The blessed arrived in Japan in 1980 and was shocked by the rate of abortions performed each year in the country. Her Missionaries of Charity, today, work and pray especially for the mothers and their children, without forgetting those who have never been born.
Nagoya (AsiaNews) - When Mother Teresa of Calcutta visited Japan in 1980, she "was shocked and concerned about the number of abortions that were preformed in the country. She said very clearly that a nation with that number of abortions could never be a really rich country and asked everyone to pray for things to change". This is the story of a Japanese Missionary of Charity, Sister Alice, who adds: "Our mission is focused on precisely this: to help women carry their pregnancies to full term".Mother Teresa was able to open four houses and a convent in Japan, Sister Alice lives in one at Ama in the prefecture of Aichi. Along with her are religious who come from India, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and of course Japan: all wear, as a rule, the blue and white sari of the Blessed Teresa. Sister Alice carries a tiny twig on her rosary, she says "I need to remember the children's fingers. We pray every day for unborn children and those at risk of being aborted.At any time, here, a little life could be buried. "
Looking at the twig, less than 1 cm long, the religious thought "what kind of life these babies would have had if they had been born. Mother Teresa said, "it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving".
Apart from assistance to mothers, medical care and hospitality in the event of pregnancies unwanted by the family of origin, the religious launched a food program for the homeless with their dioceses. They go to the park where people who have no homes take refuge and they cook them something to eat: "It is also a way to make sure that they know and feel the love of the world."