Why Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith is Important

Mother Teresa was known the world over for her charitable works with the destitute poor particularly in Calcutta, India. Now that she has gone to be with the Lord, the devout Catholic nun who has been nominated for sainthood, is having her letters and journals compiled in order to publish a book about her spiritual journey. The correspondence is remarkable in that this devout woman of God's public personna of peace and happiness was not always the case in private reality. Agnostics and atheists are seizing upon this evidence as a lack of Mother Teresa's true personal relationship with Jesus Christ due to her references of feeling lost, alone or at times abandoned in her work. In no way should believers and followers of this great woman think her personal feelings reflect a lack of connection between herself and God. St. John of the Cross, St. Augustine and many others including Jesus Christ ("why hast thou forsaken me?") have all gone through periods of darkness of the soul and feelings of abandonment. It is through these times, as even King David of the Old Testament Psalms shows us, that God tests our faith and shows what great things can be accomplished through perserverance through the pain and doubt and isolation.

David Van Biema has recently published a six page documentary entitled "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith" in Time Magazine. In this wonderful periodical, he outlines Mother's Teresa's journey which began in 1946 and culminates in her earning the both the Nobel Peace Prize and the U.S. Peace Medal of Honor. Her work with the poor, destitute and dying in many countries across the world earned her the respect and admiration of many who wished to work with her and her Catholic Sisters of Charity. My own father visited her in Calcutta, India during the late 1970s, where he was taken to one of their hospices which helped those who suffered from leprosy. I remember my father telling me at that time that it was during this trip he learned the value of physical pain. Those who suffer from leprosy do not feel anything in their extremities because the disease has cutoff their nervous systems, thus, infection sets in and the limbs atrophe, die and fall off the body. When we experience physical pain, it is the nervous system's way of telling the body that it is in need.

Though simple, quiet and humble, Mother Teresa was no pussy cat or push over. She was very determined and strong willed. Many times she went up against the Catholic Church, plus Federal or State bureaucracies in order to manage and design her Aids Hospices and other clinics to be built the way she felt was best, using the barest and most minimalist of services and utilities. I also read once that she took the proceeds from a donated new vehicle, which were collected by auctioning off the donated car, and gave them to a young Indian woman in her care who desparately needed the funds in order to procure a decent dowry for marriage. Of course, in India, this kind of cultural procurement would be a necessity and many outside of this culture had trouble understanding what Mother Teresa did, the importance of a good dowry in order to secure this woman's marriage and future happiness.

According to Mother Teresa's former letters and diaries, she often felt isolated and lonely in her work. However, no one should read into these journals that the tiny woman of God lacked faith or true belief in a risen Jesus Christ - quite the opposite. She still got up every morning and 4:30 a.m. and went to work for God doing those tasks which no one else would. She would sit with the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick, doing unto them as she would want done in her last moments, simply out of God's love for them. Ironically, when Mother Teresa passed away (she had previously suffered from two heart attacks), it was on the eve of another famous death, that of Princess Diana. Thus, although Mother Teresa was remembered by a simple horse-drawn cart through India, most of the press was feverishly focused on the hoopla surrounding Princess Di.

The letters and journals and diaries of Mother Teresa should be understood in the hindsight of her work and life, which are a better reflection of her true beliefs - her faith in action. Regardless of how she "felt" at the time she was doing a particular work for God, the process, the culmination and the ultimate results are what should be taken into account here. There really is simply no way to measure the joy and sacrifice she brought to those at their last hours. God will ultimately be her final judge, as it should be.