Zeal For Truth

Private letters written by Mother Teresa (1910-1997) have recently been made public, ten years after her death. Because she was both a public figure (e.g. winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979) and because her work among the poor was religiously motivated, her private thoughts are interesting to the religious and the non-religious alike.

Many of us who admired the work of Mother Teresa are not the least surprised by the difficulties, sadness and especially the doubt that she privately expressed. A few, on the other hand, are using this as a time to say I told you so, or to poke fun (I decided not to post the link here).

Mother Teresa led an on-going ministry in a tremendously difficult situation, working in conditions of hopelessness, dying, and endless need. Do her confessions of a cold heart and lack of faith mean she was just a sham? Truly God is the final judge of that, but I think we can safely say that just because you give your life to Christian service, doesn’t mean you are perfect either inside or outside or that you never have doubts. Is it hypocrisy to serve when you don’t feel like it? Or is it obedience?

We should not be surprised that Mother Teresa had doubts. She was, after all, a human sinner like the rest of us. Of course we have doubts at times. We can’t make sense of everything and we aren’t fully redeemed on this side of death. We can’t know everything. That’s why they call us believers.

The Roman Catholic Church is in the process of declaring Mother Teresa a saint. I am not a Roman Catholic and therefore I don’t give much thought to those who are sainted by their church. But if she were to be called a saint, perhaps she would become the Patron Saint of Those Who Don’t Give Up When Things Get Hard.