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The diminutive sister was born in Yugoslavia in 1910. At the age of 18, she went to Loreto Abbey in Dublin, and then to India where she began her novitiate. For 19 years she taught geography at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta before becoming vitally interested in the poor and, in 1950, started her own order, the Missionaries of Charity. In her 47 years as head of that order, she has started more than 500 homes for the sick and poor around the world. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, as well as many other awards and honors.
In the Heart of the World, a collection of "Thoughts, Prayers, and Stories," presents a surprisingly well-rounded picture of Mother Teresa's compassion and spiritual strength. Part I--"Thoughts" and Part III--"Prayers" serve as bookends for the larger middle portion of "Stories." Among her "Thoughts" is emphasis on joy, peace, smiling ("Smile five times a day at someone you don't want to smile at at all--do it for peace."), and silence so you can hear God speak. She reminds us that Jesus took care of the people's physical needs before he told them the Good News.
The striking thing about the "Stories" is their similarity to many of the Gospel accounts about Jesus' acts of compassion. For example, in one of the stories entitled "The Tenderness of God," Mother Teresa describes a situation at the Calcutta mission where members of the order cook for 9,000 people a day. One morning they had completely run out of food. By nine o'clock a government truck full of bread unexpectedly came to the house. Usually it delivered bread and milk to the poor children in schools, but the schools had been closed that day for some unexplainable reason, and "all the bread came to Mother Teresa." She credits God with closing the schools and says, "He would not let our people go without food." Christian readers cannot help recalling the feeding of the 5,000.
Another moving story with parallels to the healing of Jairus's daughter describes a man who came to the Mission begging Mother Teresa for a rare medicine for his only child who was dying. (The order collects leftover medicines from those who can afford them and dispenses them to the poor.) While she was explaining that it was not available, a man brought a basket of medicines into the Mission and "right on top was the very medicine that man needed for his child." This woman of faith concludes, "See God's tender concern for you and for me! He would do the same thing for each of you."
In one of the segments from the concluding "Prayers," she describes the hour of prayer the sisters have at the end of each day.
Mother Teresa, 1910-1997, Beyond the Image, by Anne Sebba is a more detailed and documented biographical treatment. In two distinct Parts, the first covers both Mother Teresa's early years and the establishment of the Order through her worldwide appeals. Part Two is more critical and deals specifically with issues related to her medical practices, politics, and theology. Sebba quotes one Catholic sister in describing Mother Teresa, "She had a sort of shamelessness. Secure as she was in God's purpose for her, there was no part of the world she felt was not in need of her message." A brief Epilog also discusses future possibilities for the Order's 4,000 nuns. With its photo section and extensive source notes, this is a book for those who want a deeper understanding of this remarkable woman.
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