SAINT OF DARKNESS

Saint of darkness: Path to canonizing Teresa 

Mother Teresa once said, “If I ever become a saint — I will surely be one of ‘darkness.’ I will continually be absent from Heaven — to light the light of those in darkness on earth.” On September 4, Mother Teresa will indeed be made a saint by Pope Francis at a ceremony at the Vatican. Hundreds of thousands from all corners of the world are expected to attend the event.

There has never been a question about whether Mother Teresa would become a saint, but when it would happen. The diminutive Albanian nun died in 1997.

Two years later, her good friend Pope John Paul II (now canonized himself) dispensed with the requisite five-year waiting period and allowed the gathering of testimony and documentation for consideration of sainthood. This rigorous undertaking included more than 100 interviews of people who knew her and created some 80 volumes at more than 400 pages each.

In late 2002, the pope approved the decrees confirming her heroic virtue and the first miracle attributed to her — the healing of an Indian woman’s abdominal tumor. Mother Teresa was beatified on Oct. 19, 2003, at a Vatican ceremony in front of an estimated 300,000 people. This writer was in attendance that day.

When a priest or woman religious is on a pathway to sainthood, he or she becomes part of the larger church, and of the world, and it falls to the religious order to take steps to manage the heritage of that holy person.

In late 2003, I received a telephone call from my friend Jim Towey, then head of President George W. Bush’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Jim was a longtime friend of Mother Teresa’s and often assisted her and her religious community with various legal matters.

Due to his federal government position, Towey had to step back from active involvement with the Missionaries of Charity. He asked if I would help Missionaries of Charity Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, a postulator or advocate for the cause of canonization, to consider ways to create an organizational structure — separate from the cause office — that would enable the promotion of, and devotion to, Mother Teresa. As a lawyer, I spent much time advising faith-based and secular not-for-profit organizations on governance and related issues.

I was happy to do so.

A short time later, I presented a memorandum describing options to Kolodiejchuk and Sr. Nirmala Joshi, a lawyer and Mother Teresa’s successor as superior general of the Missionaries of Charity Sisters based in Kolkata, India. The outcome was the creation of the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center Inc., a New York State not-for-profit entity governed by the Missionaries of Charity family, which includes sisters, priests and brothers. A lawyer friend of mine at a large law firm in New York City prepared the legal and tax documentation for free.

Today, the Mother Teresa Center aims “to promote authentic knowledge of, and devotion to, Mother Teresa by the study, development and distribution of her work, spirituality and message,” according to its website.

For two years (2004-2006), I served as a full-time volunteer and the sole, lay administrator of the Mother Teresa Center. The work was interesting, varied and singular.

Kolodiejchuk and a small team of indefatigable Missionaries of Charity sisters working on the cause of canonization were based in Tijuana, Mexico. Since I lived in the New York City area, I spent much time running around the city meeting various people, recruiting lawyer friends to advise the Missionaries of Charity on a pro bono basis, and collecting research related to one possible miracle.

Mother Teresa was against the use of her image or words for traditional mass-mailing fundraising appeals. When this activity was brought to our attention, I would write a letter of explanation of her wishes and recipient organizations consistently agreed to comply.

The great affection so many people around the world have for Mother Teresa prompted more than a few to write books about her. Some of the words attributed to her were not always accurate. Communicating with writers and publishers about these concerns was an important attempt to eliminate falsehoods.

To address the hunger for authentic written material, the Mother Teresa Center created prayer cards, pamphlets and the official Mother Teresa novena booklet, all of which required careful editing, designing and printing. Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis, a good friend of Mother Teresa’s, provided the novena’s imprimatur.

Volunteers gave of their time and talents to these literary projects. The Knights of Columbus of New Haven, Connecticut (of which this writer is a member), printed all of these materials for free.

The few possessions of Mother Teresa included her two saris, one well-worn and patched, the other one used on special occasions. I was asked to secure an expert textile preservationist to analyze the fabrics and advise on how to preserve them. I collected the saris from a convent in the Bronx, and drove to upstate New York to a team of experts who regularly advise major New York City museums on their artifacts. A week later, I returned the saris to the convent, along with a written report on how to care for these relics.

In December 2004, I traveled to Kolkata to assist Joshi, Kolodiejchuk and the few other members of Mother Teresa Center board of directors at its inaugural meeting held at the motherhouse, where Mother Teresa’s tomb is located. I did this again in December 2005.

One of the more substantial projects undertaken by the center was selecting a literary agent and publisher for Mother Teresa’s private letters, which described her intense spiritual darkness. Several of each were contacted and interviewed in person by Kolodiejchuk and me. The sisters and Kolodiejchuk selected a New York City-based literary agent, Sterling Lord Literistic Inc., and Doubleday as publisher.

The 416-page book of letters and reflections, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (2007), became an instant New York Times best-seller.

The center also wrote the U.S. Postal Service in support of the issuance of a Mother Teresa stamp. The postal service selected ward-winning artist Thomas Blackshear II of Colorado Springs, Colorado, to design the stamp. On the anniversary of her death, Sept. 5, 2010, a commemorative stamp was released with a print run of 60 million and at a cost of 44 cents each.

In December 2015, Pope Francis confirmed a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa that occurred in 2008 — a comatose Brazilian man suffering a viral brain infection awoke as a result of her intercession — and set Sept. 4 as the day of canonization.

To commemorate the current Jubilee Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis and the canonization, the Mother Teresa Center, in collaboration with Image, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, just published a 384-page book titled A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve, based on unpublished material from Mother Teresa.

With the world filled with so much darkness, St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata will surely be continually absent from heaven.

[Tom Gallagher is a regular contributor to NCR on domestic and foreign affairs. Tom will present “Contemplation in Action in the Life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta,” a free lecture at Rockhurst University on Monday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 pm. For more information, go to www.rockhurst.edu/gallagher.]

This appeared in Global Sisters Report on August 29. 2016

A BETTER PRAYER LIFE

Five keys to a better prayer life

On his way out to recess one day, 9-year-old Bobby said to his teacher, “Sister Michelle, could you please say a prayer for me today?”

“Sure, Bobby,” Sister said. Then she asked, “Do you have a problem or some special reason you want me to pray for you?”
“No,” the boy replied. “I just thought it would be neat to have someone who talks to God every day talk about me.”
Bobby was only 9, yet he knew something very important about his teacher: She was someone who talked to God every day. She was someone who prayed. In fact, one of the most definitive traits of a healthy Christian spirituality is prayer.
One of my favorite definitions of prayer was given by Catherine de Hueck Doherty, who wrote: “Prayer is love. It is love expressed in speech, and love expressed in silence. To put it another way, prayer is the meeting of two loves: the love of God and our love.” A good friend of mine once described prayer in a similar way. She said, “Prayer is being in the presence of someone I love and who loves me.”
Which brings us to a very important question: Why do we pray anyway? If God is all-knowing, as our faith tells us God is, then why bother to pray? After all, God already knows what’s on our minds and in our hearts, so why should we waste time telling God what God already knows?
There are two answers to this question. First, God may know what’s on our minds and in our hearts, but do we know? Life can get so busy and so hectic at times that we easily lose touch with our thoughts and feelings. Prayer is our “time out” from the busyness of life to reflect on our deeper needs and desires. One reason we pray to an all-knowing God, then, is this: to discover what is really on our minds and in our hearts. Honest prayer helps us do that. And why is it so important to get in touch with our deepest needs and desires? Because that’s precisely where God usually speaks most clearly to us.
Another reason we pray is not only to discover what we think and feel, but also to learn what God thinks and feels. As we said earlier, prayer is a two-way street. When we pray, we give our all-knowing God a chance to communicate with us. This is risky business. All prayer is. By inviting God to speak to us, we risk being changed; that is, we risk having our attitudes altered, our perspectives broadened, our plans modified. And, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us resist change.
I was counseling a woman once who, as a child, was abused by her parents who are now deceased. For years, this woman clung to her hatred for her parents. Eventually she stopped praying. When I asked her why she no longer prayed, she said simply, “I’m afraid if I pray, God will somehow convince me to forgive my parents, and I can’t do that — not yet.” I admired her honesty. Her words also told me she knew exactly what prayer could lead to: God somehow persuading her to change, in this case, to forgive her parents, something she clearly did not want to do — at least “not yet.” This woman’s “not yet” gave me hope that, in time, she might make herself available to God’s convincing love. I heard later she did.
Quotes on prayer
I’d like to share some of my favorite quotes on prayer and say a few words about each of them:
1) Pray as you can, and do not pray as you can’t. Take yourself as you find yourself; start from that. 
This is excellent advice. If today we don’t feel like praying, that’s OK. We start our prayer with that. Maybe on another day we feel depressed or we’re worried about something. That’s fine too. We bring those thoughts and feelings to our prayer. Or maybe we’re very busy or very happy about something. That’s good too. Wherever we find ourselves today, we start our prayer from there.
2) God walks amid the pots and pans. 
Sometimes we think we have to go somewhere special to pray — for example to church, to a park, or to a retreat center. Although it is good on occasion to find places that are very conducive to prayer, the fact remains: Any place can be a good place for prayer. We can pray in the car on our way to the mall, at the bank while standing in line, at the kitchen sink as we do the dishes, or even in the bathtub. Most of us learned as little children that God is everywhere. This means that prayer can be everywhere too. Most of us learned as little children that God is everywhere. This means that prayer can be everywhere too.
3) Of all things we do, prayer is the least practical. 
Sometimes we see the results of our prayer. Maybe we receive a favor we asked for, we get the grace to do something difficult, or we experience consolation. When this happens, we thank God, of course. But the truth is, most of the time we will not see any results of our prayer — but that’s perfectly OK. For we do not pray to get results. We do not pray to get anything. We pray to love Someone. We also pray to become someone: the person God is calling us to be. Ordinarily we become that person not by dramatic leaps and bounds, but rather by barely noticeable baby steps.
4) The only way you can fail at prayer is to not show up. 
If we keep showing up for prayer, we have not failed at prayer — even if we feel our prayer is inferior, difficult, or boring. If we persevere in prayer, that in itself is a wonderful grace. In this regard we should remember that when we read all the teachings of Jesus on prayer, we find one recommendation repeated constantly: perseverance. The person who prays well, then, is the one who keeps showing up for prayer, the one who perseveres.
5) A lot of trouble about prayer would disappear if only we realized — really realized — that we go to pray not because we love prayer, but because we love God. 
In everything I have said about prayer, we must remember that prayer is not an end in itself. It is only a means to an end. The end of prayer is love of God and the fulfilling of God’s will. The end is, as I quoted earlier, “the meeting of two loves.”

CATHOLIC-PROTESTANT DIFFERENCES

The differences between Catholics and Protestants

There are several important differences between Catholics and Protestants. While there have been many attempts in recent years to find common ground between the two groups, the fact is that the differences remain, and they are just as important today as they were at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The following is brief summary of some of the more important differences:

One of the first major differences between Catholicism and Protestantism is the issue of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the source of God’s special revelation to mankind and teaches us all that is necessary for our salvation from sin. Protestants view the Bible as the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. This belief is commonly referred to as “sola scriptura” and is one of the “five solas” (sola is Latin for “alone”) that came out of the Protestant Reformation as summaries of some of the differences between Catholics and Protestants.

While there are many verses in the Bible that establish its authority and its sufficiency for all matters of faith and practice, one of the clearest is 2 Timothy 3:16, where we see that “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Catholics reject the doctrine of sola scriptura and do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They believe that both the Bible and sacredRoman Catholic tradition are equally binding upon the Christian. Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc., have little or no basis in Scripture but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. Essentially, the Roman Catholic Church’s denial of sola scriptura and its insistence that both the Bible and tradition are equal in authority undermine the sufficiency, authority, and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many, if not all, of the differences between Catholics and Protestants.

Another disagreement between Catholicism and Protestantism is over the office and authority of the Pope. According to Catholicism the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ” (a vicar is a substitute) and takes the place of Jesus as the visible head of the Church. As such, the Pope has the ability to speak ex cathedra (with authority on matters of faith and practice), making his teachings infallible and binding upon all Christians. On the other hand, Protestants believe that no human being is infallible and that Christ alone is the Head of the Church. Catholics rely on apostolic succession as a way of trying to establish the Pope’s authority. Protestants believe that the church’s authority comes not from apostolic succession but from the Word of God. Spiritual power and authority do not rest in the hands of a mere man but in the very Word of God. While Catholicism teaches that only the Catholic Church can properly interpret the Bible, Protestants believe that the Bible teaches God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all born-again believers, enabling all believers to understand the message of the Bible.

Protestants point to passages such as John 14:16–17: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (See also John 14:26 and 1 John 2:27.)

A third major difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is how one is saved. Another of the five solasof the Reformation is sola fide (“faith alone”), which affirms the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8–10). However, Catholics teach that the Christian must rely on faith plus “meritorious works” in order to be saved. Essential to the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation are the Seven Sacraments, which are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. Protestants believe that, on the basis of faith in Christ alone, believers are justified by God, as all their sins are paid for by Christ on the cross and His righteousness is imputed to them. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that Christ’s righteousness is imparted to the believer by “grace through faith,” but in itself is not sufficient to justify the believer. The believer must supplement the righteousness of Christ imparted to him with meritorious works.

Catholics and Protestants also disagree on what it means to be justified before God. To the Catholic, justification involves being made righteous and holy. He believes that faith in Christ is only the beginning of salvation and that the individual must build upon that with good works because God’s grace of eternal salvation must be merited. This view of justification contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture in passages such as Romans 4:1–12, Titus 3:3–7, and many others. Protestants distinguish between the one-time act of justification (when we are declared righteous by God based on our faith in Christ’s atonement on the cross) and the process of sanctification (the development of righteousness that continues throughout our lives on earth). While Protestants recognize that works are important, they believe they are the result or fruit of salvation but never the means to it. Catholics blend justification and sanctification together into one ongoing process, which leads to confusion about how one is saved.

A fourth major difference between Catholics and Protestants has to do with what happens after death. Both believe that unbelievers will spend eternity in hell, but there are significant differences about what happens to believers. From their church traditions and their reliance on non-canonical books, the Catholics have developed the doctrine of purgatory. Purgatory, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, is a “place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.” On the other hand, Protestants believe that because we are justified by faith in Christ alone and that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us—when we die, we will go straight to heaven to be in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6–10 and Philippians 1:23).

One disturbing aspect about the Catholic doctrine of purgatory is the belief that man can and must pay for his own sins. This results in a low view of the sufficiency and efficiency of Christ’s atonement on the cross. Simply put, the Roman Catholic view of salvation implies that Christ’s atonement on the cross was insufficient payment for the sins of those who believe in Him and that even a believer must pay for his own sins, either through acts of penance or time in purgatory. Yet the Bible teaches that it is Christ’s death alone that can satisfy or propitiate God’s wrath against sinners (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10). Our works of righteousness cannot add to what Christ has already accomplished.

The differences between Catholicism and evangelical Protestants are important and significant. Paul wrote Galatians to combat the Judaizers (Jews who said that Gentile Christians had to obey the Old Testament Law to be saved). Like the Judaizers, Catholics make human works necessary for one to be justified by God, and they end up with a completely different gospel.

It is our prayer that God will open the eyes of those who are putting their faith in the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is our hope that everyone will understand that his “works of righteousness” cannot justify him or sanctify him (Isaiah 64:6). We pray that all will instead put their faith solely in the fact that we are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith” (Romans 3:24–25). God saves us, “not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5–7).

REJOICE IN SUFFERING

3 ways to rejoice in the midst of suffering

The Bible is full of wisdom and truth, but do you ever come across a verse that is frankly, a bit hard to embrace? Like Romans 5:3, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance…” When we are suffering, typically the last thing we want to do is rejoice and we often wonder if it’s even possible to do! Even though there are some things in the Bible that seem impossible, we are reminded in the very same book that with God, ALL things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

I personally love the fact that all things are possible with God, but sometimes am not too fond of the fact that nowhere in the Bible does it say things will be easy. Let’s face it, when you are suffering, not much seems to come easy. I’ve recently been struggling with a bit of suffering in my life and I took some time to seek God about what I can learn from this season and how I can grow through it. Whether you are going through physical or emotional suffering, these can apply to you too.

WHEN YOU ARE SUFFERING, YOU BECOME MORE AWARE OF GOD’S STRENGTH IN YOUR LIFE

At the time of writing this, I’m currently dealing with all day sickness, every day for weeks. Thankfully I haven’t been diagnosed with a life threatening disease – I’m pregnant and have a severe case of morning sickness. I’ve been nauseous, often unable to hold food down for more than a month now and this will likely be the case for another few weeks. When I feel sick and run down every day, it really has a tendency to zap my strength, especially when I’m trying to fulfill other responsibilities in my life at the same time.

I noticed that during this time, I’ve felt my weakest. There is honestly no way I could get out of bed every day without the power of God’s strength working in me. I’m typically a person who is strong for others and who can push my way past whatever is going on in my life, but often that is done in my own strength. This season of suffering has left me without my own strength to act in, and I am much more aware of the strength of God in my life. It is very humbling.

Paul knew this feeling too. “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul realized that when he was so physically weak that he could barely stand to be alive, that is when God’s strength rose up the most in him. He knew that God’s strength in us is so much more powerful than our own human strength, therefore he learned to be content in his weakness of suffering! I’m still working on the contentment here, but I can feel that God is bringing me closer.

WHEN YOU ARE SUFFERING, YOUR TRUST IN GOD AND YOUR FAITH INCREASES

When you are at the end of yourself, you learn to trust God more because frankly, what else are you going to do? You’re at the end of you, and that’s where you find that God is so faithful in your life and with his promises. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). I love the second part of this verse about not depending on our own understanding because the majority of the time, we don’t understand why we are suffering. We can ask God “why?” all day long, but he’s not obligated to answer us because he is building our trust in him. So instead of leaning on our own understanding and demanding to know why, we are simply to trust him to teach us and help us grow through whatever situation we may be facing.

I personally have also learned to stop depending on my own achievements, because I haven’t been achieving much lately! I’m normally great at doing lots of things, checking off my to-do list and then finding value in everything I’ve accomplished that day/week/month. Lately however, my to-do list has consisted more of making it through the day and not much else. I’ve learned to remember my worth is in God, not in what I do or what people think of me. When you are zapped of energy from suffering, you stop putting on a mask to pretend to be someone you are not because you simply can’t anymore. As a result, you are the real you, and that is what God can work best with!

WHEN YOU ARE SUFFERING, GOD CAN GIVE YOU A NEW AND REFRESHED PERSPECTIVE

If you take the time to listen and seek God while you are going through your trial, he can show you a lot! I know this is hard to do because often the last thing you want to do is go to God when you feel so low. I’ll admit, it was hard for me to do, but once I started praying about what I was going through and how I could grow through it, God showed me everything I’m writing right here!

He reminded me what is really important in life and that is him, my family and the people in my life. Money and things can seem so important sometimes, but in the midst of suffering, they just don’t seem as important anymore, because they aren’t. Your family and those around you, and most importantly your relationship with God are what is really most important in your life. “’Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:36-39). In the end, it is all about God and people.

During your most difficult trying times, you will also often learn just how amazing the people in your life truly are. If you are often a person who tries to help and support others (like I am) it can be especially difficult to ask for and accept help when you need it. Just as you are blessed when you help others, there comes a time for others to be blessed by helping you! When I was feeling especially sick and stressed for a few weeks, I had multiple friends step in and bring us meals for dinners so I didn’t have to worry about cooking for my family and so my husband could come home from work and spend quality time with our son. Even though it was hard to ask for and accept help, it was a huge blessing for my family and it really reminded me of the wonderful people God has brought into my life!

A season of suffering isn’t the most fun or the easiest to go through, but I believe we truly can rejoice if we keep focused on the right things. It can be difficult to do, but perhaps writing them down and posting them somewhere where you will see them daily will help. Or putting a note in your phone or even just praying every day that God reminds you of the things you can really rejoice about in this season. Most importantly, remember that it is a season. You won’t be suffering forever. It will be over eventually and you will look back and think about how much you’ve grown closer to God, what a more stable and mature person you are and you will see how it really was possible to rejoice through it.

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