From a column by Dinesh D'Souza.
"The greatness of Mother Teresa is that even when she was deprived of the spiritual satisfactions of feeling God’s presence in her life, she did not waver, she soldiered on. She was not deterred in her mission. And what she didn’t have by way of feeling, she compensated for by way of will. In doing so, she teaches us all something about love: it is not merely a sentiment, to be set aside when feelings come and go, but rather a decision of the will. That she did what she did in exchange for the love of God is astounding enough. That she did it all even when this love was invisible to her—if this does not constitute saintliness, I don’t know what does. "
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1 comment:
Our Lord Himself gve expression to this feeling of abandonment, just at the point of the greatest act of worship and of love that ever can or ever will be offered.
Mother Teresa, like John of the Cross, and like many other Saints, reached to a similar superhuman level of faith and love, one beyond the place where it depends upon feelings of being loved.
When I first heard testimonies to Teresa's brokenness and perceived abandonment, I was amazed within myself to realize, "Well, I knew that already." The depths of love she demonstrated were far, far greater than were compatible with needing to be caressed. Rather, they were the kind of thing that can only come from one's own deeply felt anguish of soul.
I have been known to tell some of my happy-clappy Evangelical friends who claim that they always feel so goooood about their relationship with God -- "If that's the way it is with you, friend, you're missing something very important. There are heights you aren't reaching, and depths you haven;t found. Dig deep. Climb high. Your own present happiness isn't even really part of the effort.
ed
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