In Honor of Mother Teresa.

Born August 26, 1910, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, died September 5, 1997.

She took her vows to become a nun when she was 18 years old, and taught school in Calcutta until 1946, when, while traveling to the Himalayan region of Darjeeling, she says she received a message from God to devote herself to "the poorest of the poor."

Her order celebrates that "inspiration" every year on September 10.

She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1949, an order of approximately 4,000 nuns who minister to the needy at 450 centers in the slums of 200 cities. She created a global network of homes for the poor, from the hovels of Calcutta to the ghettos of New York, including one of the first homes for AIDS victims.

• Awarded the Padma Shri award for distinguished service in 1962.
  
• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
  
• Awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1985.
  
• Steped down as head of her order March 13, 1997.

"I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."

-- Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, 1979.

"I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?"

-- 1974 interview.

"What we need is to love without getting tired. How does a lamp burn? Through the continuous input of small drops of oil. What are these drops of oil in our lamps? They are the small things of daily life: faithfulness, small words of kindness, a thought for others, our way of being silent, of looking, of speaking, and of acting. Do not look for Jesus away from yourselves. He is not there; He is in you. Keep your lamp burning and you will recognize Him."

-- Mother Teresa

"Do not pursue spectacular deeds. We must deliberately renounce all desires to see the fruit of our labor, doing all we can as best we can, leaving the rest in the hands of God. What matters is the gift of your self, the degree of love that you put into each one of your actions."

-- Mother Teresa

"If our poor die of hunger, it is not because God does not care for them. Rather, it is because neither you nor I are generous enough. It is because we are not instruments of love in the hands of God. We do not recognize Christ when once again He appears to us in the hungry man, in the lonely woman, in the child who is looking for a place to get warm."

-- Mother Teresa

"There are many medicines and cures for all kinds of sicknesses. But unless kind hands are given in service and generous hearts are given in love, I do not think there can ever be a cure for the terrible sickness of feeling unloved."

-- Mother Teresa

"Kindness has converted more people than zeal, science, or eloquence. Holiness grows so fast where there is kindness. The world is lost for want of sweetness and kindness. Do not forget we need each other."

-- Mother Teresa

"We should not be concerned with the instrument God uses to speak to us, but with what God is saying to us. I'm just a little pencil in His hand. Tomorrow, if He finds somebody more helpless, more hopeless, I think He will do still greater things with her and through her."

-- Mother Teresa

"No need for us to despair. No need for us to be discouraged. No need, if we have understood the tenderness of God's love. You are precious to Him. He loves you, and He loves you so tenderly that He has carved you on the palm of His hand. When your heart feels restless, when your heart feels hurt, when your heart feels like breaking, remember, 'I am precious to Him. He loves me. He has called me by my name. I am His. He loves me. God loves me' "

-- Mother Teresa