Love in Action · Week 1 · Grades 6–8
Guided Notes: St. Teresa of Calcutta
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
St. Teresa of Calcutta
Leaving home, then leaving school
Agnes Bojaxhiu was born in blank 1 in Skopje to an Albanian Catholic family. Her father died when she was about eight. Her mother still invited poor people to eat at the family table.
At 18, Agnes joined the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland. She never saw her mother or sister again. In blank 2 she sailed to India and became Sister Teresa. For almost 20 years she taught at a girls' school in Calcutta.
Then, on blank 3 10, 1946, on a train, she felt God speaking to her. She called it a “call within a call.” God wanted her to live among the poorest people.
Dignity for the forgotten
She asked permission, and in 1948 she was allowed to go. She put on a cheap white blank 4 with a blue border, the kind poor women wore. She walked into the slums alone.
In 1950 the blank 5 approved her new group of sisters, the Missionaries of Charity. In 1952 she opened a Home for the Dying. People dying alone on the streets were brought in to be clean, cared for and loved.
After her death, her letters revealed a secret. For most of her life she did not feel blank 6's presence. She kept serving anyway, out of love.
A life of service
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1910 | Write your answer |
| 1928 | Write your answer |
| 1929 | Write your answer |
| 1946 | Write your answer |
| 1950 | Write your answer |
| 1952 | Write your answer |
| 1979 | Write your answer |
| 1997 | Write your answer |
Check the cause
What did Sister Teresa do right after she felt her “call within a call” in 1946? Circle one.
- A She left the school the same week
- B She asked permission and waited until 1948
- C She returned to Ireland to pray about it
- D She founded the Missionaries of Charity
Why is that the right answer?
Quick check
What do the three blue stripes on the sisters' white sari stand for? Circle one.
- A Faith, hope and charity
- B The Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- C Prayer, fasting and almsgiving
- D Poverty, chastity and obedience
Why is that the right answer?
Seen or invisible?
Mother Teresa treated forgotten people as persons with dignity. Sort each action, in person or online. Check one box for each.
| Item | Treats the person with dignity | Treats the person as invisible |
|---|---|---|
| Bringing in someone who is dying alone so they are cared for | ||
| Scrolling on your phone while a friend is talking to you | ||
| Filming someone's embarrassing moment and posting it | ||
| Messaging the classmate who was left out of the group chat | ||
| Walking past a person because their illness makes others stay away | ||
| Putting your phone away to listen to a grandparent | ||
| Leaving a cruel comment because you will never meet the person |
Virtues Mother Teresa lived
For each virtue, write how the saint lived it.
| Virtue | How the saint lived it |
|---|---|
| Charity | Write your answer |
| Humility | Write your answer |
| Perseverance | Write your answer |
How saints are named
Before Mother Teresa was canonized, which means officially named a saint, what did the Church approve? Circle one.
- A Two healings that doctors could not explain
- B A vote by the Missionaries of Charity
- C Her Nobel Peace Prize from 1979
- D A request from the country of India
Why is that the right answer?
Think, pair, share
Mother Teresa kept loving people even when she did not feel close to God. When is it hard for you to keep doing the right thing with no good feeling and no reward? Think about online life too, where kindness often gets no likes.
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “It is hard to keep going when ...”“Doing good without credit is ...”“Online, a small thing with great love would be ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40
Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the people others overlook.
Give us the courage to love when we feel nothing in return.
St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” She changed the world one person at a time.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Teresa of Calcutta shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: Pick one person who gets overlooked, at school or in a group chat. Give them your full attention this week, with your phone out of sight.