P
Peer
Guest
The absolute “dryness” that Mother Theresa had over her internal faith in God, is diminished by her external faithful works of God. She was amazing!
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B
brockmac
Guest
Mother Teresa’s lack of feeling intimacy with God only increases my admiration for this amazing woman. It also convinces me all the more of her saintliness. She did afterall, ask to share in the Cross. Did not the Lord Himself cry out “Why have you forsaken me?” The fact that she continued to serve God while feeling abandonned by him makes her service that much more remarkable,
I also don’t doubt that her feeling of abandonment may have been, at least in part, from the father of lies. I have read that St. Francis of Assisi, near the end of his life was tormented by demons trying to cause him to doubt his faith as well. Satan does not want to lose anyone and will do whatever he can to sow the seeds of doubt.
That said, in suffering through these doubts and torments, those who are closest to God in this world, also store up graces and penances for the rest of us through there torments and sufferings.
Blessed Teresa was truely a Francis for our age and I feel blessed to have lived while she was alive. I am grateful that God sees fit, from time to time to send people like Frances and Teresa to help us see his light. May she pray for me and for all
of us.
Pax et Bonem.
I also don’t doubt that her feeling of abandonment may have been, at least in part, from the father of lies. I have read that St. Francis of Assisi, near the end of his life was tormented by demons trying to cause him to doubt his faith as well. Satan does not want to lose anyone and will do whatever he can to sow the seeds of doubt.
That said, in suffering through these doubts and torments, those who are closest to God in this world, also store up graces and penances for the rest of us through there torments and sufferings.
Blessed Teresa was truely a Francis for our age and I feel blessed to have lived while she was alive. I am grateful that God sees fit, from time to time to send people like Frances and Teresa to help us see his light. May she pray for me and for all
of us.
Pax et Bonem.
J
jblair
Guest
**What particularly strikes me about Mother Teresa and some other saints is that despite an “emptiness,” she (and they) continued with what they viewed as their “mission.” In addition, such times of emptiness or dryness also cries out of the importance of having a spiritual director.
**
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Mother Teresa felt “emptiness”: Archbishop
Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:47AM EDT
By Bappa Majumdar
KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Mother Teresa experienced “emptiness” like any human, and the revealing letters she shared with her colleagues portrayed her humility, said the Archbishop of Kolkata, where the nun lived most of her life.
A book of letters written by Mother Teresa of Calcutta – now Kolkata – has revealed that she was deeply tormented about her faith and suffered periods of doubt about God.
“Despite facing the negative side of life, she remained steadfast on her way to holiness, such was her greatness,” Reverend Lucas Sircar, who knew her for decades, told Reuters.
Due out on September 4, “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light”, is a collection of letters written to colleagues and superiors over 66 years and complied by an advocate for her sainthood.
In 1956, in one of her letters, she wrote: “Such deep longing for God – and … repulsed – empty – no faith – no love – no zeal.”
Those in Kolkata who were close to the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner said she had overcome “emptiness” and “doubts”, and continued to spread the message of God and love to the poor and ailing until her death in 1997, aged 87.
“Every person at one point in life feels some sort of emptiness, darkness or hollowness, which is the darker side of that person,” Sircar said.
“In spite of all temptations, she overcame them, and it was her humility that she shared her weaker side with others in her letters.”
The ethnic Albanian Roman Catholic nun dedicated her life to serving the sick, poor and dying in India, particularly in Kolkata, headquarters of the global Missionaries of Charity order she founded in 1950.
Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 but not yet been canonized by the Vatican.
The archbishop said saints like Saint Paul of the Cross or Saint Augustine had experienced “similar trials” and “hollowness” in their lives like Mother Teresa.
The Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata declined to comment on the letters or on Mother Teresa’s faith.
Recalling the nun’s last days, her physician Tarun Kumar Praharaj said she told him that she saw God everywhere.
“She would always ask me to help the poor and said she was fine, when she was not, and wanted to help a sick child even from her hospital bed,” Praharaj, a cardiologist, said.
Sunita Kumar, a social activist who knew Mother Teresa for many years, said the nun had tremendous faith in God and that her letters revealed only her “natural self.”
“After all, Mother Teresa was like any other human who in crisis wishes to see God,” Kumar said.
**
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Mother Teresa felt “emptiness”: Archbishop
Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:47AM EDT
By Bappa Majumdar
KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Mother Teresa experienced “emptiness” like any human, and the revealing letters she shared with her colleagues portrayed her humility, said the Archbishop of Kolkata, where the nun lived most of her life.
A book of letters written by Mother Teresa of Calcutta – now Kolkata – has revealed that she was deeply tormented about her faith and suffered periods of doubt about God.
“Despite facing the negative side of life, she remained steadfast on her way to holiness, such was her greatness,” Reverend Lucas Sircar, who knew her for decades, told Reuters.
Due out on September 4, “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light”, is a collection of letters written to colleagues and superiors over 66 years and complied by an advocate for her sainthood.
In 1956, in one of her letters, she wrote: “Such deep longing for God – and … repulsed – empty – no faith – no love – no zeal.”
Those in Kolkata who were close to the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner said she had overcome “emptiness” and “doubts”, and continued to spread the message of God and love to the poor and ailing until her death in 1997, aged 87.
“Every person at one point in life feels some sort of emptiness, darkness or hollowness, which is the darker side of that person,” Sircar said.
“In spite of all temptations, she overcame them, and it was her humility that she shared her weaker side with others in her letters.”
The ethnic Albanian Roman Catholic nun dedicated her life to serving the sick, poor and dying in India, particularly in Kolkata, headquarters of the global Missionaries of Charity order she founded in 1950.
Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 but not yet been canonized by the Vatican.
The archbishop said saints like Saint Paul of the Cross or Saint Augustine had experienced “similar trials” and “hollowness” in their lives like Mother Teresa.
The Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata declined to comment on the letters or on Mother Teresa’s faith.
Recalling the nun’s last days, her physician Tarun Kumar Praharaj said she told him that she saw God everywhere.
“She would always ask me to help the poor and said she was fine, when she was not, and wanted to help a sick child even from her hospital bed,” Praharaj, a cardiologist, said.
Sunita Kumar, a social activist who knew Mother Teresa for many years, said the nun had tremendous faith in God and that her letters revealed only her “natural self.”
“After all, Mother Teresa was like any other human who in crisis wishes to see God,” Kumar said.
G
gus
Guest
I never forget an editorial I read at the death of mother Teresa
As you recall Princess Diana died at about the same time
" Mother Teresa is a landmark on the road to salvation,Princess
Diana is just a tourist"
She will always be a landmark for me along with my sainted father who died that week.
That week started my journey back to the church
As you recall Princess Diana died at about the same time
" Mother Teresa is a landmark on the road to salvation,Princess
Diana is just a tourist"
She will always be a landmark for me along with my sainted father who died that week.
That week started my journey back to the church
C
ChristianVet
Guest
So true, most Catholics would immediately recognize this crisis as a Dark night of the Soul. So many holy, holy saints suffered this “crisis” and maybe Mother Teresa found some consolation in knowing that.She experienced what many great saints did–many extraordinary consolations early on and the dark night thereafter–it is a test of their fidelity–they love God even when they receive nothing in return in this life
I find her holiness to be extraordinary, because like a faithful spouse who remains committed to the marriage even if they do not have their affections returned, Mother Teresa was committed to Jesus.
She truly loved and was in love with Jesus.
I hope she is canonized soon.
B
bcuster
Guest
I work in the mental health field. I also have experienced clinical depression. When I first read the article, I thought, “Here is a saint who understands the suffering of depression.” Mother Teresa did not act on her depression and spiritual darkness. She continued to act on her faith. Now we have a saint for those who suffer from all forms of mental illness!
Mother Teresa, pray for us!
Mother Teresa, pray for us!
S
snowgarden
Guest
Dear Blessed Teresa, To have to call out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” as you cloth Him and feed Him and shelter Him as He comes to you in the street; to want Him so badly that you ask Him to carry His cross and He complies by giving you a cross to bear - your humility born in His silence so that your ego and pride, that might come from celebrity and worldly recognition, are kept in check; to have faith, hope and love, but no knowledge - is knowledge valued above your fidelity to His call?
1 Corinthians 13
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and* can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.* If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. *Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. *
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Yes, you had love, dear Mother Teresa and that love will remain forever as a testament to the God you so longed for.
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1 Corinthians 13
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and* can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.* If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. *Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. *
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Yes, you had love, dear Mother Teresa and that love will remain forever as a testament to the God you so longed for.
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jblair
Guest
**
I found the following post interesting. It is from "The Deacon’s Bench, " August 28, 2007. ** ** “All are called to struggle…with the slums of our hearts” **
But here’s a valuable perspective, from a Protestant, who concludes by suggesting that the saint of the gutters was a more complicated, nuanced and interesting figure:
From a Protestant perspective, it is the latter that makes her an exemplary Christian. Few of us are called to work in the slums of Calcutta; all are called to struggle with the darkness within, with the slums of our hearts.* Personally, I’m looking forward to reading Mother Teresa’s letters myself, and drawing my own conclusions. But from what I’ve seen and read so far, these are provocative and powerful testaments to a singular and astonishing life – and they will be read, studied and prayed over for generations to come.
I found the following post interesting. It is from "The Deacon’s Bench, " August 28, 2007. ** ** “All are called to struggle…with the slums of our hearts” **
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A lot of ink has already been spilled about Mother Teresa, and another flood will pour forth when her book of letters is officially published next week. The commentary has ranged from the Catholic reverential to the atheistic scornful.- In real life, faith is not a matter of achieving a pure heart, and total and constant communion with God: it is an endless struggle. We are constantly besieged by doubts and by selfish impulses. The idea that “good Christians” are pure and holy is a lie that devalues the ordinary experience of the Christian.
From a Protestant perspective, it is the latter that makes her an exemplary Christian. Few of us are called to work in the slums of Calcutta; all are called to struggle with the darkness within, with the slums of our hearts.* Personally, I’m looking forward to reading Mother Teresa’s letters myself, and drawing my own conclusions. But from what I’ve seen and read so far, these are provocative and powerful testaments to a singular and astonishing life – and they will be read, studied and prayed over for generations to come.
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goodcatholicman
Guest
Simply astonishing! How desperate she must have been to feel the Lord’s presence after spending her entire life toiling away inside the pit of humanity. Depite her lack of reward,she continued her work, a work she did at the Lord’s bidding.
This a tremendous testament to a beautiful, devout woman. Every time I see a Christian faced with a task so daunting no one could possibly face it, I remember there is nothing Jesus did not face first, on our behalf. “Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?” She gives hope to the rest of us mediocre Catholics.:bowdown2:
Mother Mary pray for us
This a tremendous testament to a beautiful, devout woman. Every time I see a Christian faced with a task so daunting no one could possibly face it, I remember there is nothing Jesus did not face first, on our behalf. “Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?” She gives hope to the rest of us mediocre Catholics.:bowdown2:
Mother Mary pray for us
C
ChristianVet
Guest
A priest interviewed by Vatican Radio gave a good analysis on Mother Teresa’s “dark night of the soul” experience.
Did any of you happen to catch it on the EWTN newswire?
ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=81688
I hope PBS and the mainstream media will print it or interview him – in all fairness to Mother Teresa.
Did any of you happen to catch it on the EWTN newswire?
ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=81688
I hope PBS and the mainstream media will print it or interview him – in all fairness to Mother Teresa.
J
jblair
Guest
**Thank you for posting this link regarding the interview with Capuchin Father Cantalamessa, who is the preacher to Pope Benedict, about Mother Teresa’s “dark night.” (His interview can also be found at zenit.org/article-20348?l=english.)
What particularly struck me was the clarity of his statement on the “…presence-absence of God: God is present but one does not experience his presence.”
How often I have to remember that, despite my feelings that God is not with me, He is, in fact, present. It is especially challenging when relating to another person who more regularly “experiences his presence.”
**
What particularly struck me was the clarity of his statement on the “…presence-absence of God: God is present but one does not experience his presence.”
How often I have to remember that, despite my feelings that God is not with me, He is, in fact, present. It is especially challenging when relating to another person who more regularly “experiences his presence.”
**
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beckers
Guest
I agree. It amazes me that she knew God existed and even though she could not feel him in her life she continued to do his will and be his vessal of love. What an amazing testament!
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PoliSciProf
Guest
James Martin (SJ), author of My Life with the Saints has published an Op Ed piece in the New York Times on Wednesday, August 29, 2007. It is about the private journals of the Blessed Teresa which are to be published next month. The article is A Saint’s Dark Night. It absolutely worth reading.
I will leave it others to download it or link to it.
I will leave it others to download it or link to it.
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Ruthmary
Guest
Thank you for the heads up. Dear, dear Blessed Teresa may have suffered much, but I am sure her reward in heaven is greater still, and as Fr. Martin says in the last line of his op ed “Her ministry to a doubting modern world may have just begun.”
I have admired her for so many decades, and now I can admire her ever so much more, and she can be even more of a role model. Now I don’t have to feel as though I’m alone in my doubts. And I know I’m not alone, because all over the secular world, people are talking about Mother Teresa’s doubts; on talk shows which usually talk about politics, in blogs all over the Internet, and in our daily papers. The power of her life is impacting millions. Certainly it’s apparent more than ever what a great saint we had living in our midst. There is so much evil in our world, but we also have such wonderful holy people. It’s true what the Bible says, that “where sin abounds, there grace abounds even more.”
God bless us all.
Ruth
J
James_Martin
Guest
Thanks for your kind words about my piece in the New York Times. Had I more space in the Times, I would have also said that Mother Teresa’s example is less one that has to do with the dark night as part of the spiritual journey, and more to do with her amazing fidelity to her original call from God. Until her book is released in a few days, though, the Time magazine story, by David van Biema, one of the best religion writers around, is just excellent: balanced and nuanced, and a good summary of what Blessed Teresa had to go through in her spiritual journey. I urge people to read that first, and then, of course, read the newest Catholic spiritual classic, “Come Be My Light.” It is an astonishing story–rich, subtle, complex, beautiful–and one that is hard to sum up in just a few paragraphs or even pages. Peace to all who read this. James Martin, SJ
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jblair
Guest
Here are some additional references worth reading regarding Mother Teresa.
Chuck Colson, "A Suffering Servant, " Breakpoint Commentaries, 29 August 2007 breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=6988&zbrandid=420&zidType=CH&zid=1758617&zsubscriberId=106217096
Biema, “Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith,” Time, 23 August 2007.
Christopher Hitchens, “Teresa, Bright and Dark,” Newsweek, 29 August 2007.
Douglas LeBlanc, “Mother Teresa’s Interior World,” Get Religion, 24 August 2007.
Dinesh D’Souza, “Mother Teresa’s Dark Night of the Soul,” To The Source, 29 August 2007.
Jason Bruce, “The Crisis of Mother Teresa,” The Point, 28 August 2007.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 990315, “Something Beautiful for God: Mother Teresa.”
BreakPoint Commentary No. 970908, “The Meaning of Greatness: Mourning a Princess and a Saint.”
BreakPoint Commentary No. 970909, “‘The Angel of the Gutters’: Mother Teresa’s Radical Obedience.”
Chuck Colson, "A Suffering Servant, " Breakpoint Commentaries, 29 August 2007 breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=6988&zbrandid=420&zidType=CH&zid=1758617&zsubscriberId=106217096
Biema, “Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith,” Time, 23 August 2007.
Christopher Hitchens, “Teresa, Bright and Dark,” Newsweek, 29 August 2007.
Douglas LeBlanc, “Mother Teresa’s Interior World,” Get Religion, 24 August 2007.
Dinesh D’Souza, “Mother Teresa’s Dark Night of the Soul,” To The Source, 29 August 2007.
Jason Bruce, “The Crisis of Mother Teresa,” The Point, 28 August 2007.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 990315, “Something Beautiful for God: Mother Teresa.”
BreakPoint Commentary No. 970908, “The Meaning of Greatness: Mourning a Princess and a Saint.”
BreakPoint Commentary No. 970909, “‘The Angel of the Gutters’: Mother Teresa’s Radical Obedience.”
K
Kelly
Guest
Here’s the link to Father Martin’s New York Times op-ed piece:
nytimes.com/2007/08/29/opinion/29martin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
nytimes.com/2007/08/29/opinion/29martin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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Kelly
Guest
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tvdxer
Guest
Not really. I heard the clip; they didn’t suggest she was an atheist. They mentioned somebody out there called her an atheist.
“This week she’s been called an atheist, which I don’t think she would take as an insult, and a hypocrite, a human trait, but when you read some of her letters, she seems more like a rejected lover”.
The show continues to speak of Catholic scholars referring the doubts many saints have had regarding God, the darkness and emptiness she felt in her soul throughout her life, and how she denied being a saint.
A perfect report? No. But did it suggest she was an atheist? Not really.
M
MelanieAnne
Guest
I feel so blessed. This summer we received a new priest in our parish from India, one who can speak personally about Mother Teresa. And he has already done so.
In his first homily, he told us how she once asked the Lord what she should do and she received the answer to serve the poor.
How many of us even have the courage to ask the Lord what we should do with our lives, much less fulfill the answer? While we are all wondering about Mother Teresa, shouldn’t we also review that question?
But whatever our personal issues are, I am looking forward with eagerness to the talk that our new priest will be giving in a few weeks time about Mother Teresa & I will be happy to report on it after that day.
In his first homily, he told us how she once asked the Lord what she should do and she received the answer to serve the poor.
How many of us even have the courage to ask the Lord what we should do with our lives, much less fulfill the answer? While we are all wondering about Mother Teresa, shouldn’t we also review that question?
But whatever our personal issues are, I am looking forward with eagerness to the talk that our new priest will be giving in a few weeks time about Mother Teresa & I will be happy to report on it after that day.
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