Day Nine - A Mini Retreat with St. Teresa of Calcutta – Part Three

 

Day 9 - A Mini Retreat with St. Teresa of Calcutta - Part Three

 

Chapters Eleven, Twelve & Thirteen – “At His Disposal”,  “God Uses Nothingness to Show His Greatness” and “Radiating Christ”

 

Chapter Eleven - “To Be The One”

“The honors bestowed upon her and her work accentuated the absence of intimacy with Jesus, which she longed for.”  [p.237]

“In September 1962, writing to now Bishop Picachy, Mother Teresa emphasized how dark her interior state was.”  [p.238]

 

“Not having the sense of believing, Mother Teresa still struggled with the fear of deceiving others …. When she wanted to disclose her apparent lack of faith she was deprived of the power to do so ….  She did have faith, a biblical faith, a blind faith that had been tried and tested in the furnace of suffering, and that trusted the path to him through darkness.”  [p.239]

 

Chapter Twelve – “An Instrument In His Hands”

“… despite the numerous activities, the frequent travels to visit the increasing number of houses, the growing needs of the poor she witnessed daily, and persistent interior darkness that troubled her, her fidelity to prayer was categorical: [in a letter to Fr. Michael van der Peet she wrote] “You write so beautifully of nothingness, we – and fullness – God. – And to think that those two are so apart and yet the humility of God has made it one - Jesus ….”  [p.270]

 

Mother Teresa “… shared with her friend Eileen Egan …. ‘Sorrow, suffering, Eileen, is but a kiss of Jesus – a sign that you have come so close to Jesus that He can kiss you. – I think this is the most beautiful definition of suffering ….”  [p.281]

 

 

Chapter Thirteen – “No Longer Me, But Only Jesus”

 

In January 1988, Mother Teresa wrote to Fr. van deer Peet, “At the beginning there were no slums in heaven. – Now heaven is full of slum people.  Jesus must be very happy to have those thousands coming to Him, with love from Calcutta.”  [p.309]

 

Reflection:

St. Francis de Sales advised, “Ask for nothing, refuse nothing, but leave ourselves in the arms of divine Providence, without busying ourselves with any desires, except to will what God wills of us.”  de Sales’ advice is fundamental to anyone who wants to do God’s Will faithfully and fully.  Simply put, “Ask for nothing, refuse nothing.”

 

St. Joseph pray for us.

St. Andre Bessette intercede for us. 

St. Francis de Sales pray for us.

“Tune my spirit to the music of heaven.”  St. Brendan the Navigator

 

May God Be Praised.