There have been so many wonderful articles published in the last two weeks about Mother Teresa because of the release of a new volume of her writings that reveal decades of agony.
The Washington Post piece, "The Torment of Teresa," was one of the most poignant for me. To read the entire article by Michael Gerson, click here. I love the following excerpt, in general:
Eventually, on the evidence of the letters, Mother Teresa made peace with her darkness, identifying her own anguish with the suffering of her Savior and the suffering of the poor. "Now it does not really seem so hard," she eventually concluded. But she never regained the subjective religious experiences of her youth. "If ever I become a saint," she said, "I will surely be one of 'darkness.' "There are lessons in this complicated spiritual life -- that holiness has more to do with obedience than spiritual feelings; that faith can coexist with suffering and doubt; that sainthood can be harsher and more difficult than we imagine.
But Mother Teresa's sense of abandonment raises a deeper issue. Assuming, for a moment, that she was not self-deluded in her calling, what kind of God would set such a difficult path -- ministering to lepers and outcasts for a lifetime -- and then withdraw his presence? Mother Teresa herself seemed to struggle with this unfairness: "What are you doing My God to one so small?"
There is no easy answer here, but the question is central to the Christian faith. Other noble religious traditions promise serenity, detachment from striving and release from the suffering of the world. Christianity, in contrast, teaches that grace is found in the worst of that suffering, and through a figure who despairs of God's presence in his parting words. This anguish is not convenient -- "Why hast Thou forsaken me?" is hardly the best religious marketing slogan. But for millennia this abandonment has offered hope that God might somehow be present even in shame, loneliness and betrayal, even on the descending path of depression, even in the soul's hardness and doubt, even in the silence of God himself -- and that all these things may be the preface to glory.
Through her pain-filled letters, Mother Teresa offers this assurance: Even when all we have to offer is ashes, and all we feel is emptiness, something beautiful may come of it in the end. But her decades of lonely sorrow are not an easy source of comfort. And Graham Greene might have been speaking of this abandoned mystic when he wrote: "You can't conceive, my child, nor can I or anyone the . . . appalling . . . strangeness of the mercy of God."
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Don't get me started on James Dobson.
Besides his odious political views expressed on behalf of even more odious candidates, he has BRAGGED about abusing his dachshund -- which he called a logical extension of the severe corporal punishment he advocates in Strong-Willed Child.
http://www.geocities.com/cddugan/DobsonsDog.html
Do note that as I write this, I have my adorable mini doxie Schumi curled up on my lap ...
I have been suffering with chronic severe depression for 17 years now and when I think of all the things that set me into a relapse is nothing compared what poor Mother T. had to experience all those years taking care of the suffering, poor and dying. I truly believe Mother T. is a saint, she never got there with out having to suffer. She is a human being just like us first, she come to be a saint after all the suffering she had to endure.
Just life in our every day world is enough to make anyone depressed but when you live the way she chose surrounded around death and suffering 24/7 even a saint could not escape.
I would only pray we could have more examples like Mother T to follow
in this judgemental world our ownselves..this would be a much better "world" for everyone saint or no saint!!
Re - Babs | September 10, 2007 7:18 PM
Why did Mother Theresa want her personal journals destroyed? Was she concerned that they would be misunderstood?
** Mother Teresa was one of the few in this world that could hold a candle to Yeshuah. It was her humbleness and lack of egocentricity,that led her to feel that Way. She suffered with what I like to call "Job Syndrome", the false belief of guilt, because of your shortcomings and inadequacies in your Life.
Surely if she thought that they would be a comfort to many, she wouldn't have thought that way.
** I believe that thought never entered her mind. A lot of us believe that we are alone in our suffering. In therapy that's called denial..."The Truth shall set you free" (of course the Truth can also get you abused, tortured and crucified !)
Is it common for other Christians to feel that doubt is somehow wrong, and not a step toward greater faith?
** Blind faith is no faith to me ! In America, we are called Cafeteria Christians, we pick and choose what want to believe
And let me throw this in for Larry, you don't need to know any more about Dobson's book, than the title. I am one of those "Strong Willed" children ... and my mother! ... and my children! ... We will kick your ass with the Truth, in a heartbeat ... but we will also Love you with all our heart ! "You can do all things in God, who strengthens you"
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum
Looks like a lot of folks read the posts. Or the Spirit of our God really does have everything well in hand.[thats the one I choose]. To bad the time sequencing doesn't jive with what is posted [chronologically} i suppose dealing with the agendas of the bean counters will continue until there are no more beans to count? How soon will that be? Anyway, the compassion for St. Theresa is good for folks, to actually being identified with such grace thru mutual suffering is edifying and encouraging. bless all of you who write and respond thru the Spirit of God. You will know they are my disciples for their love of one another
snooky 325
I am guilty of not reading about Mother Theresa's diary when it was first exposed on AOL NEWS, and had to hear it from a fellow bipolar sufferer friend of mine. It was startling news - this "saint" did NOT feel the experience of the Love of God! She was clinically depressed for much of her ministrations to the poor and leperous of India, but went about serving them as if the Angels of the Lord were on her shoulders...what an amazing woman, if not saint.
I have "blissful" experiences with God when I am in manic episodes - the adoration, the closeness, the ability to think with God's mind, the "seeing" of small, insignificant things as being beatiful and presented by God - ALWAYS pass once I am hospitalized and medicated back to normalcy.
I can imagine WHAT Mother Theresa was looking for in her relationship to the Spirit of God...a benediction that she was truly working in the Lord's Field, doing what she could to help the poorest of the poor. But NOT to FEEL the Spirit must have left her devastated...
That is NOT to say that she is NOT a "saint." She did what she truly believed was God's work on Earth. May she rest quietly with the Father and commune with Him as never before. RIP
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.