by Kathryn Spink
My book club read books about Mother Teresa last month. We each read what we had at home or what we could easily find. I had this one on my shelf. It is a thorough biography.
I am fascinated and awed by an order that remains true to its charism, even amidst a culture, society, and modern world that denies such a charism is possible. There is a great tension here, even in the smallest decisions. Early on, for example, the sisters did not wear gloves when caring for the poor because Mother Teresa did not want to put barriers between the sisters and the people. I have seen recent pictures in which sisters are wearing gloves, which seems wise given how diseases are spread. They protect not only the sisters, but all the other poor being treated. There are still, however, accusations by some people that gloves are not always worn or not changed after each patient.
Another great tension is the refusal to address poverty itself. The Missionaries of Charity serve the person of Christ in front of them. They offer water, food, cleanliness, and compassion. They provide education for the young, but purposefully not in a systematic way.
Invariably, however, her response was to seek immediate and practical ways to meet the need as she found it, rather than to condemn what might be seen as the causes of that need.There are other orders, governments, and programs that should and do address the root causes of poverty. Those should continue, but Mother Teresa insisted that the person in front of her should not suffer while waiting for societal change.
Mother Teresa opened many homes in developed countries like the United States. Though people here do not suffer in the same way as the poorest of the poor in the slums of India, they do suffer from the same spiritual poverty of being unloved and unwanted, even amidst relative wealth
If God loved each person then every meeting with another person involved the unique discovery of that which was the object of God's love in him, of that which came to him from God. Such a discovery allowed no room for condescension or for moral judgments, and took no cognizance of the obsessive search for "concrete results". Mother Teresa called upon those who lived in a world caught up in the race to be rich, powerful, and effective, to be aware of their own poverty, to make themselves weak with the weak and not to see to do big things but only small things with great love.Writing a big check is too easy. Mother Teresa encouraged and challenged everyone to greet Christ in person, acknowledging the humanity of the poor in a physical way.
Spink brings up some of the critics of Mother Teresa and her work. For example, there are those who said she should not alleviate individual needs because that decreased pressure on governments or local leaders to address the roots of the poverty in their communities. Spink responds to each of these as they come up, always supportive of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity.
Spink has written an exhaustive biography of Mother Teresa, one that clearly demonstrates the charism of the Missionaries of Charity and the growth of the order through Mother Teresa's lifetime (and a little beyond). It is one that would probably appeal to people of all faiths. If you are looking for a book revealing the depths of Mother Teresa's spirituality, others would be better. I had wondered if I could put this on First Daughter's list for a Level 4 twentieth century saint biography, but I think it would not be as appealing to an eighth grader.
I have received nothing in exchange for this post of my honest opinion. I received this book from another member of PaperBackSwap.com (affiliate link). The link to Amazon above is also an affiliate link.
