The Transformation of Mother Teresa

The person therefore feels spiritually unclean and wretched. There is an impression of being rejected and abandoned by God. It appears that the person will never be worthy again and that the lofty blessings already received will never return. One needs little imagination to grasp how extremely painful this is, for the soul vehemently wants God and nothing else. This feeling of the divine rejection is the deepest suffering in the second night. ... Individuals in this second night love God greatly, and they know that they do, but they find no relief in their knowledge. Rather, it causes still deeper suffering, because in loving God so much that they would willingly "give a thousand lives for Him," they cannot be persuaded that God loves them. Prayer, of course, seems impossible, and reassurances from the spiritual director are of little avail, for the sufferers feel that the director simply does not understand what they are going through. ... How long does the second night last? Just as was the case with the first purification, John [of the Cross] does not here assign a quantity of time, not even a usual length. Rather, he observes that the duration will depend on what is needed to render the soul delicate, simple, refined and pure enough that the final transformation can take place. And this will be according to the degree of holiness to which God wishes to raise each person and also according to the amount of purification needed.

That is from Father Thomas Dubay's Fire Within (Ignatius Press, 1989), a study of the spirituality and prayer of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. It is a fascinating and powerful work, especially for those people like myself who, frankly, know far too little about authentic mysticism and the "dark night of the soul." I quote it, of course, because of the recent story in TIME magazine about Mother Teresa and her "secret life" of doubt and spiritual aridity. The lengthy piece, "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith" (August 23, 2007), was written by David Van Biema and opens in this way:

On Dec. 11, 1979, Mother Teresa, the "Saint of the Gutters," went to Oslo. Dressed in her signature blue-bordered sari and shod in sandals despite below-zero temperatures, the former Agnes Bojaxhiu received that ultimate worldly accolade, the Nobel Peace Prize. In her acceptance lecture, Teresa, whose Missionaries of Charity had grown from a one-woman folly in Calcutta in 1948 into a global beacon of self-abnegating care, delivered the kind of message the world had come to expect from her. "It is not enough for us to say, 'I love God, but I do not love my neighbor,'" she said, since in dying on the Cross, God had "[made] himself the hungry one — the naked one — the homeless one." Jesus' hunger, she said, is what "you and I must find" and alleviate. She condemned abortion and bemoaned youthful drug addiction in the West. Finally, she suggested that the upcoming Christmas holiday should remind the world "that radiating joy is real" because Christ is everywhere — "Christ in our hearts, Christ in the poor we meet, Christ in the smile we give and in the smile that we receive."

Yet less than three months earlier, in a letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, that is only now being made public, she wrote with weary familiarity of a different Christ, an absent one. "Jesus has a very special love for you," she assured Van der Peet. "[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand."

The two statements, 11 weeks apart, are extravagantly dissonant. The first is typical of the woman the world thought it knew. The second sounds as though it had wandered in from some 1950s existentialist drama. Together they suggest a startling portrait in self-contradiction — that one of the great human icons of the past 100 years, whose remarkable deeds seemed inextricably connected to her closeness to God and who was routinely observed in silent and seemingly peaceful prayer by her associates as well as the television camera, was living out a very different spiritual reality privately, an arid landscape from which the deity had disappeared.

The TIME article is based, in part, upon a new book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday, 2007), edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk (postulator of the cause of Mother Teresa's canonization) and is described as "consisting primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors over a period of 66 years." Van Biema's piece is hardly perfect and is annoying at times—the description "extravagantly dissonant" may be better applied to some of his prose than to Mother Teresa's remarks. However, it is not a Christopher Hitchens' Hit Piece; on the contrary, it usually approaches the topic, which is a difficult one, with quite a bit of respect and nuance.

Of course, those who aren't overly concerned with respect and nuance will see the story (or the combination of "Mother Teresa" and "crisis of faith") as further confirmation of the supposed emptiness and silliness of belief in God. One letter writer to The Oregonian wrote, apparently with critical intent: "Mother Teresa's belief after decades of her God's 'absence' is the epitome of the definition of faith: belief in something for which there is no proof." Actually, that is fairly accurate; after all, if something could be proven, it wouldn't require faith to believe in it. Which gets to the real point: the skeptic's dismissal anything outside of the realm of scientific proof, itself a form of blatant faith in the scientific method. So what of Mother Teresa's mystical encounter of Christ as a young woman? I'm sure most skeptics dismiss it as some sort of delusion. What of her willful and seemingly despairing grasping at some sign of God's presence during her lengthy dark night? Where the skeptic sees further delusion, the Catholic recognizes the epitome of faith—a choice of will, aided by grace, even in the face of darkness, dryness, and anguish. ZENIT interviewed Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa about this story, and he made several insightful remarks:

Father Cantalamessa explained that the fact that Mother Teresa suffered deeply from her feeling of the absence of God affirms that it was a positive phenomenon. Atheists, he contended, are not afflicted by God's absence but, "for Mother Teresa, this was the most terrible test that she could have experienced."

He further clarified that "it is the presence-absence of God: God is present but one does not experience his presence." ...

Father Cantalamessa affirmed that Mother Teresa's dark night should not scandalize or surprise anyone. The "dark night," he said, "is something well-known in the Christian tradition; maybe new and unheard of in the way Mother Teresa experienced it."

He added: "While 'the dark night of the spirit' of St. John of the Cross is a generally preparatory period for that definitive one called 'unitive,' for Mother Teresa it seems that it was one stable state, from a certain point in her life, when she began this great work of charity, until the end.

"In my view, the fact of this prolongation of the 'night' has meaning for us today. I believe that Mother Teresa is the saint of the media age, because this 'night of the spirit' protected her from being a victim of the media, namely from exalting herself.

"In fact, she used to say that when she received great awards and praise from the media, she did not feel anything because of this interior emptiness."

While some skeptics will undoubtedly seize upon this story with a certain glee or "told you so" attitude (e.g., "Was Mother Teresa an Agnostic?" states the headline for a snippy piece written by "a working-class, atheist queer performer and writer"), some Catholics might be puzzled or even uneasy about it. I suspect that some folks will wonder how anyone like Mother Teresa could have doubts or experience such spiritual darkness. But as Father Dubay shows in great detail, this is neither new or unusual, as the lives and writings of many saints demonstrate. And doubt, in a certain sense, is constantly near the believer and must be dealt with on a regular basis, as Joseph Ratzinger explained in his classic work, Introduction to Christianity (Ignatius Press, 1990, 2004):

If, on the one hand, the believer can perfect his faith only on the ocean of nihilism, temptation, and doubt, if he has been assigned the ocean of uncertainty as the only possible site for his faith, on the other, the unbeliever is not to be understood undialectically as a mere man without faith. Just as we have already recognized that the believer does not live immune to doubt but is always threatened by the plunge into the void, so now we can discern the entangled nature of human destinies and say that the nonbeliever does not lead a sealed-off, self-sufficient life, either. However vigorously he may assert that he is a pure positivist, who has long left behind him supernatural temptations and weaknesses and now accepts only what is immediately certain, he will never be free of the secret uncertainty about whether positivism really has the last word. Just as the believer is choked by the salt water of doubt constantly washed into his mouth by the ocean of uncertainty, so the nonbeliever is troubled by doubts about his unbelief, about the real totality of the world he has made up his mind to explain as a self-contained whole. He can never be absolutely certain of the autonomy of what he has seen and interpreted as a whole; he remains threatened by the question of whether belief is not after all the reality it claims to be. Just as the believer knows himself to be constantly threatened by unbelief, which he must experience as a continual temptation, so for the unbeliever faith remains a temptation and a threat to his apparently permanently closed world. In short, there is no escape from the dilemma of being a man. Anyone who makes up his mind to evade the uncertainty of belief will have to experience the uncertainty of unbelief, which can never finally eliminate for certain the possibility that belief may after all be the truth. It is not until belief is rejected that its unrejectability becomes evident. ...

In other words, both the believer and the unbeliever share, each in his own way, doubt and belief, if they do not hide from themselves and from the truth of their being. Neither can quite escape either doubt or belief; for the one, faith is present against doubt; for the other, through doubt and in the form of doubt. It is the basic pattern of man’s destiny only to be allowed to find the finality of his existence in this unceasing rivalry between doubt and belief, temptation and certainty. Perhaps in precisely this way doubt, which saves both sides from being shut up in their own worlds, could become the avenue of communication. It prevents both from enjoying complete self-satisfaction; it opens up the believer to the doubter and the doubter to the believer; for one, it is his share in the fate of the nonbeliever; for the other, the form in which belief remains nevertheless a challenge to him. (pp 44ff)

Who really has the more open mind—the believer or the skeptic? And who is more honest about their doubts?

One thing that will hopefully come out in these stories about Mother Teresa is that Saints are not somehow superhuman or beyond us—that is, they also have struggles with doubt—but are made fully human through the purification granted by the holy, consuming fire of God's love. We shouldn't error in thinking that faith is somehow separate from love, but that the most profound faithfulness is a love that flows from a responsive will giving assent to God's beckoning—even in the darkest hours, months, and years.

Comments

[Sandra Miesel]

The 17th C Jesuit saint Alphonso Rodriguez also suffered something like this--spiritual darkness for 40 years that gave no outward sign. Who knows how many other people this happens to? Not all saints get official recognition.

[rd]

It's a testament to Mother Teresa's faith that God would give her such a difficult test. Christians--especially Catholics, who ought to be most familiar with the various forms of prayer--need to regain an understanding of contemplation and mysticism, as well as the simple word, "joy." I suggest starting with a few silent hours alone meditating upon nothing more than Psalms 27 and 22. Fr. Dubay's book is excellent.

[padraighh]

Mother Theresa's story is, of course, just the story of Job retold in the real world.

And so the skeptics now gather about and tell us that God has abandoned her. That she is a great sinner otherwise God would not have left her in such a condition. They encourage us to curse God and die.

In this they show themselves to be the sons of the Lie. God is but a little silent that the thoughts of their hearts might be revealed and their wickedness uncovered.

[clive]

The Secular press goes evewn further: Last week, on the flagship BBC Radio News programme "Today" the anchorman, John Humphrys kept on haranguing his interviewee with this brilliant insight: "She didn't believe; so she was a fraud. She was a fraud because she didn't believe in God". In tones of shrill triumphalisim.

Stupid Journalists: don't you just love 'em!

[padraighh]

Then John Humphrys should pray, please God, send us more sinners like her.

[Jackson]

An MSM trumped-up non-story.

[Brian John Schuettler]

Then John Humphrys should pray, please God, send us more sinners like her.

...or at least force Humphrys to take a crash course in mystical theology. Ignorance is bliss but it also can be quite nasty.

[Brian John Schuettler]

secular triumphalism....I like that.

[Melanie Reed]

Mother Theresa experienced the trust of God as did our Lord on the Cross when he cried "Why Have You Forsaken Me?" This is an honor not a proof that she was a fraud. She knew God or she could not have recognized His absence. God's absence is not always his disapproval, but His knowledge that when He allows you to be tested to see if you will do it well for love, when the Lord has chosen you, you will pass the test....as did Job, as did Jesus, as did Mother Theresa. She did not give up, that is the testament that God was still there. We saw Him in her life, though His hand sheilded her eyes but for a moment in His time.

[M. Jordan Lichens]

On a deeply personal note, this story comes as a comfort for me as I have always found myself struggling with doubt and uncertainty. Such news shows people like me that if the saints struggled with weakness and overcame, then I can certainly do the same.

[LJ]

---"She didn't believe; so she was a fraud. She was a fraud because she didn't believe in God". In tones of shrill triumphalisim.---

I think the citation from Benedict XVI's Introduction to Christianity tells us that those "unbelievers" need to find unbelief in someone like Mother Theresa to vindicate their own unbelief because they have their own doubts. They are just as uncertain in their unbelief as she may have been in her belief.

[Nick Chui]

Apparently, the "nasty" Catholic Church who is always vehemently suspected of covering up all kinds of things chose not to cover up her letters (after all she wanted them burnt not published).....

The MSM should make up their minds really....

[Tony Jordan]

Regarding Mother Teresa, and her dismal lack of the presense of God in her life for 50 years (her secret letters) and the other statement by Rev. Michael Van der Peet, in 1979, quoted in the new book, "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light." That there was 'For me (Teresa) the silence and emptiness so great - that I look and do not see, - Listen and do not hear..' This does not surprise me at all, and I take absolutely no pleasure whatsoever, in saying this, BUT, for someone like Teresa, a devout Catholic, who consecrated her life to the immaculate heart of Mary, and prayed the Rosary, utterly unscriptural, and was known to have held dying Hindu's and Muslim's in her arms, and said to them '...believe in your god...' and obviously could not lead them to JESUS CHRIST for Salvation, it is therefore, no surprise then, that she did not sense the presence of God's in her life for 50 years. WHY? Because, we are not SAVED by good works; but solely by GRACE through FAITH, in Jesus Christ, (Eph. 2: 8-9). Not sacraments either! Very, very sad indeed, but then, The Gospel of Catholicism is another (heteron) gospel, the spirit of Catholicism is another (heteron) spirit, and the Jesus of Catholicism is another (heteron) Jesus.

"But He (JESUS) because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore, He is also able to (do what?) SAVE (to what extent?) TO THE UTTERMOST those who (first go to Mary, NO!) Who come to God (directly) THROUGH HIM, (Why?) since He always lives (to do what?) To make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:24) emphasis added. "For through HIM (The Lord Jesus Christ), we both have access, (By how many spirits?) ONE SPIRIT, (The Holy Spirit) UNTO THE FATHER" (Eph. 2:18) "For there is ONE GOD, and ONE MEDIATOR between (who and where?) God (In Heaven) and men (0n earth) the man CHRIST JESUS" (I Tim. 2:5) emphasis added.

When will Catholics wake up and smell the coffee? Multitudes are going to Hell with their false, erroneous gospel!

[Carl Olson]

When will Catholics wake up and smell the coffee?

Well, Tony, to pick up with this metaphor: Jesus gave the coffee and the proper way of picking, roasting, and brewing it to the Catholic Church. Later in history, others took this orthodox coffee—which is strong, sweet, mysterious, and powerful in flavor and content—and watered it down, as it was either too strong, too sweet, too mysterious, or too powerful for their tastes. These groups do possess some aspects of the true coffee, and they often build impressive coffeehouses in which to drink their watered-down brew, but they still don't possess the fullness of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic coffee. Let him who has taste buds harken unto this java truth!

[LJ]

Which goes to show, Mother Teresa bugged the atheistic MSM, et al, but her life's example really, really bugged the Reformers. I was expecting more of this but I guess I haven't been to the right blogs.

Why have coffee with Luther when you can have the body and blood of Christ with the Apostles?

In all sincerity Tony, read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and find out for yourself if we believe that salvation comes through good works or through the grace of Jesus Christ. Don't take someone else's word for it.

You might also discover along the way that Mother Teresa's experience was not unknown to many who were already very, very close to God. We know this from their own testimony, which I'm sure you would not doubt, because it was a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

"...prayed the Rosary, utterly unscriptural..." You really ought to check out Luke 1:28 and following, particularly 42.

[padraighh]

Tony,

It appears to me that your claim to take no pleasure is a rhetorical device.
It seems to me that you take great pleasure in exhalting yourself and criticizing Mother Theresa.

Moreover, you denigrate the scriptures by claiming to quote from them and then writing your own little cryptic notes into the scriptures as if there were also the Word of God.

[Thomas]

speaking of dark night experience, another book that's useful is The Science of the Cross by Edith Stein, Saint Teresa Benedicta.

There's info at
Teresa Benedict of the Cross Edith Stein (1891-1942)

[Thomas]

speaking of dark night experience, another book that's useful is The Science of the Cross by Edith Stein, Saint Teresa Benedicta.

There's info at
Teresa Benedict of the Cross Edith Stein (1891-1942)

[Dale Price]

Apparently, the good news preached by Mr. Jordan is "Tony Jordan knows how to transliterate biblical Greek!"

And Mr. Jordan, it is evident that you take great delight in this story, seeing as it allows you to (1) denigrate the heroic work of a woman who labored in a modern Gehenna, (2) rebuke Catholics generally, and (3) show off your Koine bona fides.

Actually, it's been a good week for you, hasn't it? You have your reward.

[Dale Price]

It's weird that Hitchens and others are claiming she was some kind of atheist in denial.

"Jesus has a very special love for you" is not part of the vocabulary of an unbeliever.

[Carl Olson]

It's fascinating too see how much "Bible-only" fundamentalists and "science-only" fundamentalists have in common, not the least of which is a palpable hatred of the Catholic Church.

[Don]

You said, "she was known to have held dying Hindu's and Muslim's in her arms, and said to them '...believe in your god...' and obviously could not lead them to JESUS CHRIST for Salvation, it is therefore, no surprise then, that she did not sense the presence of God's in her life for 50 years. WHY?

Please read your quote carefully again--"She was known to have held dying Hindu's and Muslim's in her arms.." Once again..."She was known to have held dying Hindu's and Muslim's in her arms..." You carelessly dismiss her Christ like actions with no mention and instead attack her words, as if nothing else matters. We do not need to feel Christ’s presence to ensure his presence. One does not require the other. To look at Mother Teresa and NOT see God’s presence, regardless if she felt it or what her words or letters revealed—is impossible unless there is a certain level of prejudice in your heart. Christ was with Mother Teresa—period and to make any other accusation shows a clear sign of a person who has a shallow faith or none at all. Or is it wrong of me, after reading YOUR letter, to make such an accusation? Or is there more to you?

As far as being able to lead them to Christ, she didn't need to. He was already holding them both.

[Rick]

Tony Jordan, If ignorance is bliss, you must be one of the most content men on earth. Read more about her background, Mother Theresa probably brought more people to Christ in one month than your or I have in our entire lives.

[Wayne Webster]

I know Tony Jordan who happens to be a loving Christian and naturally apprecates the "good works" Mother Teresa did - we all applaud that and recognise all the "good' she did. Dr. Jordan, who is a theologian, was simply stating what the Catholic Bible teaches - we are not saved by good works. It amazes me how Catholics just cannot see that simple but vital truth. This argument will continue for ages to come but I thank God for my "coffee Bible" - that is the only one I will continue to drink..without apology.

[Carl Olson]

Dr. Jordan, who is a theologian, was simply stating what the Catholic Bible teaches - we are not saved by good works.

Yes, the charity and respect is obvious from Dr. (?!) Jordan's remark: "When will Catholics wake up and smell the coffee? Multitudes are going to Hell with their false, erroneous gospel!" Anyhow, I tend to side with the Catholic Bible on this one:

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder.Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren?

And a bit of theological explanation:

The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2008)

[Tony Jordan]

Thank you Pastor Wayne Webster, my Brother in Christ Jesus! The Catholics, on the other hand, in typical fashion, resort to an Ad Hominem attack on me, rather than deal with the absolute substance of the 'Word of God' which I quoted, but they can do no better, as their utterly spurious 'Traditions' which is the bedrock upon which Catholicism's heretical dogmas are based, are in diametric opposition to, the self-authenticating, absolute, divinely inspired Word of God, the Holy scriptures!

Let us hear from a few of the vast pronounments on Mary, as recorded in treasured books of Catholicism, and see the utter blasphemy of the Eternal Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

"Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary in withheld from them' (The Official Handbook of the Legion of Mary.' (p.13. No.6). As unscriptural as that is, it gets even more blasphemous. "Thou art the Mother of God, and ALL-POWERFULL to save sinners, and with God thou needest no other recommendation, for thou art the Mother of true life." (The Glories of Mary, by St.Alphonus de Liguori, p.155).

You think that is bad, listen to this one! "At the command of Mary, ALL OBEY, EVEN GOD." (Ibid., p.155) emphasis added. "For thy protection is Omnipotent, O Mary,' says Cosmas of Jerusalem, 'Yes, Mary is Omnipotent." (Ibid., p.155). If this is not the most blasphemous thing to say, then I don't know what is; imagine ascribing Omnipotence to Mary. The writings in this book, have 'apotheosized' Mary, literally elevating her to divine status, deification!

Roman Catholicism has mingled and mixed all of these utterly un-scriptural, blasphemous, idolatrous claims regarding Mary, with the absolute 'Truth Claim' of God's Word, the Scriptures, which vehemently and contemptuously, violate God's Word. It is a violent non-sequitur, it does not logically follow from the premise, and is terribly incoherent.

Here is where the "Law of Non-Contradiction" simply cannot be got around, for it will haunt you to the end, and Almighty God knew what He was doing when He created these logical principles, which He allowed Aristotle to discover, and it is a 'thorn' and will continue to be, in the side of eastern dialectic logic, which Catholicism holds on to, in order to justify her BOTH/AND-Jesus/Mary, theology, instead of the absolute 'Truth' claim, that is, EITHER/OR, that, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, is either ALL that the Bible proclaims and declares Him to be, the ONLY SAVIOUR, the ONLY MEDIATOR, the ONLY ADVOCATE, the ONLY HIGH PRIEST, before the Father, because He is Omnipotently, Omnisciently, and Omnipresently God, as the Second Person of the Eternal Godhead, OR HE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT ALL!

The Word of God, emphatically state: "Let us therefore, COME BOLDLY TO THE THRONE OF GRACE, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16) emphasis added. And this we do, those who are 'Saved' 'Justified' solely by Grace, through Faith, Alone in Christ Jesus. This access is through the 'TRINITY' alone, not Mary or any other departed saint, WHY? Because, "For through HIM (Jesus) we both have ACCESS, (By how nany spirits?) ONE SPIRIT (The Holy Spirit) Unto the Father' (Eph. 2:18).

This resolutely, rules OUT any other departed souls, Mary included, from not only being unnecessary, but renders it totally un-scriptural to expect her to hear the prayers of anyone on earth, as Only the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are Omnipotently,Omnipresently, and Omnisciently sufficient; therefore to ascribe such attributes to Mary, which is the only logical way she could function in such a capacity, is tantamount to blasphemy against the Eternal Godhead, and is gross idolatry! Let God be true, but every man a liar!

[Carl Olson]

This resolutely, rules OUT any other departed souls, Mary included, from not only being unnecessary, but renders it totally un-scriptural to expect her to hear the prayers of anyone on earth, as Only the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are Omnipotently,Omnipresently, and Omnisciently sufficient; therefore to ascribe such attributes to Mary, which is the only logical way she could function in such a capacity, is tantamount to blasphemy against the Eternal Godhead, and is gross idolatry! Let God be true, but every man a liar!

Sigh. So if Mary were with us on earth today, I would be able to say, "Mary, would you pray for me?", but now that she is in heaven, with her Son, in glory, she is completely inaccessible and unable to hear those who are on earth. How small is your God, Dr. Jordan? Very small. And, please, no need to throw out another extended Fundamentalist Lecture. I spent the first 20 years of my life hearing them and reading them, so it's not necessary. Carry on.

[Carl Olson]

The Catholics, on the other hand, in typical fashion, resort to an Ad Hominem attack on me

BTW, since Latin is a Catholic language, would you kindly resist using it? ;-)

[Cristina A. Montes]

"Let God be true, but every man a liar!"

EVERY man? Including Tony Jordan? :P

[Dale Price]

Sorry to interrupt the Mutual Admiration Society between Mr. Webster and Mr. Jordan (hint for Carl: check for sockpuppets), but I don't see any appreciation for Teresa's work whatsoever on the part the Grand Master of the Caps Lock. Not a jot, not a tittle.

I also don't see any Catholics arguing for salvation by works. In fact, if Catholicism taught any such thing, then Blessed Teresa wouldn't have been so upset in the first place, would she? If she were so bleeding works righteous, all she would have to do would be to cash her accumulated chips, right?. Huh. Funny how that "works."

I also don't see how talking about Mary has anything to do with Blessed Teresa's spiritual dryness. Except that, as is often the case with those energetically phobic about all things Catholic, the subject of a necessity changes so quickly that a ferret on No-Doz couldn't keep up.

[Cristina A. Montes]

"Here is where the "Law of Non-Contradiction" simply cannot be got around, for it will haunt you to the end, and Almighty God knew what He was doing when He created these logical principles, which He allowed Aristotle to discover"

Um...which book of the Bible did Aristotle write? I thought we're only supposed to believe what the Bible says? :P

[Tony Jordan]

Keep writing Mr. Olson and other Catholics, for the more you do, is the more you expose your utter inability to be scripturally honest and objective. But then, you can do nor better. The only thing Catholicism can rightly lay claim to, is the vast, utterly spurious, totally unbiblical, fabricated, fraudulent, paganistic, so-called 'sacred-traditions' No wonder that Martin Luther called the Vatican a cess-pit of iniquity.

God's Word rightly describes in the proleptic vision given John on Patmos, 'The Mother of Harlots' none other than Roman Catholicism, which DID NOT come into official existence until around 315-325, when Constantine came to the rescue of the persecuted church, and thus gave birth to "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup (the royal external appearence of Catholicism) full of abominations and the filthness of her fornication. MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (Rev. 17: 4-5).

Seeking to equate Roman Catholicism with the 'True Church' the 'Bride of Christ' is like attempting to equate 'The Mafia' the 'Cosa Nostra' with the Salvation Army. I sadly say to you all, as Paul said "But if anyone be ignorant, let him be ignorant." (I Cor 14:38). "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth." (Gal. 4:16). So be it!

[Carl Olson]

The only thing Catholicism can rightly lay claim to, is the vast, utterly spurious, totally unbiblical, fabricated, fraudulent, paganistic, so-called 'sacred-traditions' No wonder that Martin Luther called the Vatican a cess-pit of iniquity.

Hey, I like being insulted by Jack Chick wannabes as much as anybody else, but I think it's time to turn off the Tony Jordan Spigot of Rehashed Anti-Catholic Sewage. After all, I own a lot of Jack Chick comics, and I'd rather read them than this silliness, if only because they have nifty drawings. Time for the Jordan River to come to a halt, at least on this blog. See ya!

[Therese]

I think it is is instrumental to note the confidence with which she says to her spiritual director that "Jesus has a very special love for you." This requires faith in Jesus to say. Personally I think the reason that Mother Teresa wanted her letters destroyed was that she knew that her frustration and pain because she did not have consolations from God would be misconstrued that she did not have faith. She was worried about the effect this would have on others for she did have faith. She knew she was in the dark night. Her letters presupposed the reader understanding that she was describing her pain and sufferings and doubts and not her fundamental loss of faith. It took great faith for her to do the things that she did in her life and to do so in a way that so relied on divine providence. Can you imagine a person who fundamentally lost all faith, saying, "we will not ask for money. God will provide?" Or living the hard life of her sisters? Or stopping to help others who were in the worst spirtual or physical circumstances possible? These are not the works of a woman devoid of faith but a woman fueled with a faith that comes straight from the source and so quickly given out that she never called it her own.

[Dale Price]

But then, you can do nor better.

Fair enough--but try to understand: arguing with a metronome is tough.

Yeah, I know he's gone, but still...

Hey--where'd Pastor Webster go?

[padraighh]

Mr. Jordan,

You should at least know what an ad hominem attack is if you wish to use the terminology.

An ad hominem attack is argument that bases itself on name calling such as

The only thing Catholicism can rightly lay claim to, is the vast, utterly spurious, totally unbiblical, fabricated, fraudulent, paganistic, so-called 'sacred-traditions' No wonder that Martin Luther called the Vatican a cess-pit of iniquity.

On the other hand a legitimate argument may involve pointing out where one's opponent has used unfair tactics such as elevating one's words to be equivalent to God's.

Keep this in mind when trying to make points in your arguments.

[AEF]

Has anyone ever considered whether Mother Theresa may have suffered from clinical depression? Sometimes there is a fine line between a spiritual problem and a psychological one. In any case, it is terribly sad that she did not seem to have peace or joy, two of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, for such a long period of time.

[Brian John Schuettler]

Has anyone ever considered whether Mother Theresa may have suffered from clinical depression? Sometimes there is a fine line between a spiritual problem and a psychological one. In any case, it is terribly sad that she did not seem to have peace or joy, two of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, for such a long period of time.

The fruits of the Holy Spirit are spiritual fruits, not emotional ones. Mother Teresa certainly did have the peace and the joy that only the Lord can give and it is evident in everything she did and everyone she touched for half a century. A clinically depressed person becomes emotionally debilitated and unable to function at certain times. Did Mother Teresa, soon to be Saint Teresa of Calcutta, seem debilitated and unfunctioning to you?

If you want to read about someone who displayed clinical depression, as well as other severe forms of disfunctionality throughout most of his life, I suggest you read some biographies of the founder of the Protestant Revolt against Authority, Martin Luther. You can begin with Richard Marius' Luther:Man between God and death and Heiko Oberman's Luther:Man between God and the devil. A word of caution, some of the vile thoughts and words of Luther against the Church may be offensive to the reader. Just ask Erasmus.

[Carl Olson]

Has anyone ever considered whether Mother Theresa may have suffered from clinical depression?

A fair question, I think, and one that has probably been asked by a lot of people. Here again I highly recommend Father Thomas Dubay's excellent book, Fire Within, which compares traits of those suffering mental/emotional problems and those undergoing the dark night of the soul (pp 163ff). It's clear to me, in reading the comparison, that Mother Teresa was not suffering from clinical depression; she didn't appear to suffer any of the key symptoms (I'm saying this, of course, as a layman with no professional experience).

[Sr. Lorraine]

I can't help but think that Mother Teresa must be having a good laugh in heaven over all attempts to psychoanalyze her!
It was a suffering and a trial that she offered in union with the suffering Christ, for the salvation of the world. See Col 1:24, "Make up in your own bodies what is lacking to the suffering of Christ."

[AEF]

Brian John, I'm sure that Mother Theresa experienced peace and joy at times, but my point is that during the "dark night of the soul" which she suffered for so many years, excerpts from her letters attest otherwise:

" There is no God in me- when the pain of longing is so great- I just long and long for God... The torure and pain I can't explain."

Does it really matter whether you call her lack of peace emotional or spiritual? It is hardly the peace that passes all understanding.

As I said, it saddens me that a good and faithful servant of the Lord would undergo this kind of pain for such a long period of time.

[Carl Olson]

As I said, it saddens me that a good and faithful servant of the Lord would undergo this kind of pain for such a long period of time.

Twas apparently the same sort of pain experienced by many mystics and saints. Again, check out Father Dubay's book; it describes and explains all of this incredibly well, especially for those, like myself, who are "in the dark" (ha!) about such things. BTW, speaking of pain and peace, was Jesus in great pain in the garden and on the Cross. Was he then also lacking peace? Worth contemplating, I think.

[Cristina A. Montes]

Tony Jordan blames Mother Teresa's "dark night" on what he calls her "unbiblical" way of praying. I have a question: can it be categorically said that no Bible-only Christian EVER experiences "dark nights" or spiritual dryness?

[C. Walker]

When I heard and read some of the criticism of Mother Teresa's letters I was appalled by the lack of understanding of what it means to be a caregiver, especially to people who are ill with probably no chance of recovery. Even with the greatest love in the world, one often moves forward on empty and in a mirky darkness. Even Our Dear Lord cried out from the Cross "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" When you are a caregiver for a chronically ill person you are often at that point. Mother Teresa was a caregiver to hundreds: men, women, children and all ages between and hoped to give them all the dignity she would give to Christ. Yet she and they lived in poverty. She did what she could but the job was always immense, beyond her capabilities. Still she kept at it. To me she is the patron saint of caregivers, our role model, an inspiration to hang on to in the darkness of the night knowing that a saint and Our Lord have trod this blind way before us too.

[jean lee]

I'm a protestant in full-time service for the LORD. I read with sadness at some of the 'uncharitable' remarks of 'fellow' protestants. When i read the Times article on 'Mother Teresa' i was struck by her humility and poverty amidst her struggles. Mother Teresa's 'dark night of the soul' experiences..only serve to strengthen and deepen her faith. Her struggles with her doubts pertaining to her calling and her mission.. is a testament to her real faith, which is as honest an pure as the totality of her love for Christ expressed in her offer of herself as a living sacrifice. Soren Kierkegaard once said, "Without risk, there is no faith.. And the greater the risk, the greater the faith.." (sorry, not sure which of Kierkegaard's works this came from )

pax christi
- jean lee

[Carl Olson]

Thanks, Jean Lee, for your thoughtful comments. They are appreciated.

[Wayne Webster]

Where has Wayne Webster gone? I have nothing to hide so I am still serving Jesus with joy. You folks can carry on with your petulant and silly arguments... reminds me of schoolchildren seeing who can make the most noise to get attention.
Now that I know the waste of time a "blog" is, you won't be seeing me wasting my time on this go nowhere
merry-go-around. Some of you are very good with words though and seem to get some kind of a "high" pontificating- hope your life matches your words. God bless you all...over and OUT!

[Carl Olson]

You folks can carry on with your petulant and silly arguments... reminds me of schoolchildren seeing who can make the most noise to get attention.

That must be a reference to Dr. Tony Jordan...