The Powerful Philosophy of a Nobel Peace Laureate: Mother Teresa on the True Meaning of Life

Teresa of Calcutta has been one of the most recently canonized people by the Catholic religion. This happened in 2016 and was due to a life devoted to others. The nun, Indian by nationality, spent 45 years of her life helping others through her congregation of the Missionaries of Charity.

This Saturday, October 17, marks 47 years since Mother Teresa of Calcutta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This award was given in 1979 and had special significance because it completely changed the focus of that distinction, usually awarded to politicians, diplomats, or negotiators of international treaties. In this case, a religious sister was honored whose work was purely humanitarian: caring for the sick, the dying, orphans, and homeless people in Calcutta and in other countries.

In addition, she was an example even in the way she accepted the award, since Mother rejected the official Nobel banquet and asked that the money intended for that celebration be given to the poor of India.

Greatness is truly found in everyday acts, according to Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Within her story, several sayings stand out that have marked history. One of them can sum up her work and is: “He who does not live to serve, is not fit to live”. In this sense, the religious woman seeks to explain existence in relation to charity, understanding that a life is inconceivable in which one's neighbor is not above all else, hence that play on words with the meanings of living and serving: “is not fit to live”.

These words are read in a current context in which the ego and personal gain seem to prevail over everything else. Therefore, Teresa of Calcutta continues to teach thanks to a legacy that remains relevant decades after her death, and that will endure for years to teach the correct way of life.