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*Rev. Joseph Langford, a close collaborator of the Nobel Prize-winner, is releasing “Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady”, a book that will delve into her spirituality of prayer, and devotion to the mother of Jesus*
Thursday, November 08, 2007
By Martin Barillas
In a press release, Our Sunday Visitor publishers announced that Rev. Joseph Langford, a collaborator with Mother Teresa of Calcutta in her Missionaries of Charity, will release a book that offers revelations about her interior life. Entitled “Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady” , Rev. Langford says that this is an “attempt to describe Mother Teresa Mother Teresa in a few broad strokes by holding up one or another aspect of her life or work without reference to the whole is to fail to grasp who she was."
Critics of the Nobel Prize-winning nun, such as English writer Christopher Hitchens, have questioned the spiritual struggles of the woman who was world-renowned for charitable works in the streets and slums of Calcutta. Some have called her a hypocrite and fraud. Rev. Langford spoke of the “darkness” experienced by the Albanian-born nun saying, “Who, in reality, was Mother Teresa, beyond headlines and magazine covers, beyond the easy clichés of those who observed her from the outside?” Answering the skeptics, Rev. Langford said “While her widely publicized but little understood darkness was indeed a challenge, it never placed her in crisis. Her darkness was a crucible of faith, hope, and love in which Mother Teresa became Saint Teresa.”
Rev. Langford speaks to the failings of many in the media to understand a key element in Mother Teresa’s spirituality – her devotion to the Virgin Mary. Speaking of the founder of an order that sprang from India to embrace outcasts such as those suffering from HIV/AIDS in other parts of the world, Rev. Langford said “It was Our Lady who taught her to see in the darkness, Our Lady who had seen through it first, and at its worst, as her Son struggled for his last breath. It was Our Lady whose faith bolstered and directed Mother Teresa’s faith, and brought her to stand and not waver, despite the darkness, at the cross planted in her own soul.”
Rev. Langford knew Mother Teresa for thirty years and promises in his forthcoming book to describe the “lights and lessons learned from the pages of her life”. His book Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady is intend to set aright any negative depictions of Mother Teresa’s spiritual life and beliefs, and familiarize readers with her special devotion to Mary – revered by millions of Christians as the mother of Jesus.
Rev. Langford currently resides in Tijuana, Baji,California Mexico, where he continues his work within the Missionaries of Charity at the motherhouse located there. He met Mother Teresa three decades ago while studying theology in Rome. He was co-founder of her community of priests. He will soon start a book tour in the United States.
Martin Barillas is a former US diplomat and human rights observer who served in Latin America, Europe, and the US. He is Religion News editor for Spero News and blogs at HispanoBizantino .
Thursday, November 08, 2007
By Martin Barillas
In a press release, Our Sunday Visitor publishers announced that Rev. Joseph Langford, a collaborator with Mother Teresa of Calcutta in her Missionaries of Charity, will release a book that offers revelations about her interior life. Entitled “Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady” , Rev. Langford says that this is an “attempt to describe Mother Teresa Mother Teresa in a few broad strokes by holding up one or another aspect of her life or work without reference to the whole is to fail to grasp who she was."
Critics of the Nobel Prize-winning nun, such as English writer Christopher Hitchens, have questioned the spiritual struggles of the woman who was world-renowned for charitable works in the streets and slums of Calcutta. Some have called her a hypocrite and fraud. Rev. Langford spoke of the “darkness” experienced by the Albanian-born nun saying, “Who, in reality, was Mother Teresa, beyond headlines and magazine covers, beyond the easy clichés of those who observed her from the outside?” Answering the skeptics, Rev. Langford said “While her widely publicized but little understood darkness was indeed a challenge, it never placed her in crisis. Her darkness was a crucible of faith, hope, and love in which Mother Teresa became Saint Teresa.”
Rev. Langford speaks to the failings of many in the media to understand a key element in Mother Teresa’s spirituality – her devotion to the Virgin Mary. Speaking of the founder of an order that sprang from India to embrace outcasts such as those suffering from HIV/AIDS in other parts of the world, Rev. Langford said “It was Our Lady who taught her to see in the darkness, Our Lady who had seen through it first, and at its worst, as her Son struggled for his last breath. It was Our Lady whose faith bolstered and directed Mother Teresa’s faith, and brought her to stand and not waver, despite the darkness, at the cross planted in her own soul.”
Rev. Langford knew Mother Teresa for thirty years and promises in his forthcoming book to describe the “lights and lessons learned from the pages of her life”. His book Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady is intend to set aright any negative depictions of Mother Teresa’s spiritual life and beliefs, and familiarize readers with her special devotion to Mary – revered by millions of Christians as the mother of Jesus.
Rev. Langford currently resides in Tijuana, Baji,California Mexico, where he continues his work within the Missionaries of Charity at the motherhouse located there. He met Mother Teresa three decades ago while studying theology in Rome. He was co-founder of her community of priests. He will soon start a book tour in the United States.
Martin Barillas is a former US diplomat and human rights observer who served in Latin America, Europe, and the US. He is Religion News editor for Spero News and blogs at HispanoBizantino .