From what I can gather about the life of Mother Teresa she lived a life of severe personal deprivation on numerous levels. She took a vow of poverty and sexual abstinence, for starters...and...I suspect that during her years as a nun in Calcutta she probably didn't take too many relaxing vacations or eat at too many nice restaurants...and...I wonder if she ever received a soothing massage...or...relax on a beach and feel the cool ocean air...or...walk through a quiet forest and enjoy the sound of silence...and...I wonder who took care of Mother Teresa?...Did anyone cook her a nice meal on a regular basis?...Did anyone ever give her any money and encourage her to spend the day doing what "she" wanted and pampering herself?....I doubt it...As far as I can gather she lived a life where she was deprived of many of the creature comforts we often take for granted...Personally, upon further reflection I am not surprised Mother Teresa didn't feel the presence of God "whatsoever" for apparently much of her adult life. Who would, under such severe circumstances?You can check out Bill's post for more of his thoughts. What his post did for me was to humanize this great person of faith and evoke compassion for her as I remembered what she did for Jesus.
Compassion for Mother Teresa
The recent news of Mother Teresa's battle with doubts has been all the buzz in the blogosphere. Most of what I have read has been a sort of Monday morning quarterbacking. This morning I read Bilbo's take and thought I'd share a few of his thoughts:
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He's missed the point:
ReplyDelete"Mother Teresa didn't feel the presence of God "whatsoever" for apparently much of her adult life. Who would, under such severe circumstances?"
He says that because she gave herself a harsh life of service and austerity she would not feel the presence of God. What? What does the pleasure of this life have to do with the next?
If anything, she made room for God in her life by giving up lesser goods for His Greater Presence. He gave her His Cross to carry for much of her life, and she walked the path with Him all the way.
I gotta agree with Therese here.
ReplyDeleteIf a life of poverty, sexual abstinence, and selfless giving isn't the way to know God on a VERY deep level, then Jesus did it all wrong.
[insert TongueInCheek]Bummer, too. He coulda been so much closer to the Father.[/insert]