There’s been a lot of publicity about Mother Teresa in the last couple of weeks, based on the publication of some of her correspondence, Mother Teresa: Come be My Light. (I’ve ordered the book from Amazon). Much of the analysis has been half-baked and ignorant.
Here is a good analysis in the Evangelical publication Christianity Today, including extensive quotes from Jame Martin, a Jesuit who wrote a well-received book, My Life with the Saints, and who writes frequently for the Jesuit magazine, America.
Ten years after her death, a new book of Mother Teresa’s personal letters illustrates a profound and private spiritual struggle— much of it unknown to the world that would come to embrace her as a living saint.
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Over time, the Rev. Joseph Neuner, a spiritual adviser, helped Teresa realize her feelings of abandonment only increased her understanding of the people she helped, Kolodiejchuk said. Ultimately, she identified her suffering with that of Jesus, which helped her to accept it.
Catholic saints typically experience a "dark night of the soul" in the words of 16th-century priest St. John of the Cross, Martin said, but never as long as the "whole working life" Teresa experienced.
"She moves into the ranks of the greatest saints," Martin said. "There are very few who have suffered such an extended dark night."
But Martin stressed that Teresa’s belief in God never wavered—just her feeling of connection to Jesus, especially after her intense mystical experiences.
"It’s one thing to feel that God is not with you. It’s another thing to believe that God doesn’t exist," he said.
How all this may affect her bid for sainthood remains unclear. Some say it makes her even more impressive. While her spiritual loneliness became known during the canonization process, Kolodiejchuk said this is the first time the arc of her inner spiritual life is compiled in one place in her own words.
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