Posted on 08/24/2007 8:40:01 AM PDT by HarleyD
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who has been put on the “fast track” to sainthood, was so tormented by doubts about her faith that she felt “a hypocrite,” it has emerged from a book of her letters to friends and confessors. Shortly after beginning her work in the slums of Calcutta, she wrote: “Where is my faith? Even deep down there is nothing but emptiness and darkness. If there be a God — please forgive me.” In letters eight years later she was still expressing “such deep longing for God,” adding that she felt “repulsed, empty, no faith, no love, no zeal.” Her smile to the world from her familiar weather-beaten face was a “mask” or a “cloak,” she said. “What do I labor for? If there be no God, there can be no soul. If there be no soul then, Jesus, You also are not true.” Mother Teresa, who died in 1997 and was beatified in record time only six years later, felt abandoned by God from the very start of the work that made her a global figure, in her sandals and blue and white sari. The doubts persisted until her death.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Sure, and it wasn't until I understood Reformed theology that I knew that God was in total control, He will protect me from Satan and He will equip me with the things that I need. We are not under constant assault by Satan. Satan would LIKE to have a go at us but God protects us. We will win the race because God will see to it.
We have victory through God our Lord. That should be our comfort.
BTTT
This has been used several times now and let me simply say that there has only been one person throughout history that truly was separated from God. He had a right to say it.
So what's your beef with Mother Teresa?
Luke 15. Check it out.
Maybe in a way even though I haven't set foor in church except for funerals in about 12 years now. Some ministry takes place within the halls of church and some outside. I feel closer to GOD walking a nice quiet river bank these days than anywhere.
I don't consider it burdens but just life. I have a couple of cousins with life sentences to wheelchairs. One since birth. The answer there was their grandfather who was a tough old Iwo Jima Marine who nobody could reach but those kids. He too came to know Christ months before his death.
I also have an aunt who's mission was putting her adopted son through college so he could later decide to become a RC Priest. He's a Vicar General in a southeastern city. My family is the Orange and the Green :>} I learned a long time ago we all worship the same Savior.
Well, evangeicalism rests on “feeling.” or what was in the 18th century dubbed as “enthusiasm.”
Thanks, Saundra.
Yes, leave her alone.
Or something else, such as Matthew 28: 16-20.
I agree.
He will protect me from Satan
He will allow you to be tested as needed. Remember Job?
and He will equip me with the things that I need.
Agreed.
We are not under constant assault by Satan.
We have been ever since Adam and Eve sinned. We still are. Although the battle has been won, Satan is still allowed to smack us around as God allows for our spiritual growth. If this was not so we would be living in a perfect sinless world.
Satan would LIKE to have a go at us but God protects us. We will win the race because God will see to it.
We have won through Christ and will see the fruition if we persevere to the end.
Well, it can mean spreading the Word, or believing one has had an encounter with the divine, or it can mean just feeling justified.
More learned men than I have asked that question. All I know is that we can only have faith through the Grace of God. Why some people ignore the call to faith, I don’t know. I believe very strongly that God is always the first instrument of our salvation. We do not save ourselves. We can continue on the path of salvation by our faith and our works of love. But without the Grace that first put us on that path we are struggling in vain.
My faith and my works of love are really God’s. I return them to Him for His glory. So that all can see His works in my life. I admit I return way too little for all He has done for me. So prayer and repentence and the joy of forgiveness sure come in handy.
I believe that if God should ever stop thinking of and/or loving us we would cease to exist. That is how closely we are tied to our Creator.
Ha ha ha. How many Hindus and Muslims do you think she converted? Thousands and more. How many have you converted? I’d wager nil.
I can't convert anyone. That's God's job.
It’s always personal with you catholics, isn’t it?
I can’t believe people are here trashing Mother Teresa. It’s appalling. She was everything a Christian ought to be.
cva66snipe has a far better understanding of Jesus and Christianity than you do. I don’t share his theology, but I admire him. He is a real Christian; you aren’t. He “gets” Jesus; you don’t. And the fact that this praise would make him uncomfortable just proves my point. He abhors praise, he abhors self-righteousness, he loves his disabled wife, and has stuck by her for many years. He is a true Christian.
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