Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa (www.google.com)

There are 195 countries in the entire world. Out of those 195, Mother Teresa missionaries stretched out to 123 of them. That’s 63% of the entire world. Who would have ever thought that one, small woman could do that much work and put that much effort to make that big of a difference in the world. Surely she didn’t. But if you work at something with all of your heart and mind, like Mother Teresa did, you can accomplish almost anything. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, on August 26, 1910. She was the youngest of 4 children born to Nikola and Drone Bojaxhiu. Mother Teresa lived in a small little Albanian town and was of Albanian descent. At the age of 18 she left her home and joined “Sisters Of Loretta”, an Irish nun community. She was a part of that little community for 3 years and then in 1931 she was sent to India where she took her initial vows and became a nun. After that she taught 17 long years at a small catholic school in Calcutta, and then after that was when her missionaries became world renowned. Now, a true hero must possess the character traits of selflessness, and having a caring heart. Selflessness is defined in the dictionary as giving to others before you take care of yourself, and being caring is defined in the dictionary as always being there for someone who is in need. Mother Teresa had a caring heart and was very selfless in everything she did, therefore she is a hero.

Mother Tersa feeding (www.google.com)

Mother Teresa was always caring and looking out for others health and care since she was 18, and she started many charities after she left the school she taught at in Calcutta. As Mother traveled around the globe she cared for the sick and less fortunate by starting charities. When she left the school after 10 years is when she started thinking about the idea of charities reaching out to help the sick and poor all around the world. She wanted to start something that would help others. As a strong Catholic all her life she also wanted to bring the word of God to as many people as she could. And that's exactly what she did. When 2 of her charities were up and running she started “Missionaries Of Charities Brothers”. The “Missionaries Of Charities Brothers” also known as The M.O.C.B brought medicine and the bible to all different parts of Asia, Africa, and India. This was her biggest Charity, reaching out to the most people. Bringing hope to them. Not only did Mother Teresa start these charities but she also traveled all around the globe and worked for all of them, caring for the wounded, and bringing Jesus to everyone who needed Him. As you can see Mother Teresa gave up a lot of her time, 45 years to be exact, to help and care for others by starting charities, and not only was she caring, she was also very selfless.

The Slums Of Calcutta (www.google.com)

Mother Teresa risked disease and many different sicknesses to help some of the poorest people in the entire world. That selfless spirit of hers is what made her a true hero in everyone's eyes. When Mother was traveling she went to some of the dirtiest and poorest places Asia, to help the less fortunate, and that was a huge risk for her life. But God watched over her the whole time, and never once did she come down with anything more severe then a cold or the flu. Mother Teresa gave up most of her life to tend to the sick, starting in her late 20’s. Working in the streets along with the other women that helped in her charities, the wasn’t afraid to get dirty because her ultimate goal was to bring the bible to the whole world. She once said "People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." She was always set on taking the attention off of herself and on Jesus. Whenever she was accepting her awards and Nobel prizes and was not at all self-centered. She was selfless and directed the attention to someone greater. All in all Mother Teresa cared so much for the good of others that she didn’t care about herself. She cared for others more, and that is truly selfless. She said it herself: "Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.” and that is all she did with her life.

Mother Teresa near the end of her life (www.google.com)

Mother Teresa was both selfless and had a very caring spirit with everything that she did and said. Therefore she is still today known as one of the most influencial and powerful heroes of the 20th century. Mother risked all sorts of diseases and overcame many hard trials in her life. She did all of this to put a smile on the faces of not only everyone she helped, but also the God she trusted in and believed, Jesus Christ. Mother Teresa inspires me and everyone who reads about her story by telling us that the greatest gift in life is to help others and put their needs before our own, and in that we will be very blessed. She is also an inspiration because she is living proof that if you set your mind to something, and give it your all, you can accomplish the task, no matter how big it may seem. After Mother suffered a heart attack later in her life she still served 8 years after, where as most people would have settled down then and there. Sadly in 1997 though, Mother Teresa died, but left the world a shining memory of service to mankind. She was selfless and caring in everything she did in her life and that is why she is a hero. That is why everyone should try to be a little more the Mother Teresa.

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"Mother Teresa." World Religions Reference Library.Ed.Julie L Carnegie, et al. Vol. 4: Biographies. Detroit: UXL, 2007. 351-358. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Mar. 2011.

McGovern, James. "Teresa, Mother. "World Book Student. World Book, 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2011.

"Teresa, Mother(1910-1997)." UXL Biographies. Online ed. Detroit: UXL, 2003. Student Resource Center-Gold. Gale. DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL. 29 Mar.2011