Help
Sign In
doubt
January 2009 
Mother Theresa
Posted on Aug 31st, 2007
by 
L'el
L'el
I feel such empathy for Mother Theresa now in light of the vast pain and struggle recorded in journal entries that were recently released to the public. For decades, her writing reveals, she felt abandoned by God, and up until her death was deeply tormented by guilt for doubting God's existence.
It makes me want to have been there to embrace her. How difficult it must be to be catapulted to fame for one's faith, and to feel responsible for living up to an image of unwavering certainty. What extraordinary pressure.
Although I've usually found Christopher Hitchens' writing to be pompous and spiteful, and it
seems needlessly mean of him to go about testifying against someone's sainthood when he doesn't believe in such a thing anyway, he makes a few insightful observations in his recent article on the subject:
If Santayana was right to define fanaticism as “redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim,” then Mother Teresa’s international crusade against divorce, abortion and contraception was the tribute that doubt paid to certainty: a strenuous and almost hysterical effort to drown out the awful fear of “absence.” One strongly suspects that, like not a few overpromoted figures, she suffered from more self-hatred the more she was overpraised.
I wish someone had let her know that it was okay to love herself, and that indeed, loving oneself is the root of loving the world and the first step in changing it for the better.
It makes me want to have been there to embrace her. How difficult it must be to be catapulted to fame for one's faith, and to feel responsible for living up to an image of unwavering certainty. What extraordinary pressure.
Although I've usually found Christopher Hitchens' writing to be pompous and spiteful, and it
seems needlessly mean of him to go about testifying against someone's sainthood when he doesn't believe in such a thing anyway, he makes a few insightful observations in his recent article on the subject:
If Santayana was right to define fanaticism as “redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim,” then Mother Teresa’s international crusade against divorce, abortion and contraception was the tribute that doubt paid to certainty: a strenuous and almost hysterical effort to drown out the awful fear of “absence.” One strongly suspects that, like not a few overpromoted figures, she suffered from more self-hatred the more she was overpraised.
I wish someone had let her know that it was okay to love herself, and that indeed, loving oneself is the root of loving the world and the first step in changing it for the better.
Access: Public
I found it interesting that mother teresa found herself in a feeling of emptiness. This feeling of emptiness and nothing is IT. This is the stillness and peace that lies within everything. Once this is found then the ego, mind and illusion of seperateness dissapears… thus creating Peace. But sadly she was brainwashed by the church to keep looking for some great euphoric state. These states are experiences only .
Mother Teresa had it and didnt know it. She was perfect the whole time. This is the purpase of this new text….to show us this was of peace within ourself.
In reply to Michael, Mother Theresa's “darkness of the soul” was not because the Church brainwashed her to look for some ” great euphoric state”. The Church in fact does not recommend looking and longing for such “euphoric states” since that is 1.) testing God
2.) can actually pull the soul away from God, since they are searcing for something God will not reward them and 3.) such experiences are far and few between and any godly soul would know that. I am quite sure that Mother Teresa did not search for such a state and was not spiritually recommended to do so. The situation that Mother Theresa experienced was a complete abandoment from all feeling, so strong and etense that I have heard she was tempted to lose her faith. Such experinces are often called a dark night of the soul, when God strips bear the soul so that he can make it more atune to him. I can promise you that Mother Theresa's struggle was not as shallow as looking for some “feel good” emotions, that it was much deeper than that..