Reading Mother's diary
Those who lament that nothing is sacred nowadays have new ammunition with publication of Mother Teresa's private letters, in which she admits, according to a story in the Chicago Sun-Times (and elsewhere), that she suffered a crisis of faith for much of her adult life. What's shocking is not the fact that she, like many great saints, suffered the "dark night of the soul," but that the writings that she asked to be destroyed after her death weren't.
Since when did the seal of Confession expire with death? This is really outrageous. And someone's probably making a pretty penny on it, too.
As for Mother Teresa, who can doubt her sanctity now? Despite getting almost no consolation in prayer, she soldiered on, practicing faith even when she didn't "feel" it anymore.
Agnostic my foot. She was the real deal, and her example points out the difference between faith and certainty.
Does anyone out there find her less inspiring now?
posted by CtotheL @ 3:07 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I rarely agree with you, but this time I think you are right on the mark. If Mother Teresa requested that these letters be destroyed, then that is what should have been done. I am sure that many who read them will find Mother more inspiring, not less, but that is not the point. Her life, lived in Christ, is her legacy--Thank God for her.
Eternal rest grant her, O Lord. Let perpetual light shine upon her. RIP, Mother Teresa.
Anyone who wants to use Mother Teresa's personal letters as ammunition against her is, and I will state this as eloquently as possible, an idiot, furthering the unrealistic philosophy of perfection instead of embracing her humanity. Look what happens when we revere those who purport themselves to be paragons of spirituality. It seems that more often than not, those people come crashing down off their pedestals.
It makes me hopeful that someone like her can have the doubts that she had; maybe I am not a lost cause after all. I certainly wasn't helping AIDS victims or orphans in the streets of Calcutta, but having worked with a variety of populations, needy in some way, I can honestly say that there were days, weeks, months, & years when the questions why God lets people suffer and why God lets parents abuse their children didn't leave my mind and still linger although I have been out of that line of work for a few years. I gave up, but Mother Teresa did not, and, although I try not to speak on God's behalf too much, I bet he appreciates it.
Post a Comment
<< Home