Homelessness is unfortunately becoming ever more common, even in developed countries. When Mother Teresa spoke about the homeless, she was rightly concerned about the poor who had inadequate housing, but even more about the poor living on the streets, “under the heavens,” day after day, month after month, and frequently year after year. Their situation was all the more desperate since a different future was not realistically in sight. Realizing the gravity of the problem, she sought appropriate places where she could open shelters or residences for the homeless. These centers were meant to be real homes, where the poor would be welcomed, loved, cared for, and especially where they would “feel at home,” as she used to insist.

Yet, however desperate the fact of being homeless is, Mother Teresa saw a deeper problem than just the mere lack of housing. She spoke of “the physical situation of my poor left in the streets unwanted, unloved, unclaimed.” This feeling of being rejected, abandoned, let down, of not belonging anywhere, or not having a reference point or a safe haven while passing through life’s struggles was a real suffering that she wanted to remedy along with providing physical shelter.

This deep understanding of “homelessness” came also from her deep mystical experience. In a letter to one of her spiritual directors, she claimed that the condition of the poor in the streets, rejected by all and abandoned to their suffering, was “the true picture of my own spiritual life.” This interior and excruciating pain of feeling unwanted, unloved, unclaimed by the God whom she loved with her whole heart, enabled her to grasp what the homeless felt in their daily life. She completely identified with their misery, loneliness, and rejection. And the poor felt this deep compassion of hers, merciful and nonjudgmental; they felt welcomed, loved, and understood.1

Familiar with this pain, she used to encourage her sisters to give “shelter to the homeless—not only a shelter made of bricks but a heart that understands, that covers, that loves.”2 She endeavored to create a true home where everyone could feel welcomed, loved, and protected. She did not want just a cold, lifeless institution lacking love and affection, but places of peace and rest, where the homeless could experience God’s love and those who were dying could “die in peace with God,” knowing that they were loved and cared for.

HER WORDS

Jesus Is Reliving His Passion in Our Poor People

“I was homeless, and you took Me in.” I am sure you in Assisi do not know what is hunger for bread, but there is hunger for love….You do not find people lying in the streets maybe, homeless; but they are homeless because they are rejected, [lacking] that human dignity, that human love. Do you know the poor of Assisi? We have homes for the homeless people that we pick up from the streets of Rome. In Carlo Cattaneo,3 we have a home for the people who have no one, who have nothing, who are hungry. I am sure if we pray we will find that maybe right there in your own city, in your own place, you will find the poor.4

Jesus is reliving His Passion in our poor people. The poor people are really going through the Passion of Christ. We must serve them with respect. We should not send them from door to door—from Shishu Bhavan to Mother House. They have already so much to suffer. We should treat them with dignity. These poor people are Jesus suffering today. We must find ways and means of helping them in a better way; don’t add to their sufferings. Poor people are Jesus’s Calvary today.5

In Calcutta, we have picked up 52,000 people from the streets—throwaways of society, unwanted, unloved, having no one to love them. Maybe you have never experienced that, it is a terrible pain, terrible pain.6

It may be if you go to the station and it may be if you visit some of the very poor areas, you will find people who are sleeping just in the park or you will see them sleep in the street. I have seen people in London, I have seen people in New York, I have seen people in Rome sleeping out in the street, in the park, and this is not the only kind of homelessness—that is terrible, terrible to see in the cold night, a man, a woman sleeping on a piece of newspaper in the street. But there is much greater homelessness—being rejected, being unwanted, being unloved.7

But Mother, How Did You See Him?

When I was in Delhi, I was traveling by car, along one of the big streets. There was a man lying half on the road and half on the pavement. Cars were passing by but no one stopped to see if he was all right. When I stopped the car and picked up the man, the sisters were surprised. They asked me: “But Mother, how did you see him?” No one had seen him, not even the sisters.8

Suddenly He Realized God Loves Me

Homeless is not only for [want of] a home made of bricks, though we have many homes for the sick and the dying, many homes for the homeless all over the world, but it’s not only for a home made of bricks, but that terrible feeling of being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, a throwaway of society. Like we have at present, we have so many people who are suffering with AIDS, just throwaways of society, and yet they are our brothers, our sisters. It has made such a great difference in their life and in the life of many volunteers when we opened the home, the Gift of Love, in New York, and the Gift of Peace, in Washington, where we gather all these people suffering with AIDS, that they can die loved and cared for—and so experience a beautiful death. This is the fruit of love that you and I can share with them. That is the protection of life—that those people have been created for greater things, to love and to be loved.9

In Australia, we have a home for the alcoholics, and the sisters picked up a man from the street who had been an alcoholic for many years. He had ruined his own life and the life of his children and family and everything. And [thanks to] the way the sisters [treated him], suddenly one day he realized “God loves me.” When, how?…The way the sisters talked to him, the way they touched him, the way they loved him. They didn’t do anything special, but the way they dealt with him, with so much love, so much compassion, so much understanding and not a bit surprised that he was a drunkard, that he was so helpless, that he was so hopeless. Then suddenly this “God loves me,” and from that day he never touched anything. He went back home, went back to his family and back to his job and everything. Then when he got the first salary, he took the money and he went to the place where we are building a rehabilitation center for the homeless alcoholics, especially for the old people who are kept in prison just because if they let them out they have no place to go [and] so they would [go to] drink. We want to take these people from the jail and give them a home and make them feel loved and cared for. He went and brought that salary there and said, “God has been so wonderful to me. In the sisters and through the sisters, I have come to know that God loves me. This has brought me back to life and I want to share that life with others.” These are very small things the sisters do, they do very little. We can do very little for these people, but at least they know that we love them and that we care for them and we are at their disposal.10

I will never forget the suffering of that little boy at that hour of the night. He said, “I went to my father.” He went to his father and mother and neither of them wanted him. And at that hour of the night that little child had the courage to come to our place. Isn’t that beautiful? I took him home because I took him in. He was a beautiful child.11

One day a sister picked up a man from the street, from the footpath. And as she lifted him up, the whole of his back—skin and flesh—remained on the floor, on the footpath. There were big bundles of worms that had eaten his flesh. And she took him to our house. They were all over his body. Sister washed him, she loved him; and then after three hours he died with the most beautiful smile. When I came to the place and Sister told me what had happened, I said to her, “What did you feel? What did you feel inside your heart, what did you feel when you were touching that body?” And that young sister gave me a beautiful answer: “I have never felt that presence, and I knew I was touching the Body of Christ.”12

No Place for Them in Anyone’s Heart

The homeless aren’t only those without homes made from bricks or wood, but also those who have found no place for themselves in anyone’s heart, the rejected and unloved.13

Yesterday the archbishop took me to see [the] Taj Mahal. I felt so bad looking at the big marble building empty of life when beside these cold riches, the lepers and the dying destitute live in utter suffering and want. It hurt me right through—but also it strengthened my resolution to do more for Christ in His distressing disguise.14

To find the lost Jesus in the youth and bring Him home—as Mary did—when she found Jesus she brought Him home. You…and many others must go in search with Mary, in search of Jesus in the distressing disguise of the youth—by your love and holiness and bring him home—and at the breaking of bread they will know and see Jesus in their father and mother, [their] brother and sister, and their neighbor.15

Find a Family for the Unwanted Child

We must bring the child back to the center of our care and concern. This is the only way that our world can survive because our children are the only hope of the future. As other people are called to God, only their children can take their place. But what does God say to us? It [Scripture] says, “Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you, I have carved you in the palm of My Hand” (Is 49:15–16). We are carved in the palm of His Hand. That unborn child has been carved in the Hand of God from conception and is called by God to love and to be loved not only now in this life, but forever—God can never forget us. I will tell you something beautiful. We are fighting abortion by adoption. By care of the mother and adoption for their baby, we have saved thousands of lives. We have sent word to the clinics, hospitals, and police stations, please don’t destroy the child, we will take care, [we will] take the child, so always have someone tell the mothers in trouble, “Come, we will take care of you. We will get a home for your child.” And we have a tremendous demand from couples who cannot have a child, but I never give a child to a couple who have done something not to have a child. Jesus said, “Anyone who receives a child in My name, receives Me” (Mt 18:5). By adopting a child, these couples receive Jesus, but by aborting a child, a couple refuses to receive Jesus. Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child. From our children’s home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over three thousand children from abortion. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopted parents and have grown up so full of love.16

Pray especially in these days for the refugees, who are suffering so much. They are crowded together everywhere, so let us ask Our Lady to be the mother of refugees so that we can help them to accept this suffering and make use of it for peace in the world.17

May God bless all your efforts to help refugees and displaced persons. May you bring God’s love, hope, and strength to the homeless and destitute. Remember the words of Jesus, “I was a stranger and you took care of Me.”18

Humble Works of Love

Because people in the world have been so deeply touched by our humble works of love in action that bring God’s tender love and concern to the unloved, the uncared for, the destitutes, this has created in the hearts of so many the deep desire to share; some do so out of their abundance, but many, and maybe the greater number, by depriving themselves of something they would have liked to give themselves, so as to be able to share with their less privileged brothers and sisters. It is so beautiful to see the spirit of sacrifice finding its way into many lives, for this not only benefits the poor who receive, but the giver is also being enriched with the love of God.19

The Greatest Development of a Human Life

We take care of the sick and the dying; we pick up people from the street. In Calcutta alone, we have picked up nearly 31,000 people of whom more than 14,000 have died a very beautiful death. For me, the greatest development of a human life is to die in peace with God.20

And you and I have been created for the same purpose, to love and to spread that compassion as Mary did everywhere she went….I think this is that beautiful compassion of a woman’s heart to feel the hurt of others and to do something as she did. You and I in our hearts have that compassion. Do we really use it? Do we have the eyes of Mary to see the needs of others? Maybe in our home, do we know the needs of our parents, of our husband, of our children? Do the children come home with us as Jesus went with Mary? Do we have a home for our children?21

Maybe Christ Is Homeless in Your Own Heart

They may be homeless for [want of] a shelter of bricks or lonely, unwanted, uncared for, unloved and so homeless for want of a home made of love in your heart; and since love begins at home, maybe Christ is hungry, naked, sick, homeless, in your own heart, in your family, in your neighbor, in the country in which you live, in the world.22

“I was the one,” Jesus said, “that had knocked at your door. I was the one that was lying in the street. I was the one that died, frozen in that broken home.”23

Homeless for shelter in your heart, He asks of you…Will you be that “one” to Him?24

Jesus must love your home so much. I always think of Him not finding a place in Jerusalem—walking all the way to Bethany—to Mary and Martha and Lazarus. They loved Him—they wanted Him. I think now too He is not wanted in Jerusalem. I am sure your home is His Bethany. Keep it always all for Him.25

HER EXAMPLE: THE TESTIMONIES

We Cannot Leave Him on the Street

Mother had heard that there were many homeless men sleeping on the streets of London, and she asked to be taken to see them. So one night, Ann Blaikie and I accompanied Mother. Noticing one man in particular, Mother got out of the car and went to him. At first, he took no notice of her presence, but when she took his hand, he looked up and said, “It has been a long time since I felt the warmth of a human hand.” Mother returned to the car and told us, “This is a sick man. We cannot leave him on the street like this.” Ann Blaikie replied, “You are right, Mother, but where can we take him at this hour of the night?” It was about eleven p.m. Mother said, “Let us take him to the cardinal’s house.” So, much to the chagrin of the driver and Mrs. Blaikie, we took the man and off we went to the cardinal’s house in the middle of the night. When we reached there, of course all the gates were locked. We had almost despaired of entering, when a priest coming from outside unlocked a small gate to let himself in. With that, our driver ran and explained to him that Mother Teresa was in the car and needed housing for a homeless man. The priest very kindly told us to wait, phoned the Salvation Army, and arranged everything. Then we took [the man] to the Salvation Army.26

Mother Noticed the Suffering of the Homeless

For a long time, Mother had noticed the suffering of the homeless in and around Sealdah station—the jobless seeking petty jobs in the city, the beggars and all those who have no place to stay at night. Mother met the general manager of the railways and the inspector general of police, who gave her their full support. A police contingent from Barrackpore arrived to put up tarpaulin and bamboo shelters on the two pavements of the road. The sisters on their visits to the station picked up patients from the platform. They were given bread and milk and a blanket by the two sisters who came each evening at 9:30 p.m. Volunteers would also help. Many [of the homeless] would leave in the morning to look for some job. The sick, the helpless, and the children stayed back. Those who were in a dying condition were taken to Nirmal Hriday (Home for the Dying). The sick were treated or sent to the hospital, and the children were taught till noon.

A more permanent structure with asbestos roofing was put up and a formal opening took place. On this occasion, Mrs. Dias remarked that Mother Teresa had in her the golden touch of King Midas, gold price was very high, but what Mother Teresa gave was much more precious—the gold of love and affection. A mobile clinic, a relief center, a Bengali and Hindi medium school, a sewing class for women were also started. In the evenings, the children would help keep the streets clean and clear around the station by collecting the dab shells (of coconuts). These were piled high in one corner of the night-shelter for lack of space, waiting to be disposed of in the dirt-bins. One day on her visit, Mother inquired from the sister-in-charge: “What are you collecting these dabs for?” And Mother got a simple reply: “We have absolutely no particular purpose.” Suddenly Mother said: “Send them all to Prem Dan. Let us start something from this rubbish.” So regularly once a week a lorry-load of dab shells was sent to give small jobs to our jobless poor—making coir for rope and doormats, mattresses, etc.27

Would You Refuse Shelter to Our Lady and Saint Joseph?

We had a mentally ill family in Shishu Bhavan (Home for Children): a mother with her children. The eldest child was crippled and retarded. This woman used to abuse us so much that one day I refused to go to Shishu Bhavan and gave up the keys, saying that if this mother remains there, I will not go back to Shishu Bhavan. Mother came and told the woman to take her things and children and leave Shishu Bhavan. The woman got up and left. It was a rainy day; it was drizzling and it was also evening. I was happy to be free of her, but not Mother. Toward five p.m. (about an hour after they left), Mother came back to Shishu Bhavan and told me that she was going out to look for them. I had such remorse that I followed Mother. She was worried for them as they had no home and it was drizzling. My heart began to melt. We found them at St. Teresa’s Church. We brought them back to Shishu Bhavan. It was a lesson that I never forgot. Mother said: “Always remember how Our Lady and Saint Joseph were refused a shelter in Bethlehem. Would you refuse them a shelter?”28

At Once Mother Got Up

Once on Mother’s Feastday, Mother House Sisters had prepared a big drama for Mother’s feast. The rain poured that day, suddenly so much that the water in Kalighat was rising higher and higher, and there were so many sick people outside. I could not manage to keep them inside because there was not enough room for them. So I told Mother this problem and at once, in the middle of the drama, Mother got up and went with me to Kalighat and quickly solved the problem. The sick people were kept inside without much difficulty by Mother, who arranged everything in such a way that there was a place for everybody. I couldn’t imagine how Mother did it so skillfully, and everybody was so happy. It was true that Mother never refused anybody who came to the door. So I too decided to do the same, to make a place for anyone, as Mother said that it is Jesus knocking at the door in the disguise of the poor. So never to refuse, even if there’s no place at all. Somehow we managed by God’s help.29

I Never Refused to Meet Anybody

Everybody who came she welcomed, and she never refused to meet anybody. By her own words she said, “I never refuse to meet anybody,” because she had a great openness to everyone, regardless of who they were. And her service of people was tireless, without any considerations of caste or creed or anything like that. She very much had this virtue that she could see everybody equally before God.30

Suddenly Mother Left the Crowd

Mother was surrounded by all “Big Sisters,” Co-Workers, many people. I was waiting close to the cars with other postulants. Close to me came one poor old man. He could not see properly and he was asking us when Mother was coming. We indicated the crowd close to the gate. We could not see Mother. I felt the pain, because this man could not have the chance to see Mother close—also because the sisters made signs not to come too close. Suddenly, I don’t know how, I could not believe, Mother left the “crowd” and came to this man. He put down his hat and asked Mother to bless his eyes, and she spoke to him in English, blessed his eyes, and gave a beautiful smile. The man cried. Personally, I was struck very much, because it was “impossible” for me that Mother could come to us [where we were standing].31

Mother’s Help and Encouragement

Boys Town started about twenty years ago when the boys that we had in our homes were getting older and needed to be kept separate. Mother approached Archbishop Henry for help and before long they opened this Boys Town for them where they had their schooling. Later she arranged for a Bata Project (a pilot program run by a shoe company in India to help train boys to earn a living) for them for making shoes so that they could earn their livelihood. By and by, as the boys were getting married and wanted to settle down, a project was set up to obtain aid for the boys to build a home and have some land. This materialized and today more than eighty little families are growing up there. At the beginning there was a lot of trouble caused by the boys. There were serious misunderstandings with the priests, and the boys behaved badly. One priest who had been there for a few years was finding it very difficult and wanted to give up his vocation. Mother helped him and brought him back to Boys Town herself to continue his mission. With Mother’s help and encouragement, he remained many more years there and did very well.32

They Were So Low on the Ladder

The house in Rome was founded to care for aged prostitutes who because of disease acquired in the course of their work were no longer able to take care of themselves. And those were specifically the people Mother was taking care of here—her nuns were taking care of them—who were so low on the ladder that I hadn’t even considered that someone would even want to take care of them.33

The Friend of the Little Ones

Mother came across abandoned children, sometimes very young babies, at the point of death, lying where they had been thrown on the rubbish dumps. Mother opened the children’s home called Shishu Bhavan in 1955. It was to be the first of many homes. Many babies and young children came, brought by the police, social workers, and the sisters themselves. All received care and love, and many malnourished babies made a miraculous recovery. Mother had a wonderful and tender touch with children. They would feel at home in her presence and in no time she had them smiling and playing with her. Those who were very sick found her a comforting, compassionate, and calm presence. Looking at Mother with the children, anyone would be reminded of Jesus, “the friend of the little ones.”34

Mother Picked Up the Baby at 10 p.m.

Once in my division in Calcutta a deserted child of seven days old was picked up by some officers of a police station….This deserted child could not be accepted anywhere. At about 9:30 p.m. the officers rang me up for advice….I immediately rang up Mother Teresa, and luckily I found her and told her about our predicament. She simply asked me which police station it was, and learning the same, she only said that she would pick up the child within half an hour. It was then near about 10 p.m.35

One Person Looked After Us: Our Dearest Mother

I am an orphan girl from Darjeeling Shishu Bhavan. Our parents died when we were very small. We don’t remember our parents, and we only know one person who cared for us, looked after us, and found a foster home for us; she is none other than our dearest Mother. I know Mother from my childhood. I still remember when we were very small, sometimes Mother used to visit us. She used to come from Calcutta by train up to Siliguri, and from there she used to travel by bus, and after getting down at Darjeeling railway station she used to walk up to our house (Shishu Bhavan). Seeing her coming, we used to shout for joy saying, “Mother,” and she used to smile and wave her hand. We used to run down and carry her bag and hold her hands. Seeing her, we really used to be extremely happy….Being orphans we were abandoned, but our dearest Mother gave us a foster home, looked after us, showed us the way to live, and helped us to stand on our own feet. My husband and I, we are both working and we are happy with our small family. The cause of success is no one else but our loving Mother and the Missionaries of Charity.36

I Was the Naughtiest Boy of Shishu Bhavan

Mother had picked me up from the streets of Calcutta at the age of four years approximately. She brought me up, gave me education. I was always close to her, as she was our Mummy. She loved me very much, as I was the naughtiest boy of Nirmala Shishu Bhavan (Home for Children). First she had given me a bath and cleaned my boils, as my whole body was full of boils. She gave medicines and she gave me to eat bread and milk….When she was among us, we found that an “Angel of God” was with us.37

Is It Not a Miracle?

A baby girl named Agnes, picked up as a newborn from near a dustbin, had developed some skin infection. I took her home when she was a couple of months old, had her treated by a doctor relative, and returned her to Shishu Bhavan. During the next seven months, I used to take her home to live with my family quite often, after which she left to join her adopting parents in Spain. The adopting parents had a son elder to Agnes and were blessed with another bonny son after Agnes joined them. They had a beautiful home and were very nice to us….Whenever we think of poor little Agnes getting a beautiful home with a sweet elder and younger brother, we wonder, “Is it not a miracle?”38

Touch the Leper with Your Compassion

In 1957 five lepers who had been thrown out of their jobs came to Mother. Mother was ever sensitive to the needs of the present moment and so began the work of service to the lepers. Straightaway she used the mobile clinic for them and soon opened five centers in Calcutta….

With the growing numbers of leprosy patients, a home was set up for them that included outdoor as well as indoor departments. The Marian Society joined to support this center in Titagarh. From this work started the slogan, so well known today, “Touch the leper with your compassion.” Mother took so much trouble to talk to the lepers who were having treatment and who were deformed. She instilled hope and dignity into them by telling them that they could still do work. This work eventually grew into a township to rehabilitate thousands of lepers who had come from all over India.39

The government would provide a place for the leper families to live. Their lepers lived outside of the city in caves. The whole area was given to Mother for care of the lepers. She had done some amazing work and had been recognized by the government for forming small communities where leper families could live. When [my husband] and I first knew Mother, she told us it cost $150 to build a very small hut, where the family could live and have a little place for a garden to grow their own vegetables. Many people gave memorials for these homes. The person in the family who was a leper was treated and the rest of the family members were treated prophylactically. She called them villages of peace.40

Mother Lost No Time

As the refugees were pouring into West Bengal all along the border of Bangladesh (in 1971), Mother lost no time in organizing a group of us to go to the big refugee camps. After the first day, Mother had a good idea [of] what was needed, so she returned the next day to Calcutta alone and without delay sent another batch of sisters and brothers with mats, clothing, and foodstuffs….Every day, Mother went to Salt Lake and made sure as many as possible of our young sisters were fully involved. They would leave early in the morning and return by evening. One of the biggest difficulties in the camp was keeping the large groups of women occupied after having fed and clothed them and catered to their needs in the medical line.

Mother took over a center in Green Park for child refugees near death from starvation and disease. Our sisters cared for the children day and night. There were also two other centers there, one for the sick elderly ladies and another for pregnant mothers. She arranged to make accommodations for them with bamboo and tents. Around this time an impressive booklet was published and distributed worldwide, which featured an appeal by Mother: “We have millions of children suffering from malnutrition and starvation. Unless the world comes in with food and proteins, these children will die and the world will have to answer for their death.” The world did indeed respond. Mother did everything possible for the refugees, even though it looked like a drop in the ocean compared to the devastating situation. She was so selfless and tireless. She did not spare herself or the sisters in spite of the many calls she had on her time from her growing Society, which needed her guidance and direction.41

Mother Saw That What Was Needed Was Done

I remember one afternoon when I came to Mother House, I saw an old man and woman from a very poor family, crying. Their only daughter had been thrown out of the house because she was an epileptic. That girl was taken into one of Mother’s homes and consoled. The woman asked if she could be looked after by a doctor. My husband (a doctor) was there. She had been refused by many hospitals. Mother, with her frail body, waited there till she was settled. She had the tremendous power to see that what was needed was done.42

Next to the Minister

One day a minister happened to be in the car with Mother. She saw a very old man sitting by the roadside. Mother picked him up and made him sit next to the minister and drove him to one of our homes. At that moment that poor person was more important than the minister.43

We All Forget How Terrible It Is to Live on the Street

I was at the house, and someone had come to see Mother. She was in another room. I answered the door, and there was this poor woman just distraught at the door. She was a street person. She looked mentally ill, in tattered clothes. She said, “I have to go to the bathroom,” and she came rushing in. Right in front of the door were the stairs that went up to the bedroom straight ahead. A beautiful American sister just then walked in and said, “Margaret, come in, dear,” and Margaret went tearing upstairs to the bathroom without shutting the door. Sister said to me, “Poor Margaret, that’s one of the hardest things about living on the street, that there is no privacy to go to the bathroom.” So apparently Margaret came there several times a day. Then when she came back downstairs, she was very agitated and said to Sister, “May I go in and speak to Jesus?” Sister said, “Of course you can,” so she went to the door of the chapel and took off her worn-out old shoes. Sister and I went in with her and knelt down, and I still remember that she had so many holes in her socks that her feet were almost bare, and I thought, “That poor woman.” She wasn’t very old, probably in her thirties. We came back out, and she thanked Sister and me, and she went on her way. It was such a moment. The thing that was so lovely was Sister’s attitude. The kindness in her voice. I think we all forget how terrible it is to live on the street. They have no place where you’d be welcome to use a bathroom.44

How Can I Lie Under a Fan When People Die on the Pavement?

I was in Mother’s room. “Doctor, are you feeling hot, warm?” “Yes, Mother, I am feeling warm and sweating.” I was looking at the ceiling for a fan, [but] it was not there and I said, “Why don’t you use a fan?” The thing that moved me and that I still remember from that day was her saying: “How can I lie under a fan when most of the people in the city are dying on the pavement?” It really moved me.45

Two Feet Sticking Out

The brothers were waiting for me and Mother to come out of the convent. We walked out the back door and there was a big trash Dumpster. As we walked past, we saw these two feet sticking out. One foot had a red sock. The other foot was bare, and Mother said, “Oh, someone needs us.”…Here was this poor man sound asleep. First we thought he was dead. He was just lifeless. She bent over him and said, “Are you all right, sir?” And then he opened his eyes and he was very, very drunk. There was no question about his drunkenness. He looked like he hadn’t had a bath in weeks. We helped him to his feet. She said, “Would you like to come with us?” He said, “Yes, I would.” She said, “My brothers will help you. They can get you some clean clothes, something to eat.” Her whole focus was on this poor man.

The brothers sat in the back of the station wagon, and Mother and the man and I sat in the center row of the wagon. She had a conversation with him between the convent and their house. She treated him with such respect. She asked him if he had a family and he said, “Well, not that I have seen in at least twenty-five years, but I did have a family at one time.” She said, “Would you like us to try to get in touch with them for you?” He said he wouldn’t have any idea how to do that because he hadn’t talked to anyone for so long.

It was that she really cared. She wasn’t being magnanimous. This was a person in great need, but she never said to me that he was drunk, or so dirty, or his face hadn’t been washed for so long and he had a terrible smell. He was someone. We took him right with us to the house. The brothers took him upstairs that same day. He had a shower and a nap, and a nice meal. The next day, this person that we hardly recognized appeared to thank us. The brothers said to Mother that today was the day the checks come, so he would go over to the post office to collect his social security check. He would go directly to the grocery store and spend it all on wine or something. But anyway, he came in with great dignity and told Mother that he had some business downtown. He would have to leave, and he thanked her for her help and he thanked the brothers. They knew him. He had been there many times. After he left, she was not critical. Other people would not have wanted to go near that man. It never occurred to her not to. If he would have said, “No, I think that I will just lie here,” she would not have persuaded him not to. It was so beautiful. I loved how she treated him. He wanted to extend the same to Mother Teresa that she was extending to him. It was a beautiful moment. I never saw her when she wouldn’t respond immediately to whatever the need was.46

She Rushed to All Places

After the funeral of Indira Gandhi, we and others told Mother about the riots in Delhi claiming thousands of lives. Mother could not sleep, she turned and twisted in her bed. Then straight after Mass she asked the priest who came for Mass to tell her how the people are….Mother hurriedly had breakfast, took some of us to the nearby government school. Oh, it was in a real mess and confusion….Thousands of them crowded in a school for safety because their houses had been burnt. They were like mad people—screaming, shouting, crying—no food, no water. The police were trying to control the crowds inside and outside….Humanly speaking, one would never know what to do about it. The noise was terrible.

Mother silently entered in with a few of us. People recognized her and fell on her, crying. Mother calmly [kept on walking among them while] speaking Bengali and broken Hindi saying, “It will be all right. It will be all right, have courage.” She went around a bit and then gave us orders to go and get the brooms. We gathered all the brooms we could and rushed back. She took the brooms and started sweeping the classrooms and telling them in each class as she swept, “Settle family by family.” We all did the same, and many men and women joined us. After sweeping we thought all was over, but Mother went to the toilets. They were filthy. Mother was the first to put her hand to clean. We too helped, but in the meantime I noticed the restless people were becoming calm. Screaming, shouting was less as families were trying themselves to obey Mother and settle together. After the laborious work of cleaning the toilets, Mother went to contact the municipality to get drinking water. When it came, she made sure all were in line to collect the water. She again contacted the collector and ministers and organized to get some food for them and personally saw to it that all got the food. I felt as if I was with Jesus on the day He fed the multitude. Thus there was peace in that camp.

By evening Mother reached other camps and started doing the same. She called a meeting with the archbishop and all religious, priests, brothers, and volunteers. Soon more than sixty camps were organized. People with generous hearts donated many things, and Mother saw to it that [everything] was distributed equally and justly to the needy in the camps. Thus because of Mother’s initiative and concern for the suffering people, Delhi was saved from a great destruction. Mother also got together government officials, ministers, etc.—[people of all parties]—to work together. Whenever she could squeeze in time, she would bandage the wounds of those hurt or burnt. She never stopped saying little kind words, a pat, a smile, a look of love to those needy people. Mother did miracles, which were beyond human understanding in the camps. Mother left after five days of organizing, but soon returned again. Peace came in the camp by the broom.47

The flood-relief work in Bangladesh, the refugee camps in the 1970s in the north of West Bengal, the earthquake in Guatemala in 1976, the earthquake in Armenia in 1988, the earthquake in Maharashtra in 1993…She rushed to all these places and did all that she could, as well as helping with many other natural disasters. She worked day in and day out, constantly making inquiries so that she could best discern how to bring effective help. She claimed every sort of person whom nobody else wanted. She told people in government to contact her if there were unwanted persons….She always worked alongside the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, although she always retained her independence and autonomy. She used all her gifts of nature and grace to transform the world into a better place, more human and purer. She was confronted with dirt and misery on every side. But she did not waste her time looking for those responsible to blame them. Instead, she used all her time and energy to relieve the sufferings. She was willing to undergo any sort of humiliations, ill treatment, false accusations, etc., in the name of the poor.48

REFLECTION

“I was a stranger and you welcomed Me.” (Mt 25:35)

“Give shelter to the homeless—not only a shelter made of bricks but a heart that understands, that covers, that loves.”49

When I meet a homeless person on the street, do I just cross to the other side to avoid an unpleasant experience? Can I acknowledge that person? Can I greet him or her with a smile and a listening ear? Or do I feel superior and have sentiments of self-righteousness as I reject, or worse, despise the person on the street?

In what way can I open my heart to someone in my own home, my family, my community, my workplace, or my neighborhood? What small act of kindness can make my home a place where my family members, relatives, friends, or co-workers feel accepted, appreciated, loved, and welcomed? Having a welcoming smile that makes those who approach you feel accepted might be an excellent way to practice hospitality.

PRAYER

Mary, our dearest Mother, give us your heart so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate, your heart so full of love and humility, that we may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life, love Him as you loved Him, and serve Him in the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor.

—Mother Teresa