Review of "Mother Teresa, A Life of Devotion," A & E Biography

Review of

Mother Teresa, A Life of Devotion, A & E Biography


Five out of five stars

 No one more exemplified a life of selfless devotion than the woman known to history as Mother Teresa. Born in 1910 in a section of the Ottoman Empire that is now Northern Macedonia, she found her calling in a religious order early in life. Arriving in India in 1929 while it was still an integral part of the British Empire, she learned Bengali so that she could interact with the people in their own language.

 However, it was not until the famine of 1943 and the growing unrest that was to lead to independence that she found her true calling, which was ministering to the very poor. At the time, even though it was part of the British Empire, Indian society operated under a rigid caste structure with masses of people that were extremely poor. Her ministering to the poor began in 1948, a year after India was granted independence and in the aftermath of the sectarian violence during the partition of the British colony into India and Pakistan.

 Her life of poverty and service was exemplary, although that did not stop many from criticizing her for either not speaking out against repressive political forces or performing acts considered inappropriate. For example, she famously laid a wreath on the grave of Enver Hoxha, the longtime communist dictator of Albania. Proving that no matter how much good you do, there will always be people that will find fault with your actions.

 It is clear from this tape that Mother Teresa deserved her elevation to sainthood. The difference she made in the lives of the poor in India was very significant and she managed to rise above politics as well as the sectarian hatreds that were so much a part of life in India. The video is very well done and shows the conditions on the streets and the people that she worked so hard to assist and keep alive.