Mother Teresa

I chose Mother Teresa as the number one influential woman of the millennium not only because she fulfills all five of the criteria, but because she set an example for the entire world to live by, regardless of race, religion, age, or gender. Of course, everyone who lived in the twentieth century knew who Mother Teresa was, for she was always on the evening news or in the newspaper for a great accomplishment or another award. Although it seemed like people always appreciated her acts of kindness, sometimes she met much opposition in her work.

Although she met with great opposition, Mother Teresa bravely overcame it, refusing to be limited when it prevented her from aiding those in need. At first, people-even nuns from her own convent-thought she was a freak and wondered if she was only helping the poor so she could sneakily convert them from their native Hindu or Muslim religions to Christianity (Chua-Eoan 88-90). Even her own brother wrote her to say that she would be "burying herself, wasting her life." However, she responded by saying, "Lazar, you feel you are important as an official, serving a king of two million people. I am an official too, serving the King of the whole world" (Clucas 27).

So even though she faced opposition from her own family, she never allowed it to hinder her service to the poor. Even when Hindus threw stones at Mother Teresa and her nuns for working near the temple of their goddess Kali, she never gave in to their hate. Instead, she showed the ultimate love by taking a dying Hindu priest, whom people of his own religion wouldn't care for, into Nirmal Hriday, an act which finally won the admiration of most of the Hindus (Lee 30-31).

Mother Teresa was a great religious catalyst by instituting programs to aid the less fortunate throughout the world. In 1950, Mother Teresa created a constitution for her new Catholic order, the Missionaries of Charity, which included the three traditional Catholic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, as well as a fourth vow of "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor." However, Mother Teresa decided that the Missionaries of Charity's work should not be centered in Calcutta: "During the early 1960s the Missionaries of Charity concentrated on establishing congregations throughout India," including homes for the dying and leprosy clinics. Later, their work expanded throughout the world, beginning with the "first center outside India, in the South American country of Venezuela," and spreading to many other places such as Rome, Tanzania, and the South Bronx in New York (Clucas 49, 65, 75).

Through all of her work as a religious catalyst, she altered humanity for the better. First, she established Nirmal Hriday, the Place of the Immaculate Heart, for the poor to die with dignity (Clucas 55). At Nirmal Hriday, she didn't try to tackle the impossible job of helping the dying people to live longer, but rather, "she railed against the squalor and loneliness of their last hours" (Chua-Eoan 90).

Next, she established Nirmal Shishu Bhaven, the Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart. "In addition to housing ill and destitute children, Mother Teresa and the sisters at Shishu Bhaven set up a food-distribution program for the hungry."

Of course, they invited Muslims and Hindus on different days of the week to receive food, so they would not create a religious conflict. Among many other charitable deeds, Mother Teresa advanced the welfare of the lepers, who were rejected by a society that was repulsed by their disintegrating bodies. Not only did she deliver medicine and administer treatment to the lepers at home, she also established a Town of Peace for "rehabilitating lepers" that covered thirty-five acres of land located two hundred miles outside of Calcutta (Clucas 59, 63).

Mother Teresa not only helped others, but by doing so, she inspired many people in many countries to also become interested in the well-being of the poor. In the beginning of her work in India, hundreds of her former students at the Loreto convent convened to assist her in her work, some even quitting school to do so. However, Mother Teresa required all the nuns who came to her to finish their education while serving the poor (Clucas 80). At first, though, many people doubted her motives and dedication. Nevertheless, they soon realized that "she wasn't just another Christian proselytizer. Her care of lepers changed the mind of many Calcuttans. Young physicians began to sign up as volunteers" (Chua-Eoan 90).

After traveling through the United States and England, people from far away, inspired by her devotion to the poor and eager for a chance to help, donated to her cause. However, many people did not want to just donate money-they wanted to help. Therefore, Mother Teresa and one of her many friends, Ann Blaikie of England, formed the International Association of the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa for any individual wishing to make a difference in the lives of the poor (Clucas 80).

Mother Teresa accomplished many great things in her life and although she died in 1997, her work has continued and will continue for many years to come. Howard Chua-Eoan best describes Mother Teresa's life and accomplishments:

It is the fate of moral crusaders to be vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy or have the arbitrary selectiveness of their campaigns held against them. Mother Teresa's detractors have accused her of overemphasizing Calcuttans' destitution and of coercing conversion from the defenseless. In the context of lost causes, Mother Teresa took on battles she knew she would win. Taken together, it seems to me, the criticisms of her work do not undermine or topple her overall achievement. The real test might be, did she inspire followers, skeptics and even opponents to larger acts of kindness or greater visions of possibility? If the church demands hard evidence of a miracle for sainthood, the transformation of many hearts might make the strongest case. (90)

 

Introduction