A couple weeks ago I saw that Newsweek had an article on Mother Teresa, and within a few seconds was simultaneously outraged and delighted. Outraged by the author ("Christopher Hitchens, her most outspoken critic!") and delighted by the book he was reviewing: the collection of her letters outlining her dark night of the soul (Come Be My Light). Newsweek doesn't post entire articles (this one was in the August 29, 2007 issue), but here is the first paragraph:The publication of Mother Teresa’s letters, concerning her personal crisis of faith, can be seen either as an act of considerable honesty or of extraordinary cynicism (or perhaps both of the above).I'm honestly cynical of the rest of the article being worth $2.95 (the online price of a single article), but here's the link, just in case you're more sanguine (or just more foolishly affluent).
I had first heard of this dark night from a First Things article published on her beatification, and was flabbergasted. I had assumed that she was able to live so arduous and comfortless a life because she was given extraordinary spiritual consolations—now it appears that any consolations to be had were in the arduous life!
Last night a friend passed out copies of the Time review, which is much more balanced (I like to think this is Whittaker Chambers's enduring influence). The friend spoke with enthusiasm about how much hope it gave him for his own spiritual life. It is amazing that a whole world of people, most of whom are unlikely to read St. John of the Cross, are finding out about the beauty of faithfulness in extreme and prolonged suffering.
