So said Mother Teresa at some point in her
incredible life. And today we visited the Mother House in Kolkata and saw how
that notion continues to permeate the work of the Missionaries of Charity.
The Missionaries of Charity is the order of
nuns that Mother Teresa started in the late 40’s when she was called to step
out of the Loretta convent and begin her work of serving the poor and
destitute, the orphans, the disabled, the abandoned, the dying and the outcasts
of Kolkata.
In the Mother House there is a room that
houses the shrine of Mother Teresa, and to which many people travel. On the
walls of that room are some paintings that outline the dream that Mother Teresa
had that precluded her calling to step forth out of the convent and into the
world.
In a nutshell the dream / vision consisted
firstly of a big crowd of people who were all living in poverty calling out
‘come, come, save us, bring us to the Lord Jesus’. And after that she heard the
Virgin Mary saying ‘take care of them, they are mine’. And then she heard the
Lord Jesus saying to her ‘I have asked you; they have asked you. Will you
refuse to do this for me – to take care of them, to bring them to me?’
The ministry of Mother Teresa, and her fellow sisters is a
ministry that has touched millions around the world in some way or another, and
whilst it is still very much a Kolkata based order, it has now expanded to
include orders in many other countries, all based on the same principles.
And although Mother Teresa died in 1997,
her presence, and the work she started still very much goes on.
The Mother House is set on a very busy road
in Kolkata, with traffic going noisily (all traffic is noisy in India) up and
down all day and most of the night. There is no air conditioning, so the
windows onto the street are all open, and yet still there is a strong sense of
peace, serenity and love that pervades the Mother House, blocking out all the
background clamour and chaos on the streets.
The Sisters all carry the smile that generates
peace. Not a false smile, but a genuine, loving, caring smile, that sets people
at rest, and that gives dignity to even the most broken or marginalized. It is
a smile that builds humanity, and speaks of unconditional love and concern and
a desire to help.
As I sat in the courtyard of the Mother
House, just reflecting on the work that reaches out into so many corners of the
city and the world beyond, I watched one young mother come with her tiny baby
and be tended to by one of the Sisters. The mother clearly didn’t have anything
to give the baby, and it was hungry; but before long a bottle of milk had been
rustled up and the baby was contentedly feeding. The mother looked more
relaxed, and then I saw the look of delight on her face as the sisters brought
her a small bag of baby clothes, probably the only change of clothes that the
child had.
At the same time another Sister was tending
to an older man who had come in looking very upset and seemed to be in some
pain. Although the Sister was urging him to go for medical care, she was doing
it in a way that calmed him, and clearly made him feel like she had his best
interests at heart rather than was in any way trying to get rid of him.
After the Mother House, we went to Shishu
Bhava, another of the homes run by the Sisters. This one is for children ready
for adoption, as well as being the home for disabled children, and the location
of the free dispensary. When we got there we were shown around by a young
novice Sister, and at one point met the mother of the tiny baby that I had seen
earlier at the Mother House – she was collecting some medicines as prescribed
by the Sister, and it was lovely to be able to say hello, and exchange smiles
and greetings of Namaste.
I was really touched by the time at the Missionaries
of Charity – their serenity, love and peacefulness within such a noisy, chaotic
and busy city was deeply moving. Their unconditional and all-encompassing
compassion and care for any who walked through their doors was inspiring and
challenging. And the strong presence of God within the place was testament to
the depth of faith and prayer-life that undergirds all that the Sisters do.
Mother Teresa might have gone home, but as
she once said – ‘God still loves the world today, through you and through me’.
She also said ‘smiles generate smiles, just as love generates love’. Put those
together and the challenge to each of us is to get out there, smile to others,
show love to others, and in so doing
show that God is still loving the world.
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