Simply Mother

Many influences have come and gone, but the face that consistently comes to mind peaks out from beneath a blue-trimmed white veil. Mother Teresa, a woman who gave her life’s ambitions for the cause of others. Humanitarian staple though she may be, I realized I knew little about her. In search of clarification, I came across a speech from 1979 she gave in response to the Nobel Peace Prize. I was shocked to find ordinary words spoken by this extraordinary servant.

As a Catholic nun, Mother Teresa uses her platform to address her listeners from a religious standpoint. She includes figures that are familiar to her like St. Francis  of Assisi, Virgin Mary, St, John, and Jesus. Of these, Jesus is the only one put in context. He becomes the framework of peace told in a Sunday-School-lesson style. Also as a humanitarian, Mother Teresa leans heavily upon her mission experience to support her beliefs. Through a thick dialect, she gives raw accounts to presumably naïve listeners using simple words. The string of thoughts and straight-forward approach reminded me of a gracious street interview. As one intervening for a cause, this Sister only told of what she knew; nothing more, nothing less.

Mother Teresa’s response to the Nobel Peace Prize is to encourage partnership with her.  In a monkey-see-monkey-do approach, she exposes what is going on in Calcutta and advises the audience to do the same in their own homes. As one who has, “seen it all” she commends the love the audience has shown her. Inadvertently, advising them to love their families in the same way they have loved her. As an ambassador for peace she also shows what is against peace: abortion. This Sister uses her first-hand experience from within the mission’s community to render abortion as the last straw.

In closing, Mother Teresa reiterates her theme of love. I found it interesting that despite her stories, she never gave metaphors or synonyms for this intangible emotion. Instead, the Sister pointed the individual to this single action. She uses the peace prize to empower first those and then consequently this nation to carry on as she.