Post by joe on Jul 8, 2010 12:21:08 GMT -5
Mother Teresa- An Albanian Iconic Figure
Pjerin Lumaj, Albania Headlines Examiner examiner.com
“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. That's how Mother Teresa chose to describe herself in life.
From Albania to Kosovo to Montenegro to Macedonia to Greece to USA, millions Albanians are now in an uproar about the building owner's refusal to light New York City's tallest skyscraper in blue and white to honor Mother Teresa in August on what would be her 100th birthday.
“If there is one person who unites us, Albanians, is our sister Mother Teresa” said Esad Rezai, the Chairman of the Albanian-American Society Foundation, who in conjunction with the Hon. James Vacca, NYC Council Member, 13th District, made it possible for a street in the Bronx to be named after Mother Teresa.
Mother Teresa was born is Skopje, Macedonia, August 27,1910, in an Albanian family. Her work has been recognized and acclaimed throughout the world. Mother Theresa has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards. (http://www.en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Mother_Theresa)
During a telephone call to Mr. Anthony E. Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, who is causing this controversy, he claimed that he has never heard of Albania and does not even know anything about their history or that Mother Teresa was an Albanian.
Indeed, since the founding of the Church on Pentecost, Albanians have given saints, popes, cardinals, doctors of the church, cleric-scholars and many martyrs to the Catholic Church specifically and civilization in general.
Here is a short synopsis of Albanian history, Mr. Malkin: Historically, the Albanians were pagans who converted to Christianity during the Apostolic Age by St. Paul himself as illustrated in his Letter to the Romans, 15:19; "…from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching the gospel of Christ." Another biblical passage suggesting that the Albanians were among the first to hear and convert to Christianity is found in the Second Letter to Timothy (4:10), in which, St. Paul indicates that his trusted co-worker Titus evangelized in Dalmatia, a district in Illyricum. Documentary evidence also confirms that in A.D. 58 Bishop Apollonius was the overseer of 70 active Christian families in Durres. Not only does all of this support the thesis that Christianity has apostolic foundation in Albania, but it also verifies Durres as one of the oldest Bishoprics in the world.
Further, there were two Bishops of Rome: Pope Gaius also known as St. Caius (283-296), along with Pope Clement XI (1700-1721); Constantine the Great (306-337) - the founder of New Rome, who was also the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity and legalized the once persecuted Christian religion in the Empire with the Edict of Milan (313); The "Father of Biblical Science" Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius (331-420), more commonly known as St. Jerome who translated the inspired Word of God as revealed to the Judea-Christian tradition into the Latin Vulgate Bible; Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, their national hero, who in his courageous struggle for autonomy and faith earned him the title "Champion of Christendom," which was bestowed upon him by Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455), and would also be called, "Athleta Christi" by three of his successors (Calixtus III, Pius II and Paul II).
As far as Mother Teresa being Albania, the following is clear and convincing evidence that she was Albania, Mr. Malkin:
On 25 July 1976, when she visited the Albanian-American church, Our Lady of Good Council in the Bronx, New York (1970), she said the following "…My prayer for you is that you and I and all the people of Albania and whole world become holy...!"
After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December 1979, in Oslo, Norway, Mother Teresa responded to a reporter‘s question about her heritage, saying "…My Albanian people are always in my heart. I pray very much to our Lord that His peace may come to our hearts, in our families and in all the world. I pray for Albania that the Lord may help its leaders to see clearly because if they want to live in peace they should love one another… I think that the Albanian Church is experiencing the Good Friday, but our faith teaches us that on Good Friday, Christ's life doesn't end, but continues on the cross and ends with the resurrection. Our Albanian people should keep in mind this truth...."
And, when Jose Luis Gonzales-Balado and his wife Janet N. Playfoot, as they prepared for their book on Mother Teresa, asked her about her heritage, she responded "I am Albanian by birth. Now I am a citizen of India. I am also a Catholic nun. In my work, I belong to the whole world. But in my heart, I belong to Christ." This is the epitome of a self-defining statement that unequivocally proves who Mother Teresa is ethnically and more important, it signifies what her entire being was all about.
Now, Albanians can proudly and rightfully claim that the most recent blessed of the Catholic Church is of Albanian origin.
History will soon forget your name and your deeds, Mr. Malkin. But I have no doubt that Mother Teresa’s words, deeds, and life have reached the pinnacle of nobility, and will forever live in history.
Pjerin Lumaj, Albania Headlines Examiner examiner.com
“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. That's how Mother Teresa chose to describe herself in life.
From Albania to Kosovo to Montenegro to Macedonia to Greece to USA, millions Albanians are now in an uproar about the building owner's refusal to light New York City's tallest skyscraper in blue and white to honor Mother Teresa in August on what would be her 100th birthday.
“If there is one person who unites us, Albanians, is our sister Mother Teresa” said Esad Rezai, the Chairman of the Albanian-American Society Foundation, who in conjunction with the Hon. James Vacca, NYC Council Member, 13th District, made it possible for a street in the Bronx to be named after Mother Teresa.
Mother Teresa was born is Skopje, Macedonia, August 27,1910, in an Albanian family. Her work has been recognized and acclaimed throughout the world. Mother Theresa has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards. (http://www.en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Mother_Theresa)
During a telephone call to Mr. Anthony E. Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, who is causing this controversy, he claimed that he has never heard of Albania and does not even know anything about their history or that Mother Teresa was an Albanian.
Indeed, since the founding of the Church on Pentecost, Albanians have given saints, popes, cardinals, doctors of the church, cleric-scholars and many martyrs to the Catholic Church specifically and civilization in general.
Here is a short synopsis of Albanian history, Mr. Malkin: Historically, the Albanians were pagans who converted to Christianity during the Apostolic Age by St. Paul himself as illustrated in his Letter to the Romans, 15:19; "…from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching the gospel of Christ." Another biblical passage suggesting that the Albanians were among the first to hear and convert to Christianity is found in the Second Letter to Timothy (4:10), in which, St. Paul indicates that his trusted co-worker Titus evangelized in Dalmatia, a district in Illyricum. Documentary evidence also confirms that in A.D. 58 Bishop Apollonius was the overseer of 70 active Christian families in Durres. Not only does all of this support the thesis that Christianity has apostolic foundation in Albania, but it also verifies Durres as one of the oldest Bishoprics in the world.
Further, there were two Bishops of Rome: Pope Gaius also known as St. Caius (283-296), along with Pope Clement XI (1700-1721); Constantine the Great (306-337) - the founder of New Rome, who was also the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity and legalized the once persecuted Christian religion in the Empire with the Edict of Milan (313); The "Father of Biblical Science" Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius (331-420), more commonly known as St. Jerome who translated the inspired Word of God as revealed to the Judea-Christian tradition into the Latin Vulgate Bible; Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, their national hero, who in his courageous struggle for autonomy and faith earned him the title "Champion of Christendom," which was bestowed upon him by Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455), and would also be called, "Athleta Christi" by three of his successors (Calixtus III, Pius II and Paul II).
As far as Mother Teresa being Albania, the following is clear and convincing evidence that she was Albania, Mr. Malkin:
On 25 July 1976, when she visited the Albanian-American church, Our Lady of Good Council in the Bronx, New York (1970), she said the following "…My prayer for you is that you and I and all the people of Albania and whole world become holy...!"
After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December 1979, in Oslo, Norway, Mother Teresa responded to a reporter‘s question about her heritage, saying "…My Albanian people are always in my heart. I pray very much to our Lord that His peace may come to our hearts, in our families and in all the world. I pray for Albania that the Lord may help its leaders to see clearly because if they want to live in peace they should love one another… I think that the Albanian Church is experiencing the Good Friday, but our faith teaches us that on Good Friday, Christ's life doesn't end, but continues on the cross and ends with the resurrection. Our Albanian people should keep in mind this truth...."
And, when Jose Luis Gonzales-Balado and his wife Janet N. Playfoot, as they prepared for their book on Mother Teresa, asked her about her heritage, she responded "I am Albanian by birth. Now I am a citizen of India. I am also a Catholic nun. In my work, I belong to the whole world. But in my heart, I belong to Christ." This is the epitome of a self-defining statement that unequivocally proves who Mother Teresa is ethnically and more important, it signifies what her entire being was all about.
Now, Albanians can proudly and rightfully claim that the most recent blessed of the Catholic Church is of Albanian origin.
History will soon forget your name and your deeds, Mr. Malkin. But I have no doubt that Mother Teresa’s words, deeds, and life have reached the pinnacle of nobility, and will forever live in history.