Mother Tereesa (Ethical Issues)

Mother Teresa is known across the globe as the brave and selfless servant of the poor and sick of Calcutta's slums. She was also much more: a bold social advocagte, and even a thoughtful theologian. In 1994, just three years before she would pass away, Mother Teresa spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. The focus of her presentation was a condemnation of abortion, given in the presence of the pro-choice administration of President Bill Clinton (First Lady Hilary Clinton was also in attendance) and Vice President Al Gore. Mother Teresa's treatment of abortion is in the context of a series of fascinating ethical and ecclesiological reflections that reveal the intriguing insight of her thoughts on love, family, the Church, and of ultimate good.
The ethical framework Mother Teresa presents in her address centers around the life and ministry of Christ. She devotes a significant portion of the early part of her address to reiterate the life of Christ, primarily his sacrifice. Since Christ's commandment is to "Love as I have loved you," she explains that the life of Christ must serve as an ethical model and source for human beings.
She summarizes that Christ's entire life was one of giving of a "greater love" to all. Jesus' death on the cross, according to Mother Teresa, was the pinnacle of this love and, consequentially, the summit of ethical action. She notes, most importantly, we must recognize that Christ's occasion of sacrifice was not an easy task: "It hurt Jesus to love us. . .Jesus makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one. . ."
Jesus gave until it hurt, she summarizes. And as the ethical standard for righteous living, Mother Teresa teaches that we too must "give until it hurts." Since Christ exemplified the greatest of love, which was defined by giving until all had been relinquished - his prestige, his reputation, his comfort, his life - Mother Teresa concludes that we must "realize that love, to be

Cited: Mother Teresa, "Whatever You Did Unto One of the Least, You Did Unto Me." The National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C., February, 1994. http://www.luisprada.com/Protected/mother_teresa_on_abortion.htm V Dates: August 26, 1910 -- September 5, 1997 Mother Teresa Also Known As: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (birth name), "the Saint of the Gutters" Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, Mother Teresa 's health deteriorated, but she still traveled the world, spreading her message. When Mother Teresa, age 87, died of heart failure on September 5, 1997, the world mourned her passing