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.
I thought the “First Things” article that came out shortly after Kolodiejchuk first relased this material in 2002 was a really good presentation of Mother Teresa’s experience — especially helpful to explain the context for people who maybe don’t know much about mystical theology and the what the term “dark night” actually means.
I’ve been using one quote from that article at speaking engagements since, but I think having the same access to her words about her own inner life that we have for, say, Therese of Lisieux, is going to be fascinating — and it surely will contribute greatly to the sense of her faith and life as truly heroic. Like you, I am likely to buy the whole book very soon.
The article is here
http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=486
Beth
http://untiltranslucent.blogspot.com
Thanks Beth. For future reference, if you use the “Other” option when leaving a comment, you can leave your website hyper-texted in your name.
Peace,
Jamie
Wesley had much the same time of it, as his private (rather than public) journals attest. Indeed I think most of the greats of the faith did. Patrick seems to show it in his Confessions, and the desert monastics go on and on about the dangers of acedia (spiritual depression) as being one of the chief issues a monk will face.
Hagiographies ancient and modern, however, want us to believe in heroes and see them as models. Only when I stumble or lose heart or wonder where God is right now and why he’s put me into a hole the lessons of the saints don’t reach to me. It’s the folks who continue to act, continue to step out of the boat, continue to reach for God, not because of an overpowering awareness of God but because of a ruthless faith, that become models and heroes to me. She didn’t see God, but she saw God in others, and she needed them and they needed her, with the Spirit doing a mighty work in and through her.
The model of Philippians 2 really.
Patrick,
Well said. Thanks.
Peace,
Jamie
Hey Jamie – I’m down in Denver visiting friends… came across this article on the subject in The Denver Post this morning.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_6720336
Mike Todd
Hey Mike,
Thanks for the link. The book looks promising.
Peace,
Jamie
I’m even more convinced that those who pour themselves out in love for the weak, are those whose internal sufferings and awareness of weakness are most intense.
Wounded Healers. I’m buying this book too.
Very true gracie. Thanks!
Peace,
Jamie