Mother Teresa

CALCUTTA, INDIA

Mother Teresa's get well card arrived along with many others while I was in a Calcutta hospital recovering from a heart attack. On the front side was a picture of Jesus carrying a lamb and followed by other sheep. Written over the lamb Jesus was carrying was the word "you". On the reverse side, Mother Teresa wrote, "Be the little lamb in the arms of Jesus who loves you. I will pray for you to get well. God bless you."

Despite her responsibilities as the leader of a worldwide organization, Mother Teresa had time to wish me well. When I received the card, I recalled that when asked how she had managed to help so many people, she had replied, "One at a time."

While I was Director of Mennonite Central Committee India 1990-1996, our paths crossed on a fairly regular basis. I particularly recall visiting her after the religious riots in December, 1992. During the week-long riots, the army was on the streets with orders to shoot on sight. Mother Teresa and her driver were among the very few who ventured out. After the curfew was lifted, I went to see her to offer MCC relief help. She told me with some amusement how she was waved through the army checkpoints when her face was recognized. Her widely circulated prayer for peace was credited with reducing violence and helping to bring an end to the conflict.

These actions characterized Mother Teresa for me. When talking to her, one quickly became aware of her single-minded concern for the poor. She was fearless in this pursuit and willing to take on the high and mighty of the world. A phrase she frequently quoted was "To the glory of God and the good of man."

More than 50 years ago, Mother Teresa left a convent and a comfortable teaching position to enter the busy and crowded streets of Calcutta. She told us a story of the generosity of the poor. In the early days of her ministry, she was teaching a group of students under a shade tree with the dust on the ground as her blackboard and a stick as her chalk. She noticed that one boy looked sick. When asked, he said he hadn't had anything to eat for three days. Mother Teresa got some rice and took it to the family. The boy's mother immediately divided the rice into two portions in order to give half to her neighbour, whose family hadn't eaten for four days.

The stooped figure of Mother Teresa remains a symbol of compassion for the "poorest of the poor". We can best honour her by taking up the work of making life better for the poor and needy.

Glen Miller

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