Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXVII No. 13, October 16-31, 2017
The story of ‘God’s Donkey’
- Srinivas Chari
‘From Brisbane to Chennai, A life devoted to those most in need’, was the headline underwhich The Australian (an Australia newspaper) featured Sister Mary Theodore in its issue on the last day of 2012. Last December 6th marked the 90th birth anniversary of Sister Mary Theodore. Her ‘baby’ and legacy, MITHRA (Madras Institute to Habilitate Retarded Afflicted), accessible from Kilpauk Garden Road, Shenoy Nagar and Anna Nagar East, is into its 40th year.
The life stories of the much-feted Sister Mary Theodore (Australia’s and South India’s Mother Teresa) and Mithra are intertwined with those of children whose real and perceived disabilities were, and even today sometimes are seen as a curse.
Endowed with a magnetic personality, Sister Mary was equally humorous and modest. “I am learning to be still and listen, to thank God for all he gives and who knows he has a ‘willing donkey’ ready to try anything for the love of him,” she would say.
Born May Therese Asmar to Lebanese-American parents in Australia, she had seven siblings, grew up among a loving family and even as a pre-teen aspired to be a missionary and go to China. She left home in 1948 after her secondary education to become a nun. As fate ordained, she landed in Bombay in April 1951. Then journeyed to Mylapore where she worked with students in the St Raphael School and Stella Maris College before moving to Cochin in 1954 to supervise novitiates. Onward to Coimbatore in 1956 where she taught and served in three schools and a hospital and returned to Madras in 1968 to assist the Archbishop.
All her assignments were preparing Sr Mary for the birthing of Mithra in March 1977. In 1974-75 she toured Europe, the UK, Ireland, the USA, the Philippines and Australia on a study of homes caring for and rehabilitating children with physical and mental abnormalities. The visit was her first one 24 years after her arrival in India.
During those days an inspired Sister’s words were: “When I think of my home and the fun and the colour and everything that was there, the existing places didn’t inspire me one bit and, I told myself, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you start one! I would have a bright place and it’s going to be nice for children, a place where they can live, laugh and work in. And that’s how MITHRA started.”
If getting Mithra off its feet was a challenge, serving the needy and then accommodating ever-new admissions was yet another battle for Sister Theodore and Mithra. At first, Mithra’s accountant’s Muni’s routine was asking Sister if she had money for rice and oil for the next day to which Sister would say “tomorrow is a long way off” and resort to prayer which would be answered in the nick of time and so Muni’s routine changed from asking for money to asking Sister to pray.
In 1972, years after leaving Australia for India, Sister wrote to her family which is a poignant pointer to her life: “I had the painful duty of choosing between you, a dearly loved family and a God more dearly loved, and you know, or maybe you do not know, how much that choice cost me. Throughout my life I am continually called upon to make that same choice. My beloved God has given me much more than I deserve, but he has also asked of me much that I have freely given.”
To stay connected with the story of Sister Mary Theodore and Mithra, read the colourful and illustrated book God’s Donkey available at the MITHRA campus or visit Mithra.org.in.
(This article was inspired by the book God’s Donkey by Peter Gale of the University of South Australia.)
