Day 2: Hope Lives On

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was an icon of my generation.  A household name, symbolizing someone devout and giving.  A representative of goodness and hope to those who hadn't experienced either in a very long time, if ever.  This year she would have turned 100 if she were still living.  Her legacy still lives on, and continues to impact innumerable lives.


Sixty years ago this month, she established the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, a Roman Catholic order of nuns.  The mission was to reach the "poorest of the poor" and to care for (in Mother Teresa's words) "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, 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."  Starting with 12 nuns, the order has grown to present day more than 4,500 nuns, established on all continents and in more than 150 countries.  


That is good news!  Not only that so many people have been cared for, but that goodness and hope are infectious.  Mother Teresa's vision, passion, and burden have inspired thousands to care for the outcasts, and continues even 13 years after her death.  Sixty years of hope for the hopeless, and still counting.   


Information for this blog entry was acquired from Wikipedia and from the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center's Official Site.