Visiting Mother Teresa's room was one of the highs of my current journey here in Calcutta. The room is located within the Mother's House compound that hosts the Missionary Head Quarter in the World. Once I got up the stairs that lead to the room, I started to see a shadow of it. When at the real view of the room, I had a glimpse of my memory of the Holocaust Museum I visited two years ago in Washington, D.C. In that museum, the description of living conditions during the Nazi horrible period is replicated as in real moment. The room is compared to what was in the worst period, the World has ever known in the history of humanity, people were living without fan or what we call nowadays Air Conditioning (AC), furniture was in a delabrated conditions that one can think of a kitchen in the ancient time. The bed and frames were dirty and made of simple woods and matress covered with a simple shit of dirty or old linen. The window was almost inexistent to facilitate the air in and out of the room. In short, living conditions in that period of dehumanization were not promoting the dignity of human being.
Think of all these worst conditions, Nazi and its leader Hitler were using to torture and dehumanize human beings, and then imagine Mother Teresa living in such conditions at her free will, without anybody forcing her to, you will realize how simple she was, how she had decided to live her vow of extreme poverty, chastity and obedience to her lovely and almighty God. Yes, I was struck positively by these conditions she had chose to share with the poors she was serving for the love of God.
In Calcutta, the sun is sometime at 100 F or 40 C, at this sunny condition, people do not stand the heat without a fan or AC. I myself cannot stand it. But Mother Teresa was sleeping, living in her room without AC or fan throughout her life. She even had not a window that will enable air to move in and out of the room. Her bed is made of simple old iron frame with a thinny mattress; covered by a simple shit. Her desk where she was receiving guests or conducting affairs of the foundations, is made of raw wood saw in from the tree. Her cabinet where she kept sensitive files for the foundation is made of raw woods also. Mother Teresa had not the taste of refinery, but the one of unrefine things, the taste of poverty in which the poor she served lived on the streets, the dumpsters and the garbage site of the town.
Visiting the room of Mother has taught me a lesson of simplicity, the lesson of basic needs are enough to live with. Through the visitation, I have learnt that, worry about material things of earth is unworthed but as long as we are in healthy conditions, one is rich. Living in such simplicity is giving more importance to spiritual things, the life of higher values, the eternal life; which can be lived through simplicity, humility and chastity.
Thank you Mother and I pray that you intercede for me to live a life of spiritual values and be simple as our Lord Jesus Christ was during his pilgrimage on earth.
this gathering of the novices was after the mass and the Mother's room is just behind the right corner. to go there, one has to take the stairs. |
Think of all these worst conditions, Nazi and its leader Hitler were using to torture and dehumanize human beings, and then imagine Mother Teresa living in such conditions at her free will, without anybody forcing her to, you will realize how simple she was, how she had decided to live her vow of extreme poverty, chastity and obedience to her lovely and almighty God. Yes, I was struck positively by these conditions she had chose to share with the poors she was serving for the love of God.
In Calcutta, the sun is sometime at 100 F or 40 C, at this sunny condition, people do not stand the heat without a fan or AC. I myself cannot stand it. But Mother Teresa was sleeping, living in her room without AC or fan throughout her life. She even had not a window that will enable air to move in and out of the room. Her bed is made of simple old iron frame with a thinny mattress; covered by a simple shit. Her desk where she was receiving guests or conducting affairs of the foundations, is made of raw wood saw in from the tree. Her cabinet where she kept sensitive files for the foundation is made of raw woods also. Mother Teresa had not the taste of refinery, but the one of unrefine things, the taste of poverty in which the poor she served lived on the streets, the dumpsters and the garbage site of the town.
Visiting the room of Mother has taught me a lesson of simplicity, the lesson of basic needs are enough to live with. Through the visitation, I have learnt that, worry about material things of earth is unworthed but as long as we are in healthy conditions, one is rich. Living in such simplicity is giving more importance to spiritual things, the life of higher values, the eternal life; which can be lived through simplicity, humility and chastity.
Thank you Mother and I pray that you intercede for me to live a life of spiritual values and be simple as our Lord Jesus Christ was during his pilgrimage on earth.
this is the tomb of Mother Teresa in the head quarter of Missionary of Charity. |
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