Here was an Albanian Catholic girl named Agnes.
She followed news of missionaries helping the poor.
The Loreto Sisters in Dublin helped her: blessed
Her trip to their Calcutta convent, their mission, pure.
‘Teresa ‘ she took, and taught geography to girls.
Then, on a train trip, God called her to leave in order to live
Among the poor. To the slums, her livelihood swirled.
There, Missionaries of Charity, nuns and novices, could give
Care to orphans, lepers, the sick and the dying.
While the Mission’s work grew worldwide, many were trying
To broadcast her work – “wholehearted free service
To the very poorest” in the slums. Endless, selfless.
“It is not enough for us to say,” . . . as we abjure, . . .
“I love God but I do not love my neighbor.”*
June Edvenson 