Mother Teresa's
"Performance Review"

It was my last day after a summer in Calcutta and Mother Teresa was about to give me my performance review. The toughest feedback I would ever receive. Months later, I told Jack Welch that he could be pretty tough, but not compared to Mother Teresa. I had lost 40 pounds in my time with her. But don’t worry, I’m living proof that you can get it all back!

“Jim,” Mother Teresa said – with eyes that seemed to both embrace you and pierce straight to the depths of your soul, “you must feel pretty good about yourself. You came to Calcutta and you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, you left everything behind to be a servant… and now you’re ready to go home.”

“Jim, you need to grow where you are planted. The poverty in the West is so much greater than what you experienced here. In New York City, a young person can take the D train down to Manhattan from the Bronx and see luxury he has no way to access. Here in Calcutta, you did not experience any of the psychological poverty so prevalent in the West."

This loneliness she described is a spiritual poverty. And it pervades our culture. Our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, even churches. She definitely hit the nail on the head. She challenged me and all others who came to work there: Be open to what God sends you. Don’t confuse some other saint’s mission with what God’s really calling you to do. What is that?

She would say it over and over again: “Do small things with great love.” But more than saying it, she demonstrated it. The world seems to scream at us: Don’t tell me, show me. Don’t tell me to be patient, loving, forgiving, generous. Show me patience, love, forgiveness, generosity. That’s what Mother Teresa did. She daily demonstrated small actions with great love. She would hold a child in her arms. To Mother, that small child was the only person in the world at that moment. She was more present than anyone I’ve ever witnessed.

It was the summer of 1978, the year before Mother Teresa won the Nobel Prize and she was very accessible at that time. I quit my job working for General Electric on Jack Welch’s team and traveled to Calcutta because a friend of mine had spent a year in Calcutta and she came back so dramatically changed that I thought - I’d really like to understand what happened – what made that change in her outlook on the world.

When I applied to visit Mother Teresa in Calcutta, the response said, “You can come, but you have to live just like the missionaries do.” So I lived with the Brothers of the Missionaries of Charity, a few blocks from the Missionaries of Charity mother house. We started each day in the chapel at 5 o’clock in the morning. The rules were that you had to eat no better than the poorest person you served that day. Then you’d serve in the July Calcutta heat. Feed the hungry, comfort the dying, clothe the naked. Care for the orphans. By midday, you’d be sweating profusely as you crawled back into the chapel for prayer.

One thing you learn when you spend some time with Mother Teresa is that it’s all very simple. She did not have long epistles or put a lot of flowers into her speech or writing. Her very simple prayer is the Saint Francis prayer. She’d say “Make me a channel of your peace.”

Mother Teresa, in my experience, had absolutely no ego. It was like watching somebody just make themselves open to what came to them and then delivering.

Pretty simple theology to follow!

They live their mission. And the conversation I had with Jack Welch when I got back to GE: “I just met a woman who operates in 116 countries with 6 administrative staff - and their effectiveness at serving their mission of serving the poorest of the poor actually exceeds what we’re able to do at General Electric. So maybe it’s the numerous levels of management!”

After that time in Calcutta, I was blessed to be among an exceptional group of peers working with Jack Welch, CEO of GE. Jack’s guidance and direction was exemplary. We learned a great deal from him in terms of how to run a for-profit enterprise. At the same time, Mother Teresa’s simplicity of direction and commitment to the mission exceeded even his.

I think Mother spent so much time in prayer and encouraged others to spend so much time in prayer because of her belief: Let God flow through you. Don’t confuse what you think your mission is with being able to uncover the will of God. One day, I was working at the orphanage across from the Calcutta airport. When I got there, I overheard a conversation with Mother Teresa and Sister Angela, who was in charge of the orphanage. The sister explained that a group of children were picking on other children with severe mental disabilities. Mother Teresa, in her way, asked, “What should we do about it?” The sister recommended acquiring another property so those with greater needs could have their own place. She described a place up the road that was abandoned and for sale, but listed for $250,000. Mother Teresa’s instant answer: “Let’s go in the chapel and pray about what we should do. Jim – you take care of the kids.” In the first hour, I saw the exact behavior they were describing!

In the middle of this, a young man dressed in a suit comes to the chicken wire fence serving as the orphanage gate and asks to see Mother Teresa. I told him he might have to come back another day because Mother was not available. The young man said, “I’m here from the Kennedy Foundation and I’m here to present Mother Teresa with a prize.” I took a chance and sent one of the kids to get Mother from the chapel. She came out. It’s 100 degrees. Humidity is close to 100%. The young man, sweating profusely, turns to her and explains, “Mother Teresa, I’m here from the Kennedy Foundation and you won an award for $250,000. I have a check for you.” Miracle of the day, that day. Mother calmly reaches through the fence, takes the gentleman’s check, thanks him, brings it to Sister Angela and says, “Sister, go purchase the property.”

I saw a miracle every single day while I was in Calcutta. That was a more visible one. Mother tried to just suggest: Be open to what the Lord wants done. Her vision was just towards God and God’s will. Whatever you want done, God, I’m in. Make me a channel of your peace.

At one point, Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” I don’t think I understood that until the end of that summer. Whether you solve the poverty issue or not is not the point. It’s not about the person being served. It’s about the servant. How are you responding? Whether or not you save a person in the Home for the Dying or you extend a tuition opportunity for somebody to study… whether that person completes the studies or not is not as important as “What did you do when called upon?”

Mother Teresa’s performance review was almost 50 years ago. I can still see those eyes and feel that indescribable love to this day.

Loneliness is the poverty of the West. Go find your own Calcutta!

~ Jim O’Keefe

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