St. Mother Teresa

[Struggling1]

Hello everyone. I have a few questions about S.MT! Is it true she never had a moment of gods revelation to her and she lived her whole life not feeling gods presence? This confuses me as clearly she was someone who I imagine would be close to god? A lot of my atheistic friends talk about her as if she did horrible acts of misuse of money and patients? It scares me as an atheist trying to believe. I’m praying so hard the past few days and even praying the emergency novena recommended by her and I’m worried that I won’t have my faith restored and will never experience gods love or forgiveness. Help!

 

[Struggling1]

I am amazed at how much she believed in faith alone if that’s the case but I’m confused why she would advocate the emergency novena and claim it worked if she didn’t feel gods presence? Thank you all for reading and I really appreciate any time spent helping correct my understanding!

 

[NuclearReceptor]

The very fact that you care enough to pray or ask questions is proof that God intends to love and forgive you. Every prayer is initiated by God Himself, so that means He is thinking of you and has not forgotten you.

Many saints have been maligned…even by fellow Catholics! As for alleged claims of maltreatment, sure, they could not receive medical treatment that wealthy people are able to receive, but they did receive individual, personal love and care even if there were periods of no running hot water.

We do not deny suffering exists. But we cannot get rid of suffering by getting rid of the sufferer (forgot where I read this or who said it).

For those who are spiritually mature like St. Teresa, God allows them to be tested by removing sensible feelings and emotions. Saints call it “dark night of the soul”. Our existence is greater than physical, sensible perception, so God intends to slowly, steadily raise the soul above it. That’s the explanation I’ve read — seems kind of scary since I’ve never experienced it myself.

 

[Struggling1]

I want you to know how grateful I am for the time you spent responding I will think on this and try to stay strong thank you so much!

 

[Struggling1]

Thank you for the detailed response. Ultimately I need to learn faith and will continue to trust. God bless you!

 

[Kts1816]

Impressive answer!
As for the dark night of the soul-grear!
Thank you

 

[RKS89]

St. Mother Teresa’s experience is not a typical one for the vast majority of even devout Catholics. If we pursue the interior life seriously we all will likely have a few dark nights- it’s just a part of the spiritual purgation that has to occur as we grow nearer to God. Think of it like finishing a piece of wood- the more attention we pay to the sanding process (purgation) the better the final project will be once the finish is applied. Or you can liken it to strength training, which involves repeatedly breaking down muscle to encourage growth; not always a pleasant process but the ends are far better than the soreness and time spent training.

Regarding her detractors, many atheists who hate on her do so thanks to Christopher Hitchens and his work. If you aren’t familiar with him he was a bastion of atheism and highly critical of the Church- read some of his work and you’ll see how misguided and probably miserable he was. In my estimation Hitchens may have had good intentions with calling out Mother Teresa, however he do so because he was operating under the wrong assumptions. He made little effort to understand her work and mission in India and so he inaccurately judged it. It wouls be like if you started to remodel your bathroom and a friend came over and saw nothing but bare studs and unfinished plumbing and accused you of ruining your house, without ever taking into account that, when the project is done, you’ll have a bathroom (a better one) once again.