Two days ago, the world remembered Mother Teresa's 8th Death Anniversary. Katrina's evacuees made me wonder what would Mother Teresa do for them if she was still alive.
In her book, "Reaching Out In Love, Stories Told By Mother Teresa,"
she wrote:
Giving and Receiving
No letter box is big enough to receive all the mail that the postman sometimes brings to the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, so Mother Teresa decided to have a narrow rectangular opening made in the painted brown door at the entrance. The letters are collected in baskets and taken to the small office room on the first floor. Mother Teresa used to read all the letters addressed to her, and tried to reply to them herself, often in her own hand.
On one occasion, as she opened an envelope, three five-dollar bills fell out along with a note by a man who had been bedridden for twenty years. The only part of his body that he could move was his right hand, and his only companions were cigarettes which he enjoyed smoking now and again. The note said: 'I did not smoke for one week, and I send you this money.'
Mother was deeply touched. 'It must have been a terrible sacrifice for him. But see how beautiful it is, see how he shared. And with that money,' she said, 'I bought bread and I gave it to those who are hungry, with a joy on both sides. He was giving and the poor were receiving.'
No matter how little you can give to the people who lost their homes, jobs and loved ones because of hurricane Katrina, just give. If you can't give money, then make a nice meal and take it to a shelter near you. It will mean a lot to those people.
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