Mother Teresa Remembered

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The unfortunate publicity and distortions to the point of calumny that have surrounded the publication of the book Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light , edited by Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., the postulator of her cause, have caused confusion to many and much pain to the Missionaries of Charity and their close friends. One leading newsmagazine even published a long article by Mother Teresa’s most severe and profane critic without any other commentary. The author attempted to psychoanalyze Mother Teresa’s experiences, which is both insulting and absurd. He never knew Mother, never had the chance to observe her behavior or life, and he has no serious training in psychology. As a psychologist who knew Mother Teresa for thirty years, I feel I must make some response to this absurdity and offer some helpful explanations for those who were surprised by the darkness revealed in Mother Teresa’s personal letters.

Continue Reading »

The Life and Death of Religious Life

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0400

It was a truism—universally accepted until the last decades of the twentieth century—that, wherever the Catholic Church was present, there would be representatives of the religious life: communities of vowed men and women living a frugal common life, praying and working together in Christian service, and offering a witness to the kingdom of God. They belonged to congregations that explicitly took on the responsibility of answering the gospel’s call to leave family, lands, and ownership to follow Jesus Christ.

Continue Reading »

First Things RSS Feed - Benedict Groeschel C.F.R.

Mother Teresa Remembered

The Life and Death of Religious Life