Mother Teresa: A Helping Hand That Made A Difference

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Everyday people are born and others go. Some of those people are born with gifts that can change the lives of everyone. Many people think that heroes are celebrities or famous sports players. They don’t realize that a hero can be a part of your faith or your family or someone that contributed to making a difference. Many people dedicate their lives to help change a poor habit; these people are also considered heroes. A hero is someone that you can look up to. Mother Teresa is one of those people. She was born as Agnes Gionxhu Bejuxhiu in Skopje on August 26th, 1910. She changed her name to Teresa when she was appointed to be a nun. The poor and needy started to call her mother due to her works. That’s why she is called Mother Teresa. Numerous amounts of people look up to Mother Teresa as someone that could change the world, and she did. She changed the way people look at life and God.

Mother Teresa obtained her vows in 1937. From there on she taught at Saint Mary’s High School in Kolkata. After teaching for almost twenty years, she reached a turning point in her life. Mother Teresa took her final vows and got on a train where she went to Darjeeling to recover from unexpected tuberculosis. She then received a request to serve with the poor. She left the convent to serve the poor in the poor towns of Calcutta. In 1947, she got permission to move the needy to begin schools. Soldiers dedicate their lives to fight for their country; Mother Teresa dedicated her life to help the poor. She wanted to help people in need. Her prayer helped her to stay loyal and not give up. Her prayer went something like this:

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Dear Jesus,
Help me to spread thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of mine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only see Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine so to shine as to be a light to others.

This prayer has many meanings to it. Mother Teresa expresses her love for God and asks Him for help. When she asks that God fill her soul with the Holy Spirit and love, she is indicating that that with these items she can help. Just by reading her prayer, you can see how she wanted to help others. Helping others is a key to a good hero.

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In the year 1950, she started to care for people that had leprosy. It was 15 years later, in 1965, that Pope Paul VI brought the Missionaries of Charities together and gave Mother Teresa the permission to expand her Order in other countries. Risky it is to go and support people with leprosy. Father Damien had taken the same risk and had gone to the island, Kalawao. Even though he died assisting the lepers, it was the thought that counted. As Mother Teresa said, “God doesn’t require us to succeed, he just requires that we try.” Mother Teresa continued her work and then moved on. In 1968 she was called to Rome where she helped with Indian nuns. For her avocation by Pope Paul she was awarded the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971. Then for her humanity, in 1979, she received the Noble Peace Prize. She stepped down from the head of the Missionaries and died on September 5th 1997.

Mother Teresa is a role model for today. She is my hero because she showed that you can do anything. She wanted to do the right thing and help people, as if she was helping Jesus himself. Jesus is in each and every one of us. One of Mother Teresa’s famous quotes is, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” By helping others, she helps God. She is a true hero. Many good people have served the world, but Mother Teresa really stands out, not for her goodness, but for her success in spreading a message. Even though Mother Teresa is not with us now, her sacrifice and dedication to helping others is still here. She set a great example for others to follow.