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Rome's poster child, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (a.k.a. Mother Teresa) is a
terrible disappointment. It turns out Teresa was a remarkable actor. Her
public image bore no resemblance whatsoever to the secret life of her inner
being. Below are some quotes taken from her own private letters; and
excerpts of her statements from other sources. You be the judge: role model
or role player, believer or make-believer?
"Only pray that I keep up this joy exteriorly. I deceive people with this
weapon-- even my Sisters."
"I am grateful to for all the kindness & help you give to my Sisters and me.
My prayer, though miserably dry & frozen, is often offered for you & your
work for souls."
"When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven, there is such convicting
emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my
very soul. How painful is this unknown pain-- I have no faith."
"I am told God loves me; and yet the reality of darkness & coldness &
emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul."
"Now Father-- since 49 or 50 this terrible sense of loss-- this untold
darkness-- this loneliness, this continual longing for God-- which gives me
pain deep down in my heart-- Darkness is such that I really do not see
neither with my mind nor with my reason-- the place of God in my soul is
blank-- There is no God in me-- when the pain of longing is so great-- I just
long & long for God-- and then it is that I feel-- He does not want me-- He is
not there-- God does not want me-- Sometimes-- I just hear my own heart
cry out-- "My God" and nothing else comes-- the torture and pain I can't
explain"
"My smile is a great cloak that hides a multitude of pains."
"The damned of Hell suffer eternal punishment because they experiment
with the loss of God. In my own soul, I feel the terrible pain of this loss. I
feel that God does not want me, that God is not God; and that He does not
really exist."
"If there be God . . please forgive me."
"Of course I convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu or a better Muslim
or a better Protestant. Once you've found God, it's up to you to decide how
to worship him" (Mother Teresa Touched Other Faiths, Associated Press,
9/7/97).
"We never try to convert those who receive [aid from Missionaries of
Charity] to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God's
presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for
this better men-- simply better --we will be satisfied. It matters to the
individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes
that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes
into their life-- his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no
doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation."
The April 7-13, 1990, issue of Radio Times tells the story of Mother Teresa
sheltering an old Hindu priest. "She nursed him with her own hands and
helped him to die reconciled with his own gods."
Teresa was virtually 100% estranged from both God and Christ during the
whole five decades of her work in India. She experienced a darkness of the
soul unparalleled among Catholic mystics. Some say this was in preparation
for her eventual sainthood. But Paul the apostle was a "saint" and he never
once experienced Teresa's depth of abandonment. In point of fact, he never
experienced any abandonment whatsoever; nor should any other of Christ's
followers.
†. John 14:15-18 . .If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray
the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, that He may abide with
you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you
and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
†. John 14:23 . .If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father
will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
†. John 15:10 . .If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love.
†. Phlp 4:5-7 . .The Lord is nearby. Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your concerns
to God. And the peace of God, which is beyond the intellect, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
†. Rom 8:15-16 . .For you have not received a spirit of slavery again to fear;
but you have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we call out; Abba!
Father! The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
The Spirit's silence in Teresa's heart, and her utter lack of peace, were
indicative of something very gone-wrong in her association with Christ.
†. 1John 1:5-7 . .This is the message we have heard from him and declare
to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have
fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the
truth.
Father Neuner, one of Teresa's spiritual advisors commented: "Why had God
abandoned her totally? She had to lead the Sisters, initiate them into the
love of God and into a life of prayer, which had been wiped out in her own
life as she lived in total emptiness. Had she become a shameful hypocrite
who spoke to others about the divine mysteries which had totally vanished
from her own heart?"
All evidence points to the obvious conclusion that Teresa was the most
convincing Christian pretense the twentieth century ever produced; and if
she was a charlatan, who else is playing church inside the Church?
†. Matt 7:22-23 . .Many will say to me in that day; Lord, Master, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in
thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them; I
never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.
Christ's statement doesn't target Atheists, nor Buddhists, nor Hindus, nor
Muslims. No, it targets people professing to have prophesied in "thy name",
and to have exorcised demons in "thy name", and to have done may
wonderful works in "thy name"; viz: it targets Christians-- and not just your
average rank and file pew warmers either, no, but rather, it targets the
cream of the crop; the celebrities of the Christian world; renowned for their
accomplishments, their piety, their perseverance, their love, and their
dedication.
It is to many of those very kinds of Christians that Christ will say: I never
knew you. Why? Because though those luminaries glistered, they were never
in league with Christ though they certainly appeared to be; and that is really
scary because it make one wonder who to trust.
Recommended Reading:
Mother Teresa / Come Be My Light
The Private Writings of the "Saint of Calcutta"
Edited with commentary by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C.
ISBN 978-0-385-52037-9
NOTE: The book is a collection of Teresa's letters written privately to
spiritual counselors; published with hierarchy approval by her long-time
friend Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk M.C.; director of the Mother Teresa Center,
and a Postulator in favor of her canonization.
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