The canonisation of the Albanian nun, a woman who had dedicated her life to serving the poorest of the poor must inspire those of her congregation and denomination – the Catholic Church – to meditate on Teresa’s mission in life. It is not easy to live amidst stark poverty and to pick up those discarded humans from the streets of Kolkata and give them the experience of what it is to have a home over their heads and to die a death of dignity and also a funeral reserved for the high and mighty in a proper grave.
In this mission Teresa spared no pains and used donations coming from every strata of society. She was known to have said that she would not judge the colour of money as long as it is of help and assistance to those who need it the most. For this Teresa was bitterly criticised but she was not perturbed. She went about her work with zeal and continued to serve until her death.
Sainthood is conferred on a person when he/she is able to perform miracles and answer the prayers of those who pray to them. In the case of Saint Teresa miraculous cures of the sick after her death in 1997 have been attributed to her intercession. Critics of Mother Teresa also accuse her of helping people with the hidden agenda of furthering the Catholic Church’s proselytisation mission. While that cannot be denied, considering that Teresa believes it is her goal to lead those without faith to a faith she herself had come to believe in and which she trusted would give life and healing to the lost, as much as Jesus Christ did while he was on this earth, although he never preached religion. Christ preached love, forgiveness, humanity, compassion – the values that are fast disappearing from this earth even within and among the Christian fraternity. Conversion has become a bad word today especially amongst the intellectual classes who feel very strongly that people should not be pushed to adopt a particular religion under duress but that it should be an informed choice. And that goes for all religions including Hinduism which today has taken the form of an institutionalised religion.
Teresa’s sainthood should not be an occasion to rejoice but to reflect on the future mission of the Church as Christ intended it to be.
