Next month, Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be canonized — the process by which the Church formally recognizes that a person is a saint. Saint Teresa of Calcutta will join Saint Pope John XXIII and Saint Pope John Paul II as one of the most popular of contemporary saints. Indeed, it has been less than twenty years since her passing — just a few days after the untimely death of Princess Diana (I rather like to think that Mother Teresa tried to sneak out the back door while the world was busy mourning the loss of the popular English princess).
There are plenty of wonderful books available by and about Mother Teresa. Here are just a couple of examples of books which have been reissued to commemorate her canonization. One introduces us the saint in her own words, while the other gives us a glimpse into this extraordinary woman through the eyes of a priest who met her and was moved by her deeply contemplative spirituality. I also mention a third book which belongs in the library of every contemplative Christian, in my opinion.
Mother Teresa: No Greater Love (New World Library) collects writings of the saint on topics such as love, prayer, holiness and forgiveness. Gathered from a variety of sources, most of the selections are short, making them ideal for daily devotional use. The book also includes an in-depth interview with Mother Teresa, the text of Pope John Paul II’s homily preached at Mother Teresa’s beatification mass in 2003, a biographical sketch of the saint, and a foreword by Thomas Moore. “Love to pray,” wrote Mother Teresa. “Feel the need to pray often during the day. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself. Ask and seek and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own.”
I Loved Jesus in the Night (Paraclete Press) tells of Dominican Father Paul Murray’s encounter with Mother Teresa as well as his reflection on her spirituality which she herself described as a spirituality of darkness. Having been moved by her message when he first heard her give a lecture in Rome in the 1970s, Father Murray became a lifelong student/devotee of Mother Teresa, and found himself particularly moved by her spirituality of profound anguish marked by the sense of God’s seeming absence or abandonment. Drawing parallels between Mother Teresa’s spirituality and that of other saints like John of the Cross or Bernadette of Soubirous, Fr. Murray offers an insightful glimpse into the psychology not only of holiness, but of contemplation as well. Particularly joyful about this book is glimpses into Mother Teresa’s sense of humor. On one occasion has tells of a dream she had, where Saint Peter would net let her enter the gates of heaven— “You can’t come in here,” he said, “There are no slums up here.” Not at all nonplussed, Mother Teresa replied, “Alright, I will go back. But I’m going to return here, Peter. And I’m going to fill this heave of yours with all of my people from the slums!”
Incidentally, if you want to get an in-depth look at the deeply contemplative, apophatic, and perhaps even profoundly austere spirituality of darkness that characterized Mother Teresa, another must-own book is the annotated collection of her private writings, Come Be My Light.
As we celebrate the canonization of this dimunitive (yet large in spirit) Albanian nun who made such a difference, not only in Calcutta but around the world. let’s remember Dorothy Day’s sharp-tongued reply when someone asked her if she thought someday she would be canonized. “I don’t want to be dismissed that easily!” Alas, it is far too easy to keep the saints on a pedestal, assuming that they are holy enough to do great works for God that are somehow beyond the reach of us mere mortals. But the point behind saints like Mother Teresa is a reminder that God works though anyone who truly desires to be a channel for God’s love. So say a prayer to Mother Teresa, and ask for her intercession as you reflect on the amazing things God has in store for you.
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