There is something to be said about beauty.

There is a certain fascination when one is beautiful that will never make the person forgotten. Lady Diana, whose 10th anniversary of her death was celebrated recently was a stunning woman, a solicitous princess whose name became a household one not because of her penchant for wearing beautiful garments, but for the good deeds she performed towards the meek, the poor and the ill.

Contrary to Lady Diana, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a small nun of no physical beauty. Her face was always with a crestfallen expression due to the suffering of others.

She was far from beautiful yet this woman whose death is linked to Lady Diana because they died within days of each other was a heroine among those afflicted with every form of suffering.

Too bad that because of Mother Teresa’s lack of beauty, Lady Diana by far surpassed her on the “memory books” so much so that I became quite cross when I heard little or less about the 10th anniversary of Mother Theresa’s death.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta did not have drop dead gorgeous looks, she had no claim to fame among the jet-set society yet her recognition among people dying of hunger is what being a real Catholic is all about. Let us remember her for the good deeds she did towards the vulnerable although she was not beautiful.

Valerie Borg

VALLETTA