Article by Sister Rosemarie Nassif, SSND, Ph.D., Former Senior Advisor on Catholic Sisters and Faith-Based Activities
Friday, September 5 is International Day of Charity, a date chosen by the United Nations in commemoration of Mother Teresa of Calcutta who passed away on September 5, 1997. This renowned nun and missionary devoted herself to helping the poor, sick, orphaned and dying for over 45 years.
Friday, September 5 is International Day of Charity, a date chosen by the United Nations in commemoration of Mother Teresa of Calcutta who passed away on September 5, 1997. This renowned nun and missionary devoted herself to helping the poor, sick, orphaned and dying for over 45 years. She began her works in India and then expanded the order she founded, the Missionaries of Charity of Calcutta, to other countries.
The word “charity” can conjure different responses. Charity as defined by “giving to those in need” is considered a good thing. However, charity can also create a perceived divide between those who have and those who have not. It is interesting to note that Mother Teresa spoke little about charity. She spoke much about love. She believed that it is love that cures and empowers, more than just the act of doing good works. She writes: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” She also notes, “The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.”
Last July I had the privilege of accompanying Catholic Sisters throughout Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya as they worked in villages, clinics, schools and orphanages. These sisters are graduates of the Sisters Leadership Development Initiative, a program funded by the Hilton Foundation that helps sisters in nine African countries learn skills in finance, management and technology to assist them in advancing their ministries. They were in the remotest of places, living and working in dire conditions with the most disadvantaged–from the critically ill to the severely disabled, to the most vulnerable children affected by HIV and AIDS. Some were teaching farming skills to promote nutrition and health in places where malnourishment further aggravates life’s complexities. The profound impression that struck me over and over again–more than the poverty and the enormous need–was the tremendous joy and hope exuded by these women religious. Like Mother Teresa, they are truly happy to do this work.
The sisters whom I have encountered totally identify with those with whom they serve. There is no divide. Rather they are engaged with them. Sisters know their own poverty and learn from those they serve to be grateful for all that they have been given rather than focus on all they lack. When asked how they can continue to give their lives away with such generosity and love, their response is that they receive much more than they give. Their lives are changed for the better as they work to provide positive change for others. To some this may seem skeptical or even religious Pollyannaism. To others it may just be a mystery.
When Conrad Hilton died in 1979, he left virtually his entire fortune to the foundation. “Charity is a supreme virtue,” he wrote, “and the great channel through which the mercy of God is passed on to mankind. It is the virtue that unites men and inspires their noblest efforts.” His most revered and respected partners in his charitable works were Catholic sisters. He fell in love with their dedication and their total giving of selves and always said that he received more than he gave to the sisters. Throughout his life he stated that his relationships with sisters made him a better person. For him, his charitable works certainly changed the lives of others, but, as importantly, others with whom he engaged changed him.
The miracle of philanthropy is not the work we do in creating positive change for others, but rather that they change us as we engage with them in doing it. International Day of Charity is an opportunity to reflect on that change.