Doubting Teresa

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." -- Mother Teresa

Today a decade ago, we lost someone very special, at the age of 87 Mother Teresa passed away. This was of course over shadowed by the death of Princess Diana which had occurred just a week earlier, but it is still important none the less. Of course Mother Teresa's death was due to the passage of time and not due to some tragic accident, but Mother Teresa is one of very few people to have lived in our lifetime who will achieve sainthood, pretty cool I dare say.

In a recent issue of Time, there is a fantastic article about a crisis of faith that Mother Teresa faced for the better part of 5 decades. It references a series of letters she shared with a priest and friend of hers. Here is an excerpt of a letter she wrote to Jesus at the suggestion of a confessor.

"When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. — I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?" -- Click Here to see the article I took this from

Pretty interesting that someone as dedicated as Mother Teresa could doubt herself so much. I find it fascinating that she could continue doing what she considered to be the work of God, all the while feeling nothing but darkness, coldness and emptiness. But after decades of searching and confronting her own doubt she eventually comes back into the fold and finds the light.

I think that there are some pretty powerful lessons to be drawn from Mother Teresa's doubt, even for the non-religious/spiritual. At one time she believed that God loved her and had given her a task, but then for a period doubted that, yet she perceveered. I think that any of us who ever experience any sort of doubt can easily look to Moth Teresa for some inspiration. You can very easily apply her lessons and struggles to any other relationships. At one point or another we have all been filled with doubt and veer off of our paths in some capacity.

I guess Mother Teresa shows us that even if you think that you are neglected, even if you think that you are unloved, you really just have to do some intense soul searching and find out that you are indeed loved and are someone special no matter how empty and alone you may feel. That’s a pretty important lesson for anyone regardless of your faith level.

I would like to end this blog entry with another quote from Mother Teresa that really blows me away.

"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. " -- Mother Teresa

Good advice, eh?

Until next time,

G