Stanek Sunday quote: “The serene beauty of a holy life…”
Next to the might of God, the serene beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence for good.
~ Evangelist D. L. Moody (1837-1899)
Sep.08, 2013 6:19 am |
Scripture verses |
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Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Mother Teresa? She was a true servant of God and her children. Too bad her death was not as important to the US media as another “holy” person’s, Princess Diana’s.
At the end of her life though, Mother Teresa openly doubted God. What to make of it I don’t know…
Thomas R. I heard on EWTN that Mother Teresa did not doubt God but was transparent about her frustrations and weariness with the poverty, evil, sickness, etc. that was in the world. I may be wrong but I think this was discussed on the “Women of Grace” program with Johnette (her last name starts with a B). Can someone clarify this and correct me if I am wrong about this.
“A Holy Life” what an old-fashioned, rigid, intolerant, bigoted, politically incorrect concept. This is just the puritanical and repressive plot of radical religious nuts to squelch the “sexual freedom”, ”right to privacy”, “sexual revolution”,”reproductive choices”, “freedom of sexual expression” and ”gender equality” of the masses. How dare you post this! (sarcasm)
Prolifer: Mother Teresa’ words – “Where is my faith? Even deep down there is nothing but emptiness and darkness. What do I labor for? If there be no God, there can be no soul. If there be no soul, then Jesus you are not true.”
Examine the last two sentences closely.
BTW- I do not fault Mother Teresa for these words as they represent the existential dilemma of every Christian…
Thomas R., I can’t resist commenting on this, though I don’t remember all the details.
First, at no time during her life did Mother Teresa openly doubt her faith. She never spoke with her doubts except for her confessor. Everyone in fact was totally astonished when a few years ago, her spiritual journal was published (I understand that she had specifically asked that it NOT be published). Her journal revealed with Catholics, following St. John of the Cross, call a true “dark night of the soul.”
What happened in fact, that in her early years as a sister in a teaching order, she had often experienced what we might call “direct contact” with God in prayer – she heard an inner voice, felt great joy, and so on; these are the experiences of a mystic. God commanded her in this way to found the Missionaries of Charity.
Soon after she did so, however, the “contact” with God stopped. In its place, she found she could not experience any joy whatever in prayer, no sense of joy in the Lord. She even began to doubt God’s existence, as in your quote. This actually continued for some 30-40 years of her religious life. When she spoke to her confessor about it (I don’t remember at what point), he said, “God has given this to you as the spiritual part of your work for the poor. You feel abandoned, just as they are.” This made a lot of sense to Mother Teresa, and she was comforted by it. Still, she bore this for a great many years suffering on the inside, while she was always smiling and cheerful on the outside.
According to St. John’s mystical theology, this is how we are purified, by God removing all our sensible “consolations” in a “dark night.” This is actually a stage on the way to union with God. It doesn’t last forever; I think it’s unusual for it to last as long as Mother Teresa’s did.
Those who knew Mother Teresa during the last few months of her life say she had become radiant as never before and they believed that she was very happy and “in contact” with God again. That spiritual journal of hers, btw, is called “Come Be My Light.”
Hope this helps a bit.
The only justifiable thing that could have made Princess Diana’s death in some ways more newsworthy than Mother Teresa’s I think is that Diana was so young, and Mother Teresa had lived a long life.
Thomas, I’m not Catholic but I believe Mother Theresa went through what is commonly referred to as the “dark night of she soul.” Like Lori said, it’s almost a higher step of spiritual development in a way. It’s easy to love God and follow when doing these things brings you direct emotional rewards; it is harder to remain faithful, devoted, and obedient when you don’t feel those rewards. It requires you to believe as a choice instead of as a feeling, just like marriage requires people to love as a choice and not always a feeling.
D’oh! I don’t know how I didn’t see that’s Lori mentioned the phrase “dark night of the soul.” Mentioning the phrase was my only reason for commenting, so now I feel quite silly!
Lori and Alexandra are correct. What Mother Theresa went through is very, very standard for holy men and women to go through. The teaching goes back to at least Thomas Aquinas, and I would argue many places in scripture. The only reason everyone seemed shocked by it is because Mother Theresa was so well known by everyone. Read St Alphonsus or other saints, and you’ll find infinity billion stories just like Mother Theresa’s. Very par for the course.
Thanks Lori, Alexandra and Bobby for pointing me to the correct source and explanation for these words. I am enriched by your collective knowledge.
And as I said, I think that every Christian carries this existential dilemma, call a “cross,” through life anyway…
MemyselfandI: Diana (whom I respect greatly for having stood up to Charlieboy and queen mommy) was admired by the American mainstream media not for being young but for a plethora of other reasons. Mother Teresa got 10 seconds of coverage because our liberal media is represented by a bunch of hypocrites who do not value anything beyond a facade.