[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MOTHER TERESA
(Ms. GRANGER asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute.)
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, several years ago a newspaper reporter
assigned to cover Mother Teresa of Calcutta decided to follow her
around for an entire day to see what a day in the life of the Saint of
the Gutters was really like.
After visiting several hospitals and feeding the hungry, the reporter
followed Mother Teresa to a sewer on the outskirts of town. The tiny
woman proceeded to get down on her hands and knees in the middle of the
sewer where she began talking to the destitute people living there. The
reporter standing on the safety of the concrete street above looked
down to Mother Teresa, shook his head and said, I would not do that for
a million dollars. Mother Teresa looked up to the reporter and said,
``I wouldn't either.''
This story captures the essence of a great humanitarian, a woman who
touched lives with her Missionary of Charities and saved souls with her
message of Christ. Politically incorrect and yet morally courageous,
this heroic woman touched the lives of millions with her conviction,
her commitment, and, most important, compassion.
Mr. Speaker, I hope we can all join together in the memory of Mother
Teresa and work to make America a little more like her, a place where
individuals matter, character counts, a place where people love their
neighbors and respect themselves and, most important, a place where
service and sacrifice are not things people do for money but things
people do for free.
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