If Mother Teresa was forsaken by God, what chance do I have? The bombshell out of Calcutta this month is that for five decades Mother Teresa felt abandoned by God. A lifetime of her personal letters have been compiled and published in Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light; it's a rather sad and depressing account, her own account, of a life lived in spiritual emptiness and driven by obedience. " I am told that God loves me—and yet the reality of darkness, emptiness, and coldness is so great that nothing touches my soul."
In 1946, Sister Teresa claimed that she was called upon by Jesus himself to devote her life to the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick. She never heard from him again. I won't go into the whole sordid affair. News of it is everywhere, but of all that is whirring in the world today—wars, famine, political scandal, etc.—it is this news that is most shocking to me. I cannot fathom a faith in a higher power so strong that it could last decades with no feeling of physical or spiritual contact, just a cerebral notion of its legitimacy; to sacrifice one's life based on this memory is beyond my comprehension. Given my capacity for comprehension, I suppose that's not saying much, and yet it is saying everything about this woman. MT wrote late in her life, as international recognition and praise were increasingly being directed toward her, "If I ever become a Saint, I will surely be one of darkness." There are a gazillion interpretations, lessons, and analogies applicable and readily available, custom-made actually, to this revelation. For now anyway, they fall upon my deaf ears.
8 comments:
What a terrific post sir. I think you're letting MT's doubting of her faith bring u down a bit too much.
Yes, it is a bit unnerving to read her words, but at the same time not all that shocking. Some of the most devoted truly good people to their individual faiths doubt God and stuff all the time! As a matter of fact, the Bible itself mentions this constantly, that one should demand more faith, as God is well aware that we as humans would question. I run into passages all the time where it says that we should always pray for God to strengthen our faiths.
Wasn't there a passage somewhere where Jesus said that if humans had enough faith as a mustard seed that we could move mountains? In other words, we're GREAT doubters, and it is only normal.
And Bubbles is too cute, and seemingly unconcerned about her faith.
Bubbles rules!
For me, true meaning of faith is to believe but never stop asking questions. For a being that has free will it is absurd not to have doubts about God. But that doesn't mean that Higer Power doesn't exist. After all, as one said: Faith is believing in things that common sense tells you not to.
Bubbles is a crackup. She reminds me of Jonathan.
Let's remember that MT was human, though I also see shades of Catholicism present - blind devotion to "should" and "must". I sense some confusion there for her - sounds like she was questioning, but not necessarily asking the "right" questions.
don't worry about her!
and thanks for the offer to disrobe
;0)
Hey I was just looking thru your profile... don't you like I'M BREATHLESS?
I think that's one of her very best!
Gledwood: Actually I do not like BREATHLESS. With the exception of VOGUE, I really never cared for the sound of that album, it's a bit too showtune-y for my tastes.
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