Posted on 08/31/2007 4:49:24 PM PDT by xzins
Only according to those who sought to reestablish the Jewish sacrificial system and sew the curtain that tore from the top down back together again.
**Only according to those who sought to reestablish the Jewish sacrificial system and sew the curtain that tore from the top down back together again**
No, I am talking about references to the establishment of these sacraments in the NEW testament!
**Only according to those who sought to reestablish the Jewish sacrificial system and sew the curtain that tore from the top down back together again**
Granted the roots of Sacraments are in the Old Covenant, but Christ establish a New Covenant.
Always good to submit a fair and balanced viewpoint, isn’t it?
Where is justice?
Yet despite the “pain and darkness” in her soul, Mother Teresa served tirelessly among the outcasts, the dying and the most abject poor in India. She brought countless sick Indians to her center from slums and gutters to be treated and cared for under the banner of Christ’s love.
Reminded me of this:
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
I like Colson a lot, and I think he certainly had experience about the external conditions that could create suffering and loss of faith - or at the same time, discovery of faith.
I guess that faith is faith in “things unseen” and also in “things unfelt.” It is a commitment that outlives our good feelings, but for that same reason, as you say, a commitment that outlives our depressions and bad feelings.
That's crucial. I don't mean to inject levity into this discussion, but I noticed that a local bunch of ditzy elderly liberal nuns are giving a course on "How to Be a Mystic." I kid you not.
Of course, the diocesan retreat center is offering a course taught by a sister on "How to be a Spiritual Director."
Sigh. It's all so easy, isn't it?
Excellent article - Elizabeth Lev sums it up.
One note on this quote attributed to Mohler, though,..
"Those who come to Christ by faith are not kept unto Him by our faith, but by his faithfulness,” wrote Mohler."
When I read Rom 3:22, to wit:
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
I'm lead to believe that our faith through Christ is considered the same as His faith in the Father, therefore counted as righteousness, again through Him efficacious for salvation.
Now, I agree that ALL faith comes from God, but once received, then by our volition we are then filled by the Holy Spirit and controlled by Him, but the faith provided by Him is indeed our own in our strength of will and volition. For this reason, perhaps we could amplify Mohler's quote to stipulate we also know there is no temptation too great than that which may be resisted, and indeed His faithfulness keeps us secure, but it still is our faith which the Father finds the same as His for assurance of our salvation.
Would you concur in this approach?
Another letter in 1956 read: “Such deep longing for God – and…repulsed – empty – no faith – no love – no zeal. – [The saving of] Souls holds no attraction – Heaven means nothing – pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything.”
There was a time when I felt much the same way. The experience taught me that sometimes in life, all you can do is pray, then grit your teeth and press on.
After all, if God did not spare his Son from suffering for the sins of the world, why should any of us expect to skate through life unscathed?
” That’s crucial. I don’t mean to inject levity into this discussion, but I noticed that a local bunch of ditzy elderly liberal nuns are giving a course on “How to Be a Mystic.” I kid you not.
Of course, the diocesan retreat center is offering a course taught by a sister on “How to be a Spiritual Director.”
Sigh. It’s all so easy, isn’t it?”
Oh well, what are you gonna do? Being a mystic, by the way, isn’t what this is about at all. Last evening I was having a nice scotch, neat, with the priest and he mentioned this business about Mother Teresa, Having been at the cottage with a computer or TV for the past 10 weeks, I hadn’t heard this. He said this news made him very sad and he commented that she might have done well to read +John of the Cross or +Teresa of Avila.
“”How to be a Spiritual Director.””
Oh, there’s a prescription for spiritual shipwreck!
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:34–40)
Somehow, Mother Teresa managed to carry on despite the "crisis of faith" that we are told she experienced. I am sure she will receive a great reward for the good she did.
Perhaps and I pray she will. But that reminded me of another aspect of Matthew:
Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Mother Teresa was certainly well known for her work:
From Nobelprize.org
"Mother Teresa's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards."
13 ¶ Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
I did know Mother Teresa personally; but from what I know of her life, I believe that her good works caused others to glorify God. I do not believe that she worked all of those years in the worst slums merely to be seen of men. The recognition came much later.
Apparently, Mother Teresa was was a great humanitarian...And she has been recognized as much thru out her lifetime...
I remember reading that Teresa never shared her faith in Jesus but encouraged people to follow their own God(s) in their own religion...
I have to wonder then, how Teresa figured this (her work) was God's work...God is not so interested in saving people's lives, but their souls...And their souls can be saved only thru Jesus Christ...
So out of all the bodies Teresa came in contact with, whether they lived or died, none will enter heaven??? And that is working the will of God???
All Christians have bouts of doubt, but for it to last year after year indicates something else at play...
More to the point, many on this thread -- not to mention media commentators -- would do well to read them! Since Mother Teresa, in choosing her name in religion, specifically had in mind both Teresa of Avila and the Little Flower (who also suffered the Dark Night of the Soul), I would assume she was familiar with their writings. Personally, I've never found that reading the experiences of someone else who "went through the same thing" helped very much.
I'm somewhat bemused by the image of your priest relaxing with a friend and a scotch commenting on how Mother Teresa should have handled her Dark Night of the Soul, as if it were a minor condition, like dandruff or indigestion, that will respond to the right patent remedy! ;-)
I can't help but wonder, too, in view of her earlier mystical experiences that set her on her work with the poorest of the poor, whether what she experienced as terrible spiritual dryness might not be what most of us feel like most of the time, i.e., not ecstatic union with God. But she was so aware of what that union was that she felt the lack of it acutely -- that it's the contrast that made it so painful.
She didn't -- that was Malcolm Muggeridge. And she had been toiling for years in obscurity before he "discovered" her.
“I’m somewhat bemused by the image of your priest relaxing with a friend and a scotch commenting on how Mother Teresa should have handled her Dark Night of the Soul, as if it were a minor condition, like dandruff or indigestion, that will respond to the right patent remedy! ;-)”
It is quite an image isn’t it! I will assure you, however, that she is a great spiritual hero for my priest. He also commented that he found it bizarre that anyone would find her crisis of faith odd or a sign that she wasn’t a saint. The fact of the matter is, M, that the spiritual struggles of those who are advanced in theosis are far, far greater than those experienced by the likes of the rest of us. Holiness attracts evil, greater holiness, greater evil. The Desert Fathers struggled with spiritual dryness on a daily basis and for years at a stretch. While this dark night of the soul is not anything approaching a “minor” condition, it is a common one among saints.
I'm glad somebody on this thread understands that! I'm getting really irked by the "clinical diagnosis" and other kinds of dismissals!
My sister likes to quote Bette Davis' line "Getting old ain't for sissies" -- I'd like to add that neither is sanctity!
God bless you (and your priest)!
Yeah. I like that verse, “Doubt in the Lord with half of your heart and lean lots on your own misunderstanding....in a miniscule way acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”
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