Art dhe Kulturë

Mother Teresa and her doubt of God!

Mother Teresa and her doubt of God!

Mother Teresa may be one of the most famous and admired Catholic personalities of the 20th century, canonized by Pope Francis on September 7, 2016. The Catholic Church honors the saints, and takes examples for all believers.

Every Christian is supposed to follow Jesus in his life, but how would he achieve the goal for example, a soldier, a doctor, a rich man, or a poor man, a woman, a child? The Saints of the Catholic Church give countless examples, endless portraits of how to live a life devoted to what is true, good and beautiful, something that should interest us all.

The question arises what example does Mother Teresa give us? Contradictions about her work and deeds with the poor are simply political nonsense, or just cold analysis.

In recent years, another aspect of Mother Teresa's life has been discovered: Her battle with faith! He spent a long period, not to mention decades where he struggled with the faith. It is said that she lost as Christians say: She lost the presence of God, there were even moments when she questioned God, as she expressed herself in some painful letters that were published after her death.

It is very simple to conclude that since she lost faith in God, she was a hypocrite and not a saint, and Mother Teresa herself wrote that in some cases she felt that way. But if you ask holy people, or members of the Catholic Church, what Mother Teresa experienced is a normal feeling and not surprising. For those smart, there are plenty of deep messages to understand about the feelings she experienced.

Although Mother Teresa's experience was unusual, it was not at all unusual for her to be proclaimed one of the saints of that time. According to Catholic spiritual books, the path to the enlightenment of the soul includes what St. John of the Cross called the "Dark Night of the Soul."

Yes .. .belief and spirituality can be exciting. Prayer can give us pleasure and deliverance. But what happens next? Who are you next? Do you follow God or do you just feel for the miracles you are following God?

The truth is that all traditions of spirituality, not just the Catholic ones, not just the Western ones, tell us that the Enlightenment must be preceded by a process of purification, that is, to remove everything unnecessary without which one can live, and this process can be very painful.

There is another aspect of the Catholic worldview that has helped me personally over the years, and it is worth considering when considering Mother Teresa's battles: Focusing on objective reality rather than subjective feelings.

The history of Catholic mysticism is full of extraordinary facts and various experiences.

Master Ruth Burrows says that the only criterion for becoming part of this faith through prayer and enlightenment is whether it makes you a more charitable and loving person, but not whether it makes you feel good or bad within yourself.

Someone whose life, though prayerfully seems empty and troubled, but who is ultimately a good and loving person, actually has a better life than someone who has beautiful spiritual experiences but is shrewd .

Mother Teresa told us this and as we say: 'She cut him with a knife.' Christians talk endlessly about faith. But at one point in her life, Mother Teresa did not believe in God. Does this mean that within her Mother Teresa has never believed in God? But would it make sense? That after all she was an ordained sister in the Catholic Church and devoted her life to following the teachings of Jesus.

Objectively, Mother Teresa was a Christian, but her faith was subjective. Maybe Mother Teresa practiced what some call "The Faith of the Body" rather than "The Faith of the Mind," a concept derived from the proverb, "Act as if you had faith, and faith will be forgiven you."

Well, if at some point people stop trying to reconcile what they believe subjectively with what they do objectively, then Yes; They become hypocrites.

But until then, they exercise what Aristotle called virtues: Our moral and psychological abilities are the muscles, which must therefore be set in motion!

What makes you a kind person is not how good you feel inside yourself, that only you know, but it is their actions and types that determine.

The Catholic Church has evolved for better or for worse, but what Mother Teresa brought is definitely the best thing that happened to her.

Mother Teresa's extraordinary perseverance in the face of her spiritual difficulties made her an even greater saint than we thought. She showed us and taught us how to continue through the 'dark night' in spite of everything, even obstacles (demons). This does not mean lack of faith, but this is true faith. Can we all trust her? Even with the pain, even the abandonment of the Cross?

Article taken from The Week, written by Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry.

* Publication on other portals is not allowed. Translating into Albanian is the hard work of our journalists. Editor and Tiranapost.al.