplished that was that she always did the Will of God even when she didn't feel as if God was there or approving of her. She cared for the poorest of the poor.
She established hospices and hospitals for the sick and dying, she started in Calcutta as she started a new religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, which spread throughout the world. Today the Order still cares for the poorest of the poor, the sick and dying. Mother Theresa and her nuns went out into the streets and picked up the dying homeless to bring them to her hospice. They clean them, feed them, pray with them, and serve them so that they spend their last days or hours in dignity. She and her Order treat those dying of AIDS, the lepers, the untouchables, those whom nobody else will love and care for. She saw Our Blessed Lord in everyone of them, in disguise, pleading for our help and love. She treated them as she would treat Our Blessed Lord, Himself.

Answer

If you were awarded $6,000 in prize money what would you do with it? Many people would say things like: Go over seas, move out of home or buy a flat screen TV, but fortunately for the poor, Mother Teresa thought a lot differently. She won many prizes for making the world a better place and helping those in need. For one of these awards she received $6,000 and unlike most of the world's population she refused to take it. Instead she gave it all to the poor in Calcutta India.

While Mother Teresa was alive she spent almost her whole life helping people. She helped the poor, people in poverty, the disabled, the mentally challenged and the sick. Because of this she won many awards including:ü Kennedy prize ( 1971)

ü Nehru prize- "for promotional international peace and understanding" (1972)

ü Albert Schweitzer International prize (1975)

ü Nobel Peace prize (1979)

ü States Presidential Medal of Freedom(1985)

ü Congressional Gold Medal (1994)

ü Honorary Citizenship of the United States (November 16th 1996) Mother Teresa was born on August 26th 1910 and had a long lasting life which concluded on September 5th 1997. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly about Christianity and wanted to spread the word of Christ to all she knew. When Mother Teresa was eighteen she left her home and parents and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions to help India.In 1928 Mother Teresa became a roman catholic and took the name of Sister Teresa. In 1929 she went to Calcutta India and taught geography at ST.MARY'S High School. In 1937 she became a nun followed by receiving medical training in Paris in 1948.

In 1952 she opened a home so sick people could die in peace, followed by opening an orphanage in 1953. In 1962 she received the first prize for work among the poor. In 1965 she was granted permission from the Catholic Church to organise missions outside of India-(this she did that year.)

For the thousands of people she helped she received many awards. In her time she was known as:

The saint of the gutters

Mother Teresa &

Sister Teresa At the age of twelve, she felt strongly about Christianity and wanted to spread the word of Christ to all she knew. When Mother Teresa was eighteen she left her home and parents and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions to help India. Sadly in 1983 Mother Teresa had a heart attack while visiting Pope John Paul II but quickly recovered and received the States Presidential Medal of Freedom two years later in 1985. Again in 1989 she suffered a second heart attack and was fitted with a pacemaker. Another tragedy struck in 1992 when she was rushed to hospital in California for treatment of pneumonia and heart failure. In May 1993 Mother Teresa was hospitalized for three broken ribs followed by getting malaria in August and undergoing surgery for a blocked blood vessel in September.