Mother Teresa, The Abscissa For The Poor Who Are The Ordinate Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Mother Teresa the abscissa for the poor, the ordinate
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
Mother Teresa used to say:
By blood, I am Albanian
By citizenship, an Indian
By faith, I am a Catholic nun
As to my calling, I belong to the world
As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus;

Mother Teresa experienced the call within her call
Which required a lot of upheaval in her life:
I was to leave the convent
And help the poor while living among them
It was an order
To fail would have been to break the faith;

To me, a fullblooded Hindu woman, nuns are admirable
For they sacrifice their own desires and ambitions
To lead a life of charity and work among the needy
And lead, many a time, a Spartan existence;

On May 24,1937, she took her Final Profession of Vows
To a life of poverty, chastity and obedience
As was the custom for Loreto nuns,
She took on the title of "Mother"
Upon making her final vows
And thus became known as Mother Teresa;

When a Catholic priest asked if she attempted to convert people,
She reportedly answered, "Yes, I convert.
I convert you to be a better Hindu, or a better Muslim,
Or a better Protestant, or a better Catholic, or a better Parsee, or a better Sikh,
Or a better Buddhist.
And after you have found God, it is for you to do what God wants you to do.' "

Mother Teresa opposed abortion and contraception
Two principles of her faith that I am personally opposed to
She lived a selfless life, living amongst the poor in Calcutta slums
And cared for their souls.

Sources of reference:
1. Wikipedia
2. Biography
3. The Gospel Coalition