Wilder World of Books ~ Albania

A Simple Path ~ Mother Teresa

 

On my Life List I wrote 'Read a book from/about every country in the world'. It doesn't matter if I've already read a book from or about that country; for the sake of this list I'm starting from scratch.

Rather than being about or set in Albania, I chose a book by/about the most famous Albanian, Mother Teresa. This book starts off with a brief auto/biography of Mother Teresa, goes into her work with the poor in India, & includes thoughts from many of the people who staff the various Missionaries of Charity throughout the world.

Here's the deal - I've been an atheist for as long as I can remember, but I grew up in a Catholic family, so I had to go to church every Sunday until I was about 16, & I went to Catholic schools. But still all I knew about Mother Teresa was that she was a Nun in India. After reading this I now have a pretty deep respect for her & the Missionaries of Charity. They live in complete poverty & have dedicated their lives to helping others. There is a strong focus on prayer in their work, & a complete selflessness. One thing that really stood out for me was that in the home for the dying in India, the first thing patients are asked when they arrive is what religion they are. This way they know to bury them according to their faith. If the patient is too sick to say what religion they are, then they are buried according to Hindu traditions as those are the most widely held beliefs in the area. I appreciate that there is no agenda to convert, only to care.

Before I read this I had no idea where Albania was located (other than somewhere in Europe).

 

And check out how cool their flag is ~