Mother Teresa A Teacher

MOTHER TERESA A TEACHER IN THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM

Edmund Burke has aptly said, “Example Darjeeling she received from God the “Inspira is the school of mankind, and they will learn at tion” or special message involving a “call withno other.” Or as Gilbert West highlights, “Ex in a call”. Till then she had been principal of ample is a lesson that all men can read.” Each St. Mary’s School at Entally, Kolkata, and had year India celebrates Teachers’ Day on 5 Sep taught History and Geography in that school tember, the birth day of Dr. Sarvepalli Radrun by the Loreto Sisters. hakrishnan, India’s second President and an erudite philosopher and educationist. Teach ers’ Day 2016 saw another great teacher on India’s, nay, on the world’s educational horizon, St. Teresa of Kolkata, who taught in the ‘glob al classroom’ through her exemplary life. She continues to do so, through her Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, who, spread across 133 countries, are imparting practical lessons in loving service to the countless victims of ne glect and indifference. Mother Teresa was a member of the Lo reto Sisters from 25 May 1931. On 10 September 1946, on her train journey from Kolkata to Her “call within call”, demanded her to leave the Loreto Congregation and to dedicate herself to serve the “poorest of the poor”. After patient waiting and requests she received offi cial permission through Archbishop Ferdinand Perrier of Kolkata in January 1948 to leave her first religious “call”. Dressed in white, blue-bor dered sari she left the portals of her beloved Loreto Convent on 17 August 1948 to enter the world of the poor. After a short medical course in the Holy Family Convent Hospital in Patna, Mother Te resa returned to Calcutta and found temporary lodging with the Little Sisters of the Poor. On

21 December the 38 year old ex-Loreto nun The great scientist Albert Einstein did not ventured into the slums for the first time. Chil claim all the credit in bringing transformation dren started crowding around her. Without a in others, “I never teach my pupils. I only at classroom, desks, chalkboard, paper and other tempt to provide the conditions in which they requirements, she began her first class for the can learn.” Mother Teresa in her humility at slum children by scribbling alphabets on the tributes all good actions to God, “I am only an wet ground with a stick. instrument in the hands of God”. In relation to What were her academic qualifications? Besides her schooling and nine years of teach ing experience as well as brief medical course in Patna, she had no qualifications in health care or social work. But she could speak fluent ly five languages and was a great communicator. What urged her the magnitude of the problem facing the poor of the world, she considers her work insignifi cant though useful, “…what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” She recom mended the practice of the virtue of humility which she considers the “mother of all virtues.” on to venture into Alfred Mercier un the uncharted arena derscores the importance was the clear invita of doing things joyful tion of God, “Come ly, “What we learn with be my light” which pleasure we never forget.” she received in the Mother Teresa too high a f ore - m e nt i on e d lights the value of serv“Inspiration”. Since ing others joyfully, “…The then she spared no miracle is not that we do efforts in brining this work, but that we are light and joy in the life of suffering millions all happy to do it”. How similar it is to what the over the globe while herself suffering from her Bible says, “Each one should give, then as he doubts or the so-called “dark night of the soul” has decided…for God loves a cheerful giver” for over 50 long years. (2Cor.9:7).

Mother Teresa was not a scholar in the Mother Teresa had a profound respect common parlance of the day but her few books for human life, even of unborn babes. In the such as, Life in the Spirit (1983), A Simple Path 1971 war between East and West Pakistans an (1995), In My Own Words (1996), and No estimated 200,000 women were raped. Men Greater Love (1997) do serve to reveal her deep tally devastated some of them committed suispirituality as well as her practical wisdom. cide. Many wanted to abort their babies. MothThrough her practical words and actions she teaches the greatness of little things, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love”. Much before the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai er Teresa begged them to have their babies and give them to her, “The Sisters will take care of you, and we will find a good home for the ba bies” (Maryanne Raphael, What Mother Teresa Taught Me, 2007, p.87). could say, “One child, one teacher, one book, Rightly does Ken Blanchard tell teachers, one pen can change the world”, Mother Teresa “Your role as a leader is even more important had confirmed the importance of doing things than you might imagine. You have the power humbly and gradually, “If you can’t feed a hun to help people become winners.” Mother Teresa dred people, then just feed one”. and her Sisters have helped over 22,000 people to die dignified deaths (Maryanne, p. 136). She Dimapur Links: Sept. - Oct. 2016 /7

has even made discarded children into winners. receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in December For instance, Gautam, a polio-stricken orphan 1979, she said, “We are not social workers. We was abandoned at the age of two. Mother Te are contemplatives in the world touching the resa picked him up and cared for him in Shibody of Christ 24 hours.” And on his part Je shu Bhavan, Kolkata. He was later given to Dr. sus has emphatically promised, “For truly I tell Patricia Lewis. Today Gautam Lewis is a suc you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink cessful entrepreneur and a flight instructor in because you bear the name of Christ by no London. means will lose the reward” (Mk 9:41). Moth The examples of Mother imparting pre cious lessons through concrete actions in the global arena, are innumerable. And the impact of her example has inspired thousands of Sis ters, Brothers, Priests and lay coworkers to join hands and carry on her work for the “poorest of the poor.” She has inspired even a left-winged er Teresa has been given 124 national and international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1979. The official confer ring of Sainthood by Pope Francis in the name of the universal Catholic Church is a fitting gift to this humble but profoundly edifying teach er around the occasion of Teachers’ Day 2016. agnostic, Malcolm Muggeridge, a British jour Long fellow in his A Psalm of Life says, nalist of international fame to embrace Cath“Lives of great men all remind us, we can make olic Church in 1982 with his wife Kitty and to our lives sublime. And, departing, leave behind produce a film on her and her work entitled us, footprints on the sands of time.” May the Something Beautiful for God as well as to pen a “Saint of the gutters”, now christened ‘St. Tere book with the same heading. sa of Kolkata’, inspires today’s mankind to leave Mother Teresa loved and served the poor and taught valuable lessons to mankind be behind footprints for future generations to fol low. cause she saw God in suffering humanity. On Jonas Kerketta sdb, Dimapur 8 / Dimapur Links: Sept. - Oct. 2016