“At the end of our life, we will not be judged, how
many diplomas we received, how much money we have made, how many great things
we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry and you gave me something to
eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in” –
Mother Teresa. This sums up the entire life of Mother Teresa. It also teaches a
great lesson for our life. Today the world remembers the great legend of human history
Blessed mother Teresa for her selfless service of love.
Mother Teresa often
called her religious life, “a call within a call”. Though she was happy in the “Sisters
of Loreto” congregation, she was deeply disturbed by the surrounding poverty of
her locality. Once when she was travelling from Calcutta to Loreto convent in
Darjeeling, she was moved deeply looking at the misery of her people. She felt
that God was calling her to serve the poor. Hence she decided to leave her
reputed job in the Loreto School. She resolved to help the poor while living
among them. She felt that if she would refuse that call, she would have broken
her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She changed her name from Agnes to Teresa
and later she was called “Mother Teresa”.
We all of us as
Christians are called to become the close followers of Jesus. Each of us has “a
call within a call”. As Christians we can be happy to live a good Christian life
by attending daily Eucharist, reciting Rosary, attending retreats and novenas. These
are necessary for our good Christian life. There is also another phase of
Christian life. We have social responsibility. We are called to love our neighbor by attending their needs. What do we feel when we look at the poor beggar on
the road side? Do our hearts move with pity? Do we feel empathetic towards the
poor? Do we reach out to others in their need or are we happy with our own
small little world. It needs courage to respond to a “call within a call”. All of
us are called to respond to this call but only a few will hear this call in the
silence of their hearts and follow Christ more closely. As we commemorate
Blessed Mother Teresa, let us keep her as our model. Let us imitate her few
qualities like love for the poor, compassionate towards the suffering and a
helping hand to those who are in need. Only then as Christians we can be true
witnesses of Christ Jesus.