Mother Teresa: The ‘Saint of the gutter’

Mother Teresa is synonymous with charity and was therefore always perceived as a Saint by most people. Net photo. 

Twelve years after she was beatified by Pope John Paul II (himself a Saint now) Mother Teresa is to be canonised.

Last month, the Vatican declared that Pope Francis recognised a second miracle associated to the compassionate nun.

While she was still alive, in most people’s eyes, Mother Teresa was already a Saint because her name was synonymous with works of charity to the poor and sick.

It comes as no surprise that Pope Francis has authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to proclaim the second miracle attributed to her intercession.

This much lauded miracle, according to the Vatican, involves a Brazilian man who was healed of several brain tumours in 2008. It is expected that the canonisation (being made a Saint) of Mother Teresa will take place in the Vatican in September 2016.

Her life’s mission
In 1946, Mother Teresa received “the call within the call” to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.

Replacing her nun’s habit with a white sari, she began her missionary work by spending a few months in the Holy Family Hospital to receive basic training.

She then ventured into the slums of Calcutta, tending to the destitute and starving.

Mother Teresa is called “the Saint of the gutter” because almost all of the people she helped were homeless, picked from the streets, sewers and rubbish heaps.

Unlike other patron saints of the arts, music, lawyers, or nurses, Mother Teresa actually lived in the gutter for some time.
In the early, most difficult months, Mother Teresa had to beg for food and supplies.

At some point, discouraged and lonely, she was tempted to return to the comfort of the convent.

In 1950, the Vatican gave the nun permission to start the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation.
To-date, the Order is still running in Calcutta, with more than 4,500 nuns active in 133 countries. The charity runs hospices and homes for people with HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, and leprosy.

They also have soup kitchens, dispensaries, and mobile clinics, orphanages and schools. The nuns must take vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and to give wholehearted free service to the poor of the poorest.

Controversies
For her work, Mother Teresa received prestigious awards from India, the Philippines, Australia, United States, the Vatican and a Nobel Peace Prize. Universities in the West and in India also granted her honorary degrees.

Even with her good work, there were controversies in the way people perceived Mother Teresa.