Mother Teresa: a biography

BUILDING A FOUNDATION
During the evenings when not working at the hospital, Mother Teresa
discussed her plans with the many members of the Medical Mission Sis-
ters. She welcomed ideas, practical suggestions, and criticism from the
others about how she should best implement her plans. One thing that
did become clear: if Mother Teresa’s proposed order wanted to work with
the poor, they would have to commit themselves to working 
only
for the
poor.
Out of these discussions came the foundation for Mother Teresa’s con-
gregation as well as many of the rules and routines that the group would
follow. Perhaps the most valuable lesson was the rule of balance as prac-
ticed by the founding mother of the Medical Mission Sisters, Mother
Anna Dengel. Like Mother Teresa, Dengal also had to obtain special per-
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M O T H E R T E R E S A

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mission from the Vatican in order to establish an order of nuns who were
also practicing surgeons and midwives. Among Mother Dengel’s tenets
was that heavy tasks, physical or emotional, could not be carried out for
long without rest and renewal. Therefore, it was imperative for her nuns
to take regular rests when needed and retreats to recharge their bodies and
minds.
The sisters suggested that with the poor living conditions and hard
work that was to be done everyday, prayer should be strictly observed, but
no prayer should be scheduled after 9 
P
.
M
. This would allow the nuns
plenty of rest and relaxation. There should be plenty of protein-rich food
for meals, especially at breakfast, but the selection should be simple; no
exceptions to meals were to be made except in cases of illness. Mother
Teresa had thought that she and her nuns would eat nothing more than
rice and salt, the basic diet of the poor. But she learned that this diet was
too sparse; she and her nuns would then be unable to work efficiently at
their jobs. This kind of diet also left one open to the very diseases of the
poor that Mother Teresa hoped to treat and fight. Mother Teresa sagely
took the advice given to her.
Mother Teresa envisioned an eight-hour workday beginning at five in
the morning. For that schedule to work, the Medical Missionaries sug-
gested there be one daily hour of rest so that the nuns would have the en-
ergy to carry out their tasks. They also suggested that one day a week
should be taken off, usually a Sunday, but for those who worked Sundays,
one full day of rest should be scheduled sometime during the week. There
should also be an annual retreat for all, which took place away from their
work. Clothing should remain simple; the Medical Mission Sisters wore
white cotton habits and veils that were changed everyday, sometimes
even twice a day. When Mother Teresa explained that the white cotton
sari was to be the habit, the nuns suggested that for the sake of health, all
saris should be washed everyday, and each nun should be given three saris:
one to wear, one to wash, and one for special occasions and emergencies.
Head coverings, while necessary to protect oneself from the hot Indian
summers, were to be kept to a minimum with no starch used on any part
of the headdress veil.