Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Be Humble: The Most Awarded Man in the World

My message of peace to you is but one, That is to love one another as God loves you. Jesus has good news for us, Let us know that God loves us and wants us to love one another. when the time of death comes, When we return to the Lord again, we will hear him say: Come and embrace the kingdom that is prepared for you. Because I am hungry, you feed me; I am naked and you clothe me; I am sick and you take care of me. Whatever you do to the least, It's just done to me. -- Speech by Sister Durham In humility: The most awarded man in the world The fundamental reason why Mother Delam became the person with the most awards in the 20th century, or one of the people with the most awards (according to incomplete statistics, she has received more than 80 honors and awards in her life), is still God’s care .The Lord not only gave her glory through trophies and medals, but also gave her wealth through bonuses—enabling her to be strong enough to serve the poor. , something is more and more,

Although Mumu is not personally interested in winning the award, when she walks on the podium, she no longer represents herself, but all the poor people in the world, and those who are called poor people have luxury.She knows her responsibility is to serve the poor, so if these honors and prizes help the poor and encourage people to do more good, then she is willing to accept.She said more than once: I am just the arm of the poor, and I accept the award on behalf of all the poor in the world.So, let's take a look at what awards she has received on behalf of the world's poor. In September 1962, she received the Padmashree Award from the President of India.

In January 1971, Pope Paul VI awarded her the "Pope John XXIII Peace Prize".This is the highest award in the charity category, and Mumu is the first woman to receive this award.Paul VI said at the award ceremony: "Once again in the history of the Church and in progressive society the Gospel of Christ has been fulfilled... and illuminated the words of Saint Helena (one of the early Christian fathers): the glory of the Lord , is an active human being.” Bishop Brinet, Deputy of State, also pointed out the significance of this award: “Justice is the foundation of peace, but it should go hand in hand with benevolence.”

When Mother Delam participated in the award ceremony attended by the entire diplomatic corps and 15 cardinals, she actually took a public tram into the Vatican. Good Samaritan Award".In October of the same year, she won the "Kennedy International Award". In November 1972, Mother Delam won the "Nehru International Understanding Award".The then Indian President Sirikiri said at the award ceremony: "Mother Teresa is a symbol of the love of Christ. While presenting the award to her, we also sing the praises of the great Indian tradition of respect for the sacred life and the renunciation of material things."

In fact, before Mumu won this award, Indians had already regarded her as a national heroine, and thousands of devout Hindus even regarded her as the "daughter of God". In April 1973, she received the "Templeton Award for the Advancement of Religion" from Prince Philip of the United Kingdom. At the award ceremony, Prince Philip said: "Often an award is created to encourage competition, but to be eligible for a religious award, it should be precisely those who are not keen to compete for it. Get an award to urge yourself to do religious good. And, even a venerable and disinterested jury must be able to affirm that one person is doing the work of God better than another?" , the prince changed the topic, "In fact, it is Mother Teresa who gave this award a reason to exist, so we should congratulate today, not Mother Teresa, but Mr. Turnbullton and the jury, because Mother Teresa is willing to Accept this award." What is particularly interesting is that the jury for this award is composed of 10 people, of which 6 are Christians and only one is a Catholic.

In 1974, she received the "Mother and Mentor Award" from Ohio, USA.Founded in 1963, this award is dedicated to rewarding women who have served the community. In the same year, the Third Franciscan Society of the United States awarded her the "Peace Prize". In October 1975, the newly formed United Nations Agriculture and Feeding Organization awarded her the "Schweitzer International Award" in recognition of her outstanding contribution to helping the world's poor and hungry.This is a newly established award and Sister Durham is the first recipient. In 1976, she received the "Poverelle Medal" in recognition of the spirit of charity.

In 1977, she won the "Cape Town Foundation Award" for the purpose of religious development. In the same year, the President of the Philippines awarded her the "Magsaysay International Understanding Award" and praised her as the most respectable woman in Asia. In August 1979, Mother Delam won the "Balzan Price Award" in Rome. This award is for the purpose of defending humanity, peace and fraternity.The awarding committee praised her "with outstanding spirit, she has made outstanding contributions to the relief of the hungry in India and other countries in the world, and she has paid tireless work for the suffering human beings".

In the same year, she received the Patron Award from the Catholic University of America. On December 10 of the same year, which was an extremely important day, Sister Delam won the "Nobel Peace Prize", which is called the highest honor of mankind.The award committee believes that she has successfully bridged the gap between rich and poor countries, built a bridge between the two with the concept of respect for human dignity, and made an outstanding contribution to overcoming poverty in the world. Since then, Mumu has won other awards: India's highest civil official award "Gem Award", Queen Elizabeth II's "Medal Award", the US President's "Freedom Award", the US Eisenhower Award, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Peace Award. Education Award”. Her native Albania even created a “Mother Teresa Award” to honor those who are outstanding in their philanthropic and humanitarian efforts.

In addition, Mumu was also awarded many honorary titles: in October 1971, he was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities by the University of Washington in the United States; in November 1975, he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws by Xavier University in Canada; Honorary doctorate; in January 1979, honorary doctorate of Bharat University in India; in March 1983, honorary doctorate of Hong Kong University; in November 1994, honorary doctorate of Taiwan Jingyi University, in October 1996, at that time US President Clinton gave her a special gift, that is, she was specially approved as an honorary citizen of the United States.Until 1996, only five foreigners had received this gift.

Faced with so many honors, Sister Delam replied: "It is not I who is important, but this work is important." Sister Delam also said: "We are all instruments in the hands of Christ. Trying to do a little bit of work is enough. will leave." Mumu's humility is not out of courtesy, but a kind of self-knowledge from the heart.This profound humility is especially worthy of our appreciation.In Mumu's view, to know oneself means to know God.This self-knowledge thus helps us to be humble. In (Divine Comedy, Purgatory), wise Dante burdens those proud souls with the burden of future

They walk with their bodies pressed against the boulders on the ground - a symbol of God allowing them to learn humility through this pain, but also symbolizing that pride itself is a heavy burden.If people are willing to be humble, they will be able to gain freedom and ease of mind. Although Sister Delam has won rich honors and illustrious reputations, countless people around the world admire her and regard her as a "living saint"—the American (Time) Weekly, which is known as the world's "Historical Library", just She was covered in an article titled "The Saint Lives Among Us."But she is still working silently as before, and her life as a nun has not changed in any way. She believes that since she has chosen to be poor and serve the poor, she must be loyal to her no matter how the outside world looks at her. choose. So, how does Sister Duran spend her day as a saint? At 4:30 in the morning, Mumu wakes up, does meditation and morning prayer first, attends early morning mass at 6:00, and then does chores—sometimes sweeping the yard, sometimes cleaning the toilet. Eat breakfast at 7:30, and start service work at 8 o'clock—sometimes go to the leprosy hospital to take care of the sick; sometimes go to the rest home to serve and comfort the dying; Hospitals, schools to check, every day she will go to different places to serve.To her, nothing was base as long as it was helpful. At noon, rest for half an hour after dinner. In the afternoon, participate in an hour of collective prayer, then read the "Bible" or other spiritual works, and then deal with chores in the congregation.Sometimes there were many guests in the congregation, and people were eagerly waiting to see her.She doesn't have a reception room, so she just stands in the corridor outside the church and talks to guests. In the evening, do chores half an hour after supper, then participate in the corporate adoration of the Eucharist, and end the day with corporate vespers.At 10 o'clock at night, after the nuns went to bed, she had to continue working in the small room with only one table and one chair. There were many letters from all over the world waiting for her to deal with, and she had to continue working until late at night. Time was so precious to Sister Duran that eating was considered a waste of time.She even took action to reduce three meals a day to one meal a day, which caused the Pope to intervene before she had to give up. Let's share two short stories. In June 1980, a Spanish youth who admired Sister Duran came to India after a long voyage.But the nuns told him that his sister had just gone to Mumbai, so the young man rushed to Mumbai without stopping.When he arrived in Bombay, the nuns in Bombay told him that Mumu had left for Madrid.The youth immediately bought a plane ticket and flew to Madrid.When he returned to Madrid, he heard that Mumu had gone to Kanai.However, the young man's desire to see his sister was so strong that he didn't delay for a minute, and followed him to Laijianai. fine.This time he did not run in vain. A nun told him that his sister was working in the backyard, so the young man walked towards the backyard ecstatically.Because of his excitement and nervousness, his heartbeat accelerated significantly.But what did the young man who adores his mother see when he walks into the convent's backyard?He saw a thin old woman teaching several little nuns to hang clothes by hand. She stretched the rope, stretched it straight, fixed it, and put the clothes on the air one by one.She said to the little nuns: If the rope is not fastened in a proper place and at a proper height, the shadow of the house will prevent the clothes from drying. The young man was so surprised that he couldn't speak. It turned out that the job the nun mentioned was drying clothes. Afterwards, the young man said to his friend: "It's really amazing that a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a saint, is actually drying clothes." And in Calcutta, people often even see this prestigious old nun, sitting on the flour sacks as high as mountain bags in the truck carriage, swinging from side to side.Many people do not understand why she is so busy.But Mumu said that if the flour was not escorted, many of the flour given to the poor might be stolen.And, most importantly, she doesn't feel like it's hard work, or toil, nor does she feel like it's a waste of time.Because she could just use that time to pray and meditate. The Missionary Society of Charity has opened more than 600 branches in 127 countries around the world, and Mother Delam must often visit each branch.There are more than 4,000 nuns, and she knows all of them, and no matter which branch she goes to, no matter how busy the work is or how exhausting the journey is, she will spare a few hours to take care of the patients herself.Although this is the system of the congregation, as the congregation's mother, she can be more relaxed about herself.But she never.She said she was like a wanderer, wandering from one job to another until she died. In Delam's view, prayer in action is love, and love in action is service, so love without service is meaningless.And, above all, sharing the great gift of God with the poor is only possible in a practical service. Jesus said, "If someone is naked and starving, if you tell them to go home safe and well fed and clothed, but you don't help them specifically, what does it matter? How can it be used?” John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, also said: “We love, not only with words, but also with words, but with actions and facts to prove it.” Therefore, Mother Teresa has repeatedly emphasized "The fruit of love is service", this service is: "We neither speak nor speak, but do." Former Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Gandhi once wrote: "She lived her days according to this truth: prayer is piety, prayer is service, and service is her body and mind, her religion, and her salvation." Once, Sister Delam went to attend a worldwide anti-hunger meeting. Outside the meeting place, she saw an old man dying of hunger on the side of the road. She immediately took the old man back to the congregation without even entering the meeting place.Afterwards, Mumu said: "Rescuing a hungry old man is more important than participating in an anti-hunger conference." Forget yourself and you will find yourself In December 1979, on the eve of Sister Delam's trip to Norway to accept the award, the American reporter Hap came to Nierma Lied in Calcutta.Twenty-five years had passed since he first interviewed Mumu, and they—he and Mumu—were old. At this time, Nierma Lide had already developed quite well, with more than one hundred basic beds. The men's ward was on the left and the women's ward was on the right--the beds in rows were covered with clean blue quilts .In the middle is the medical center and washroom, behind it is the kitchen and mortuary, and on the roof is the school for homeless children and the dormitories of nuns. The trolleys used to accommodate patients have been replaced by modern ambulances.As soon as the ambulance arrived, the nuns and monks immediately arranged for the patients to be bedded, washed, fed, and then registered for religious beliefs - so that the corresponding religious funerals could be administered after their death.In fact, most of the people sent to Nirma Lid are Hindus, so if some people can't speak when they come in, then the nuns will bury them with Hindu etiquette. As soon as Hap entered the door, he said, "Nurse, I'm here to congratulate you. I can't go to Norway to attend the awards ceremony." Mumu replied: "I'm just a tool, Mr. Harp, and I'm just accepting this award on behalf of the poor." Happ laughed: "Yeah, an international tool serving dozens of countries." Mumu walked over and took Hap's hand, and said enthusiastically, "We welcome you to join us, if you are interested. We also have brothers, and you can join our work as a missionary." Hap replied with a smile, "No, Mammy, I am too old. I have seen too much misery and suffering, and then I came here and met you. I admire you very much, but I..." Speaking of this, Hap suddenly withdrew his smile: "Nurse, what happened to Gandhi's heirs? Before coming here, I passed Gandhi's monument and saw it was surrounded by soldiers and barbed wire. A pacifist monument is now being destroyed by guns." Protection, I mean, if someone like Gandhi can't change the people, then..." Before Hap could finish speaking, Mumu interrupted him.Mumu said: "Stop talking, Mr. Hap, I know what your doubts are. Come, let me show you something." The doctor pointed it out to him: "When he was young, he grew up in a family with leprosy. Fortunately, we found him in time and cured him. Do you know? We bought a medical car with the money you donated. That car changed so many lives." This sentence touched Harp, but he didn't say anything. He took off his glasses and kept wiping them. Obviously, he was using this action to hide his inner excitement.Mumu asked him with concern, "What's wrong with you?" Hap didn't answer Sister, but asked, "Sister, what do you want to achieve in this life?" There was a deep sadness in Mumu's brown eyes. After a moment of silence, she said, "More, more." "But don't you understand? The poor people you love are the result of this society's sickness. Isn't it more effective to treat the disease than to just cure the disease?" said Harp. Mom said, "Someone has to take care of the poor." "But that's the crux of the matter," Harp said. "I don't mean to offend the crowning honour, but I'll say it anyway: the Nobel Prize is nothing more than a way to appease the conscience of the world because of people like you." Love the poor, we will be sentimental and weep, but when the speech is over, everyone will soon return to a life of insensitivity." Mumu looked at Hap for a long time and said, "Perhaps your work can inspire people to change this situation." Harp replied: "But you can't go on deifying the poor - 'Christ incarnate on earth', they're not Christ, what's the use of you pretending they're saints?" Mumu said: "We owe too much to the poor. You are using Western thinking and thinking, and your expectations of the poor are too high." Harp said, "No, Sister, you expect too much, you expect endless forgiveness, how can you forget violence, forget corruption, how can you not be angry?" Mom immediately replied: "No, you are wrong, Mr. Harp, I am also angry, not only that, I am often angry. When I see abandoned babies, I am very angry; when I see a child living in a bad environment. In the environment, I was angry; when I saw young girls being raped and abused in the war, I was angry, but I had to forgive, otherwise how would I continue to work? I could forgive, but I didn’t accept it.” Harp took off his hat, held it in his hand, and said, "I don't understand, Mammy, and I don't think I'll ever understand." Then there was silence.After a while, Mum said, "Mr. Happy, can you do me one last thing before you go?" Happy nodded.Although he didn't know what Mumu would ask him to do.Mumu brought Hap to a seriously ill old man and asked him to feed the old man.Hapu didn't expect it to be like this, he hesitated for a while, and finally took the job and squatted down beside the old man.He picked up the rice spoon, scooped a spoonful of rice and sent it to the old man's mouth.But he was very clumsy, and he either fed too little or too much, so that a lot of rice fell into the old man's neck. It is conceivable that a front-line reporter like Ha Pu who travels around the world may never do this in his life I have taken care of a person face to face, that is to say, I have never expressed my heart to a person through such a small service in my life.And this is precisely the true meaning of love and service. Then suddenly the old man raised a hand and spoke to Harp.Feeling embarrassed, Harp thought the old man was blaming him, so he quickly said, "I'm sorry." But the old man kept talking.Harp didn't understand Bengali and had no idea what the old man was talking about.So he called Sunita.Excuse me, please tell me, what is he talking about?" Sunita knelt down close to the old man's mouth, listened carefully for a while, then turned her head and said to Ha Pu, "He is blessing you." Harp was astonished. He said, "Is he blessing me?" Sunita replied, "Yes, he is blessing you." "But I can buy him lots and lots of food with just the pocket money I have in my pocket," said Harp. Sunita smiled, and she smiled brightly."But you can't buy his blessing," she said. It was getting dark quickly, and it was an extremely important day for Harp.Things he thought he would never be able to do.Today it did.This huge gully of self has always been lying in front of him, but today he finally crossed it.Harp went to the long narrow window. He tried to smoke a cigarette, but failed to light it twice—his hands were shaking.Recalling a sentence that Mumu once said: forget yourself, and you will find yourself. He felt that he suddenly had a new understanding. At this moment, Sister Duran came over.Harp told her: "I always thought I couldn't do it, but once I took this step, it was completely different." Mumu nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, if I don't save the first person from the street, I won't save tens of thousands of people. Love starts with one person." Said After finishing, she patted the back of Ha Pu's hand and left.Looking at Mumu's old and stooped back, Harp was once again shocked by Mumu's firm belief. For the first time in his life, he began to reflect on his philosophy of life. A 43-year-old beautician also experienced the same life transformation as Harp in Nierma Lied.The beautician named Fanny wrote: "It was the first time in my life that I came to such a place, and it was an unforgettable and horrible experience - as a beautician, I am used to everything being nice and tidy.A nun asked me to bathe an old woman, and I found appetite completely impossible.I stood there dumbfounded, but she still called me, so I cried.I said I can't do it.She just said: "Okay, come with me." She helped the woman with only skeletons left and walked into the bathroom.The room was dark, and I was in terrific pain.But at that moment, the house suddenly lit up - one minute I thought I couldn't do it, and the next moment I realized that I could actually do it too.It dawned on me that anyone could actually be Jesus, not just that old woman with the scars all over her body, but the whole world is the body of Jesus, and I ended up working there for 6 months.Now, when someone tells me they're too old to change, I say, "Sorry, I can't agree, but I completely changed my life at 48." The Nobel Peace Prize: a supreme honor.In fact, when Sister Delam knew that the Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to her, she was not elated. On the contrary, her heart was full of hesitation and contradiction.Because she has always kept in mind the teaching of Jesus: "When you do good with your right hand, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." Mumu chose to serve the poor all her life, just to witness the love of God to the world, not to For worldly glory.True Christians, whatever they give, are to be another Christ to one another, and nothing else.But Mumu's simple and straightforward nature predestined that she would not be pretentious, pretending, or pretending to be a sensationalist.Therefore, in the end, she still decided to accept this award—to accept this supreme honor in the eyes of the world on behalf of the poor. Two days before the award ceremony, that is, on December 8, 1979, Mumu arrived in Oslo, Norway by plane.When Mumu came out of the exit room carrying a simple handbag, Mr. Sañez, chairman of the Peace Prize Committee, hurried up to greet him. He held Mumu's hand and said, "I represent the Nobel Peace Prize." The Awards Committee welcomes you, Mother Teresa, His Royal Highness the King greets you and looks forward to meeting you at the ceremony banquet." Mumu still wore the plain white denim sari, but she added a black cotton jacket over it, and still wore a pair of half-worn sandals on her feet.Hearing Mr. Saness's mention of the banquet, Mu Mu immediately asked, "Banquet? What kind of banquet?" Mr. Sagnaz replied: "Yes, we have a special ceremony banquet for this, on the night of the 10th." Mom even said: "Please cancel the banquet." Mr. Sagnes was very surprised. Since the establishment of the Nobel Prize in 1901, this is the first This is the first time someone has made such a request.He asked inexplicably, "Cancelled? Why?" Mother replied sincerely: "Yes, please cancel this banquet, and please donate this meal fee to the poor in Calcutta, okay?" Mr. Sagnes hesitated for a while, and finally replied, "Okay, nun." The night in Oslo was very cold and it was snowing lightly, but there were still many people holding torches to welcome the great nun, including many children. Mumu raised her hands above her head and greeted everyone with her classic smile, and reached out to touch the children from time to time.The cost of that grand dinner was about 7,000 U.S. dollars. This luxurious state banquet costing 7,000 U.S. dollars can only be enjoyed by 135 people, but if the money is given to the Missionary Sisters of Charity, the nuns can feed 15,000 poor Indians. one day. Mumu's behavior was quickly spread around the world through the news media.Under her influence, as soon as the awards ceremony was over, Norway's neighboring country, Sweden, immediately launched a nationwide donation campaign, raising more than 400,000 Swiss dollars. This was something Mu Mu hadn't expected at all.And because of this, don’t we finally have some closer understanding of the phrase “God will take care of himself” that my sister often talks about?Love is a wonderful seed, once it is planted in the right soil, it will not only grow a true and kind, virtuous and noble heart, but also a richer and fuller love.Sister Duran is one such seed, and from this seed alone, thousands of followers have sprung up behind her. As for the $190,000 Peace Prize, Mum also gave all of it to the congregation, which used the money to set up a prevention and treatment fund for leprosy patients in India.Mumu didn't keep a penny for herself.Not only that, she even sold the gold medal that was extremely precious in the eyes of the world, and all the money she got was used for the poor. On December 10, 1979, the award ceremony finally arrived. On this day, the weather in Oslo was very sunny. Mother Delam took off her black coat and still wore the dress representing poor Indian civilian women, with a serene expression and a calm walk. Walked up to the podium that caught the world's attention -- some said tears welled up in her brown eyes -- and then delivered a spartan acceptance speech on behalf of the poor.But this simple testimonial touched the world deeply because of its love and gratitude. Let us share a small part of it: "I personally do not deserve this honor. I accept this award with the glory of God, and on behalf of all the hungry, cold, disabled and sick people in the world, and those who are neglected and uncared for. Accept the award in the name of the peace prize. The peace prize makes mutual understanding between the rich and the poor. Today I am emphasizing caring for the poor, because the poor are also people created by the Lord and loved by him. Therefore, if we turn our backs on the poor, it is tantamount to Turn away from Christ; if we hurt the poor, we hurt Christ. Our poor are great, and they need our respect and our love and attention. "Remember, the gift of God to us is to love one another. We can all do what we can with God's gift. Let us love others for Christ's sake, let us love as He loves. Let's love each other." The 1979 Nobel Peace Prize was selected among 56 candidates, including former US President Carter. Twenty years later, in 2002, Carter also won the Nobel Peace Prize.The award of Mumu Delam shows that there is not only one kind of peace, and politics is not the only means to seek peace. As Mumu himself said, she is also a revolutionary, but her revolutionary method has only one revolutionary element. That is love. One day in June 1980, Delam and Carter arrived in Madrid, Spain, at about the same time, and then gave a speech to the public there.Carter talked about the integration of Europe and the security of the US investment in Spain.And Mother Delam talked about: the status of the poor, caring for each other, and her consistent theme-kindness.