Topic > Mother Teresa and her journey towards monasticism

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." This quote was written and lived by a saint who touched the lives of those in need around the world. This woman is best known for her selfless charity and her care of the sick and dying. Living among the poor on the streets of Calcutta, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the poor, sick and dying around the world. Mother Teresa's journey to monasticism was atypical and she faced many challenges along the way. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, later known to the world as Mother Teresa, was born on August 27, 1910 in Skopje, Yugoslavia, to a pair of devout Roman Catholics. Nikola Bojaxhiu, Agnes' father, died of a heart attack at age 42, resulting in a lack of income and changed circumstances for the family. He soon felt the call to a religious vocation and pondered this decision for about six years. Finally, at the age of 18, she chose to become a nun while praying in the sanctuary of Our Lady of Letnice, and left her home on 26 September 1928 to join the Loreto Sisters in India, taking the name Teresa in honor of Saint Therese of Lisieux. Sister Teresa began teaching geography at St. Mary's High School for Girls in Calcutta in 1929. During this time, the community's streets were crowded with beggars, lepers, and homeless people. God called Sister Teresa a second time on September 10, 1946, while she was on a train to Darjeeling. In this calling, God asked her to serve only the poor for the rest of her life. After receiving permission to work as a free nun in 1948 from Pope Pius XII, she abandoned her teaching position and left the convent of the Sisters of Loreto with only the clothes she was wearing, setting out to fulfill her mission of service to the needy. Remaining faithful to her values ​​of humility and poverty, Sister Teresa chose as her dress a simple white sari with a blue border and a simple cross pinned on the left shoulder. Sister Teresa studied nursing for three months with the American Medical Missionaries in Patna, India, the only medical training she ever received. From here he began to take care of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Even though her early life was not what she had planned, Sister Teresa still managed to do great things. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay God's call to Sister Teresa inspired her to lead a movement and she began training other missionary nuns to help those in need. He established a few homes for the sick and dying across India, gradually gaining supporters along the way. Upon returning to Calcutta, she founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and became Mother Teresa. She and her novices took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, charity, and the special vow to serve the truly destitute without expecting anything in return. Candidates for this group must be of sound mind and body, be capable of learning, have common sense and have a cheerful disposition. The first home he opened after this was the Kalighat Home for the Dying, which was located in an abandoned temple dedicated to Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction. In the mid-1950s, Mother Teresa received a 34-acre plot of land on which she built a leper colony called Shanti Nagar, meaning “City of Peace.” By 1987, the Missionaries of Charity numbered more than 3,000 sisters, 400 brothers and had spread to over 25 different countries. The first foreign country to welcome his help was Venezuela, followed closely by Rome, Ceylon, Tarzania, Australia and finally the United States. The houses opened by Mother Teresa followed this general program: wake up.