Mother Teresa, who will now officially be known as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, was beatified as a step in the process of canonization, by which the Catholic Church designates saints. People who are beatified can be venerated by their local church and their religious orders; people who are saints can be venerated by the universal church. Mother Teresa dedicated her life and work to the poor and the destitute. The process was hastened after the Vatican deemed that she had miraculously healed a woman.
The woman was Monica Besra. She had a tumor in her stomach, and after her prayers to Mother Teresa, she claims her cancer disappeared and she was miraculously cured. Another miracle has to be attributed to Mother Teresa before she can become a saint. When skeptics questioned Besra's doctors, they claimed that she had been under medical treatment, taking tubercular drugs for nine months. They claim that there is definitive medical evidence against this miracle.
Pope John Paul II celebrated his 25th year as Pontiff. Over the course of his pontificate, he has beatified 1,315 people and canonized 476, far more than his predecessors of the past 500 years combined. At one miracle per beatification and two for canonization, more than 2,200 miracles must have been performed. How many did we see? How has it changed our world?
In India, Sai Baba is a very popular miracle-worker. His miracles have gained much adulation and speculation throughout the world. He is known to have presented guests with gold and precious gems that he made appear from thin air. As always, there are skeptics with their claims of evidence against these miracles. There are videotapes that claim to have captured Sai Baba's sleight of hand. Many Web sites have sprung up to discuss these miracles. Few discuss his teachings and charities. Why do we need miracles? What is the power that it yields on a human being? We live in such a strenuous world, constantly fighting the odds to stay afloat, that we would accept any help, the more miraculous and swifter the better. There are so many opposing faiths that to elevate one true one over the other, a great miracle needs to be performed.
It is always the unknown that frightens us the most, and the power of this unknown is the conscience that will make us do right. But a miracle is also personal belief. To a hungry child, finding a piece of bread is a miracle; to an unprepared exam taker, cancellation of school due to heavy snow is a miracle; to a sick person, a doctor curing him is a miracle.
A miracle yields such mind-control that people who stake claim over the creation of that miracle immediately rise to great power. Thousands of fake god-men and god-women have sprung up, claiming to be miracle workers. The focus is shifting from genuine kind-hearted people to these miracle workers. Even those that do real charity work have come to be criticized because of their miraculous stunts. Caring for the poor is no longer enough. A miracle is imperative.
Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and over the years the charity has spread to over 130 countries and has over 700 houses. All over the world, the Missionaries of Charity devout their time to the poor, the ill and the aged. Mother Teresa opened orphanages, schools, homes for the needy and AIDS centers throughout the world. Thousands of homeless eat at her soup kitchens everyday. In 1982, at the height of the siege in Beirut, she rescued 37 children holed up in a front-line hospital by requesting a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas, and this was after she received her Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
The Sri Sathya Sai Organisations carry out charitable activities for the continuous welfare of the needy. Polio, blood donation and eye screening camps are conducted regularly, schools and orphanages have been setup, village betterment programs have been started, and food and clothes are distributed daily. The Sri Sathya Sai Organisations Trust also helps in construction of hospitals, culture halls, and helps to promote unity amongst all. The Trust facilitates the availability of drinking water to many drought-hit areas in India. This is real work. This is the work that requires focus and the work that needs to be rewarded. God-men and god-women should stop performing small miracles just to draw a tribe to them. Every precious gem presented to a rich man by Sai Baba could have been used to pay for the needy. The sooner people stop looking for divine intervention and realize that the power lies in doing real work, the better. Those in power should educate the people to this effect and should stop looking for miracles and miracle workers to spread their faith and should just reward the real work.
Mother Teresa didn't wait for a miracle to help. She went into the streets to help. She doesn't need a strange light behind her head, a miracle, to make her a saint. For most, she already is.
