Mother Teresa: a biography

THE INCULTURATION OF POVERTY
One of the greatest challenges that faced Mother Teresa, and that con-
tinues today, was the difficult balance of realism and idealism. In some
cases, the Missionaries of Charity, in their zeal to serve the poor, have
made some questionable choices. In one instance the sisters removed a ra-
diator from a house because the poor had no heat in their homes. Ac-
cording to a nun who is a member of the Sisters of Sion, the act was
patronizing to the poor. . . . We are learning from the poor, the
way we should respond to the poor is that we are in this to-
gether. Some of us are emotionally poor or poor in education.
Of course you can deprive yourself but I have had the opportu-
nities of a good education, there I’m a rich person; we must
recognize that and not play at being poor. You can live along-
side the poor but you must also be realistic.
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While Mother Teresa and her nuns adapted to life among the poor in
India and later in other Third World countries, when it came time to es-
tablish homes in the West, the order often faced a different set of circum-
stances. To what extent should the order inculturate, that is adapt to the
culture of the poor in the West, which is often very different from that in
the third world. For instance, in establishing a shelter for women in the
United States, did the sisters have an obligation to make sure that the
women they helped not only received housing and meals, but also help to
navigate the extensive red tape of the various social agencies to find aid,
jobs, or other support services? The Missionaries of Charity would say no;
that their vows do not extend to doing this type of work. However, there
are those in the Church who would come to feel otherwise.
In one instance, Mother Teresa’s rigorous attitude toward austerity for
her order made headlines. In San Francisco, the order was given a former
convent. When Mother Teresa arrived at the house, she was very un-
happy, telling the bishop that the house was too big and elegant for their
purposes. As a result, the mattresses, carpets, and many pieces of furniture
were thrown out of the house into the street. A boiler that provided hot
water was also taken out. Some in the order believed the matter could
have been taken care of more discreetly and were unhappy at the ruckus
the incident caused. On another occasion, Mother Teresa scolded her
nuns for storing some canned tomatoes. She lectured them, reminding
them that the order did not store food, but relied on God to provide for
them.
“ R I G O R O U S P OV E RT Y I S O U R S A F E G U A R D ”
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