Mother Teresa: Her Own Dark Night
A few days ago, a close friend of mine sent me an article about the soon to be published letters of Mother Teresa which reveal the years of doubt and even crisis of faith she experienced outside of the public eye. Made up of letters to her confessors and superiors over a period of 66 years, the bulk of the material will be published as “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light” by Brian Kolodiejchuk in early September.
While some might suggest that the author seeks to discredit Mother Teresa, Father Kolodiejchuk is, in fact, a senior Missionaries of Charity member. Further, as her postulator, he is responsible for petitioning for her sainthood, including the collection of materials such as these letters. While she requested that most of these letters be destroyed upon her death, the Roman Catholic Church overruled her, something I am still uncertain about my stance on.
However, I find the excerpts I have read to be moving, humbling and affirming. Mother Teresa was a woman of God from which we will continue to learn a great deal from for centuries to come. However, she was also human, prone to the doubts and failures that all of us face. All kinds of speculation can be made as to the cause and the quality of her doubt (and thus her faith), but ultimately she lived as faithfully to her vocation of loving God and others as she knew how.
More than ever, her humility, perseverance and love in the face of such crippling uncertainty teaches us what is possible in our own lives. It destorys the excuses and rationalizations that we use to excuse our own faithfulness, claiming “I’m no Mother Teresa, after all”. Unlike the saints of the past, where hagiography often paints a sweeter picture than was actual, she lived in an age where ones darkest secrets can be known to the world over in a matter of seconds. In the end, I think this only deepens my respect and love for this simple nun.
This is one book I am likely to buy on release day.
