Mother Teresa had crises of faith, too. If you haven't heard anything about it, please read:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070830/cm_csm/eteresa_1
In her letters to confessors and superiors, recently published, Mother Teresa's soul is laid bare as she admits to profound moments of isolation and abandonment from God and even doubt in heaven or the Creator himself. In fact, she struggled with these feelings for 50 years while she continued to minister to the poorest of Calcutta.
I think this is so interesting for so many reasons. As this story is published, stories of other saints and good people having profound moments of doubt surface. Doubt might be more normal than we think. I also think that feelings come in pairs. What does "happy" mean if there's not a "sad" to give it context? Profound spirituality and communion with God and profound isolation and abandonment might come as a package deal. No one can feel floaty and peaceful and God-filled all the time, just like no one can be jolly and spritely all the time.
For me, this only elevates the status of Mother Teresa. She persevered through moments of doubt and tried to see the good in it. One of her advisers told her that her abandonment gives her greater understanding of Jesus on the cross feeling abandoned. She said in one letter, "If I ever achieve sainthood, I should be known as the Saint of Darkness." (my rough quotes). Given the number of people suffering from religious doubt or other versions of abandonment in their lives, I think our world certainly could use a Saint of Darkness.
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2 comments:
I can't wait to read the book. There was a very interesting chain of comments on this topic on the Commonweal website right after the Time article came out -- some sharing your view (and mine) that this makes her seem so much more real and easier for "normal" people -- who doubt all the time -- to relate to and others viewing it at some sort of betrayal or hypocrisy. Perhaps a future book club read? Also interesting -- the magazine First Things published a story of her "Dark Night" (a rather euphamistic term for 1/2 a lifetime, no?) back in 2003 -- here's the link -- http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=486
I have been following this story via Catholic radio. I am absolutely fascinated by Mother Teresa's spiritual darkness. How could a women so obviously filled with God's love expereince such darkness? I am also surprised by how many other ppl go through this as well. I definitely feel her experience gives hopes to me who has struggled with my faith and continues to struggle with the big questions like the afterlife. I love her persistence to live the word of God-despite the darkness. To me, this is truly a testament to her holiness and makes her an outstanding role model for today.
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