Inspiring Christian Lives

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-97

Calcutta, India 1970
A onetime atheist and agnostic, the BBC reporter Malcolm Muggeridge arrives in Calcutta to make a documentary about a nun. Amidst the stench, filth, garbage, disease and poverty he finds her. It is the most overcrowded and hopeless slum in the world. In spite of this, Muggeridge was struck by the peace and love that radiated from the nun. Her name? Mother Teresa:

"Do you do this every day?" he began his interview.

"Oh, yes," she replied, "it is my mission. It is how I serve and love my Lord."

"How long have you been doing this? How many months?"

"Months?" said Mother Teresa. "Not months, but years. Maybe eighteen years."

"Eighteen years!" exclaimed Muggeridge. "You've been working here in these streets for eighteen years?"

"Yes," she said simply and yet joyfully. "It is my privilege to be here. These are my people. These are the ones my Lord has given me to love."

"Do you ever get tired? Do you ever feel like quitting and letting someone else take over your ministry? After all, you are beginning to get older."

"Oh, no," she replied, "this is where the Lord wants me, and this is where I am happy to be. I feel young when I am here. The Lord is so good to me. How privileged I am to serve him."

Later, Malcolm Muggeridge said, "I will never forget that little lady as long as I live. The face, the glow, the eyes, the love - it was all so pure and so beautiful. I shall never forget it. It was like being in the presence of an angel. It changed my life. I have not been the same person since. It is more than I can describe." Not long after this, Muggeridge became a Catholic, inspired by the example of Mother Teresa.

In groups, find out about: A. Her childhood. B. How and why she became a missionary nun. C. In what ways might you be called to do things that challenge you?