Territorial Bloggings
A Cogent Mélange of Lutheran & Pop-Culture Punditry
Mother Teresa’s doubts
Well, now, isn’t this — Letters Reveal Mother Teresa’s Secret — interesting?
A quote: “…it has emerged that Mother Teresa was so doubtful of her own faith that she feared being a hypocrite…”
It strikes me as fascinating both because it reveals the ways in which individual faith truly is a battleground for the forces of light and dark, and because it’s going to be used & misused by folks to make points, counter-points, and a whole lot of outrageous assertions.
I also find it interesting as (potentially) an illustration of Rome’s problem wrt Grace & the role that good works play. If Mother Teresa was a good Roman Catholic, then she most likely took quite seriously the teaching that her works, while not earning her salvation per se, were certainly necessary in order to augment the Grace that was infused at baptism.
That’s not a comforting teaching at heart, for it replaces the Gospel with the Law, and the Law breaks us down, stripping us of any/all hope.
Even in the depths of our despair — and we will be faced with despair & dark times, for this world and its prince will assault us in the effort to “win” us — if we stay focused on the cross & Christ crucified, God will comfort us & salve our wounds with that Balm of Gilead. And thus bound up & transformed, He will work through us to produce good works. Works that represent the fruits of being saved, not tokens that can be redeemed for getting saved.
It strikes some as a distinction without a difference, but it’s not. It can be the very difference between comfort and torment, between Heaven and Hell…
-ghp
2 Comments so far ...
I did not get that impression at all from the article. I’m not saying that it might not be there, underneath what is actually said, as an assumed of her Roman Catholic piety.
Indeed, I found her story quite moving. As Lutherans, I think it ought to speak to our understanding of finding Christ in the darkness of life - i.e., the revelation of Christ being found most fully in suffering. But then, perhaps I am reading too much into it.
Comment on August 27, 2007 01:04 pmRe: your second paragraph - I agree, Pastor. The revelation of Christ is found quite often in suffering, not because Christ causes the suffering, but rather because the enemy assaults those whom he wishes to steal.
Re: your first paragraph - I’m not sure what you’re referring to. If it’s my comments on the Roman tendency for Grace to be confused with works righteousness, then it’s possible that I was reading in a bit too much; however, works righteousness is an unavoidable underpinning of Romisch theology, not to mention the Universalist theology that some have attributed to Mother Teresa (perhaps not unfairly, given the revelations of her letters…).
Thanks for reading & commenting!
Comment on August 28, 2007 03:38 pm