Personality - Mother Teresa

Nikola and Dranafile were Albanians. They originally belonged to the city of Prizren, which was then a part of Yugoslavia. Nikola was a famous merchant and entrepreneur. He settled with his family in the town of Skopje, Serbia. He was a strict disciplinarian and an important figure in Skopje’s civic life. He was a man with charitable disposition and never refused the poor.

Dranafile was a deeply religious, generous and devoted housewife. She too had a family background of merchants and landowners. She was an affectionate and strong-willed woman, widely respected for her values, wisdom and generosity. The children, called their mother ‘Nanaloke’- ‘Nana’ meaning ‘Mother’, and ‘loke’ meaning the soul; ‘the mother of my soul’.

In the year, 1904, Dranafile gave birth to their first child. She was a beautiful baby girl and they named her Aga. Aga was a religious and intelligent girl. She had keen interest in singing, composition and playing instruments.

Lazar, their second child was born in 1907. He was sporty, good-looking and youthful. At a very young age he had won a scholarship to study in Austria.

On August 26, 1910 Dranafile gave birth to her third child in Skopje (Shkup), capital of the Kosava vilayet (province), Serbia. She was the youngest child of the family. She was christened Agnes-Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 27, 1910. The family was very religious and they were very God-fearing. They went to the church on every Sunday and when both the sisters grew up they used to sing in the church choir and were known as the church’s two ‘nightingales’

The year, 1910, in which Agnes was born, Albania faced great political disturbance. Two years later (1912), the First Balkan War broke out. It was followed by the First World War. During this period, her family suffered a lot. Agnes was only two years old when Albania got its independence in 1912.

CHILDHOOD

Agnes’ childhood was comfortable and prosperous. She lived in a large house with a spacious garden having number of fruit trees.

She was a plump, round and a tidy child. She was the youngest and the favorite child of the family.

Her early education was at the Sacred Heart Church. She was a bit different from children of the same age group being more intelligent, sensible and matured. She was very famous among her female friends. She had a great sense of humor though she was shy of boys and avoided their company.

They were one happy family and lived a well-contended life. But fate had something else for them.

In 1919, Nikola left home for Belgrade to join a political meeting. While leaving he was in a good health and spirit. But he returned with a haemorrhage. The family took him to a local hospital but all kinds of emergency surgery failed to save his life. He died at a very young age of forty-five. As per his family members and the doctors, Nikola was poisoned. Agnes was only eight years old when her father died. Suddenly, the prosperous and happy childhood of the Bojaxhiu children was brought to an end by the sudden death of their father.

Another shocking news followed Nikola’s death. His business partners betrayed the entire family by taking hold of the whole business. Even Agnes’ maternal uncles did not spare her mother and claimed the legal property of Drana Bojaxhiu. Husband’s death and loss in business and property made her mother miserable. The whole family was left with only a little roof above their head. For the first time she and her family faced a terrible situation with no-financial security.

Being a strong-willed woman, Drana did not allow Agnes and her brother and sister to face unhappiness. She took great care of her children by providing them with all basic needs. This strength of her mother’s character influenced her a lot. She always remained under the care of her religious mother who taught her the values of non-materialistic kindness, generosity and love for poor and weak.

Throughout her life, Agnes believed that "Home is where the mother is". Agnes’ home was always kept open for the poor. Her parents always instructed the children to share their food with other poor children. Her mother took care of poor, old and the destitute as her own family members. She often accompanied her mother on these kind of charitable works and she strictly followed her mother’s instruction throughout her life that "When you do good, do it quietly, as if you were throwing a stone into the sea".

Thus, she always remained weak and however much her family members tried to cure her and improve her health, it would deteriorate again.

Since her childhood, Agnes had a weak chest and she suffered of chronic cough during her childhood.

As a very small child, she dreamt of serving the poor people of Africa. She had great knowledge and information regarding the working of missionaries all over India through letters received at the chapel. She learned that in Bengal, there was an order of nuns serving the poor and children, especially in the field of education. They were called Loreto nuns who were members of an International Order. All these descriptions about missionary work deeply affected young Agnes.

At the age of twelve years, she received an inner ‘call’ from her Inner-self. She had a feeling that God wanted her to join the spiritual life and belong completely to Him.

Following the call, Agnes became an active member of Sodality of Children of Mary, a Christian society for girls. This society was set up by a Croatian Jesuit priest, Father Jambre Kovic of Sacred Heart in May, 1925, in Skopje. Through this society, she wanted to fulfil her religious and social pursuits.

YOUTH

At the age of seventeen, Agnes grew up into an attractive, and beautiful young girl. She actively participated in the activities of her community. She was very systematic and she organized all her activities very nicely. She was a very good student and she fared well in studies. She had an in-born communication power and thus many of her friends came to her for tuitions and for getting extra knowledge. She also had a talent in the field of writing articles and composing poems. She loved teaching too.

Although, she fared well in her studies and was a very talented girl but her inclination towards the society and for its welfare was so strong that when she was eighteen years old, she decided to become a missionary nun.

As she was very much attached to her family, blood relatives, friends and home town she had to struggle a lot in taking this important decision. Her mother was not surprised by her daughter’s decision. She went to her room and remained there for twenty-four hours. When she came out, she blessed her daughter and advised her, "Put Your Hand in His and walk all the way with Him."

Meanwhile, Agnes’ brother, Lazar after his studies, had joined the Albania’s Military Academy. On September 1, 1928 he joined the new monarchy of King Zog I, Albania as second Lieutenant in the army.

Agnes’ decision to become a nun surprised her brother, Lazar. He wrote a letter to her, asking whether she was really serious about her decision or not. She sent an immediate reply to her brother, "You are an officer serving a king with two million soldiers. But I am serving the king of the whole world."

Life, for Agnes, had changed then. She was looking forward to her new life. A life where she would be able to serve the poor and the unwanted. So, finally on September 26, 1928, she boarded the train for Zagreb from Skopje. Hundreds of people had come to see her off on her journey to an unknown land. Her mother and sister accompanied her till Zagreb. In Zagreb, she was joined by another girl, Betika Kajnc who too wanted to become a nun.

Finally, she waved her mother goodbye. It was the last time she ever saw her.

Agnes and her colleague landed at Rathfarnham, Dublin and they went to the house of the Loreto Sisters and on October 12, 1928, she and her friend received their postulant’s caps at Loreto Abbey, Rathfarnham. She stayed in the Convent for a few months and on December 1, 1928, she started her journey towards India to enter into a new world of sacrifice and service which was a dream for her, her true goal.

Before sailing for India, Agnes had changed her name from Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to Sister Mary Teresa of the Child Jesus – after Teresa of Lisieux, the ‘Little Flower’.

Mary Teresa, as she was then called, first landed at Colombo – ‘the land of dream’. She was surprised by the extreme beauty of nature as well as the civic life of Colombo. From Colombo, she proceeded to Madras (now Chennai) which was her next station. There, she observed the extreme poverty and strange customs and was shocked at the tragic condition.

On January 6, 1929, she arrived in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and stayed there for a week. From there, she went to Darjeeling and became a Loreto beginner.

On May 23, 1929, she received the ‘holy habit’ (the religious dress of Loreto). She wore the black habit and a veil as a Loreto nun and started learning Hindi and Bengali. As a nun, she was a wonderful lady, very happy, bright and full of fun. She was very hard working, kind and generous.

On May 24, 1931, she became a teacher in the Loreto Convent School of Darjeeling. She also worked in a small hospital helping the nursing staff. It was in this hospital that she had the first experience of suffering of the poor Indians.

Once a man came to Mary Teresa carrying a bundle. She saw that two dry twigs were hanging out of the bundle. On close inspection, she was shocked to find that they were not twigs, but abnormally thin legs of a completely blind child who was on the verge of death. The man was afraid that she might refuse to accept the child. He told her that if she did not want the child, he would throw the child into the grass and the jackals would not turn up their noses at him. Hearing that, her heart froze. She took the child into her arms and folded him in her apron. The child had found a second mother.

She stayed in Darjeeling for sometime and then later on from Darjeeling, Mary Teresa went to Calcutta. There, she worked as a teacher of history and geography in Loreto School, Entally. Inside Loreto Entally, was St. Mary’s high school for Bengali girls. In that Bengali high school, Mary Teresa became a teacher and was known as the ‘Bengali Teresa’.


She also taught at St. Teresa’s primary school. The pupil of St. Teresa’s school were studying and living in very poor conditions. Besides teaching, she took care of the students by giving them love. Because of her tender care and loving nature, she was called ‘Ma’.

By then, Mary Teresa had already experienced the joy of selfless service. She feet a serenity, which no other work could make her feel.

On May 24, 1937, Mary Teresa finally took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for life. From that very day, she was renamed as ‘Mother Teresa’.

Every Sunday, Mother visited the slum areas of Calcutta and started spreading happiness among the poor people. She was very simple, wore the simplest of dresses and a second-hand shoes. She used to feel poorer amongst the poor. Her only goal was to brighten the lives of the poor and to lead them to God. Mother Teresa and other members of the Sodality of Mary visited the slum dwellers of Motijhil, which was situated on the other side of the wall of the Entally compound, and which later became her first venture.

In the year of 1943, Bengal was hit by the greatest famine of the century. This famine resulted in the destruction and devastation of human lives. Millions of people died, many thousands came to Calcutta in search of food and many others lost their jobs and property.

During the Second World War, the condition of Calcutta worsened. During this period, Mother Teresa became the principal of Bengali school. She was also the superior-in-charge of the Loreto nuns and daughters of St. Anne.

On July 11, 1944, Mother Teresa met Father Celeste Van Exem in Baitha-kana, Calcutta, for the first time. Since then, he became her closest friend, spiritual director and father of her spiritual journey.

Mother never left any stone unturned to serve others. She would take any risk and would fearlessly move forward to fulfil her desire of service.

Although Mother Teresa had a weak chest since childhood and she suffered a lot from frequent coughs, still taking rest and remaining out of work brought tears into her eyes.

TURNING POINT

In the month of September, 1946, she had a strange experience. On the 10th of that month, during her journey from Entally to Darjeeling by train, she received ‘the call within a call’. "This was a call of God to be a Missionary of Charity" as stayed by Mother herself. She described this ‘call’ as the ‘hidden treasure’ for her. She was to leave the Convent and help the poor while living amongst them.

Since then, September 10, is celebrated annually throughout the world as ‘Inspiration Day’ by ‘Missionaries of Charity’ and the ‘Co–Workers’.

After receiving this divine inspiration in the train from God, Mother Teresa passed her days in loneliness. She returned to Entally in October and met Father Van Exem. She had written about her thoughts, related to the ‘call’ on slips of paper and she entrusted these small slips of paper to Father Van Exem on her return, with a request for his opinion and direction, asking his views and guidance. Father Van Exem told her to wait for three-four months before the matter could be raised with Archbishop Perier.

In January, 1947, Mother Teresa wrote to Archbishop Perier about the ‘Will of God’. Father Van Exem personally went with her letter and met Archbishop Perier. The Archbishop refused and told her to wait for a year. Till then, her application would not be forwarded to Rome.

Mother was getting more and more impatient about her going out to the poor and thus requested the Archbishop repeatedly. During this period she was transferred to the Loreto Convent at Asansol.

At Asansol, Mother Teresa was very happy. She did not reveal anything about her ‘Second Call’ to anybody inside the Loreto Order at Calcutta and Asansol. This was a personal order from Archbishop Perier. Within a short period she was again called back by the bishop to Calcutta.

In January 1948, Archbishop finally permitted Mother Teresa for applying to her own Mother General in Rathfarnham, regarding her leaving the Loreto Order. Mother Teresa soon wrote to Mother Gertrude M. Kennedy, the Mother General of Loreto Order.

On February 2, 1948, she received Mother General’s letter permitting her to send an application, directly to Rome. Later she received the permission letter on April 12, 1948, to leave Loreto Order for one year. She was given the ‘induct of exclaustration’ (meaning – allowing her to leave the Convent and remain as a religious, committed to her vows and under the obedience of Archbishop).

Though the permission letter was received by Archbishop on April 12, 1948, the news was disclosed to Mother Teresa on August 8, 1948, in front of other members and Mother Superior Ita of Loreto Convent, Calcutta. This news created a shock wave amongst her colleagues and superiors.

On the evening of August 16, Mother Teresa removed her old religious habit (dress) and wore a new habit of her future ‘Missionary of Charity’ Order. Her new dress consisted of a simple, cotton, white sari with blue stripes (blue was the color of Virgin Mary) alongwith white habits to be worn under the sari.

At midnight of August 16, Mother Teresa left Loreto Order, Entally, with only a ticket to Patna and just Rupees five for other expenditure. In Patna, she worked in the Holy Family Hospital and gained some medical knowledge. She returned from Patna and formed new rules of her ‘Missionaries of Charity’ in Calcutta. As per the rules of Missionaries of Charity the nuns who would join the Order, would live, dress and eat like the poorest of the poor. They would have to take utmost care of the poor people. The food would consist of rice and salt. Her first residence cum-office of Missionaries of Charity was a small room on the first floor of Little Sisters of the Poor’s Institution in Calcutta