Mother Teresa was a non-believer: A saint?

Question

Are we running out of "believing" saint candidates?

Answer 1

christians have claimed responsibility for her altruity so long and she made such a great impact that they do not want to give her up so easily. it's amazing how we humans think we have the knowledge and power to make someone a saint. just doesn't make sense

Answer 2

Mother Teresa was NOT a "non-believer". Do you suppose a person would faithfully devote their entire life to one of the most difficult ministries anyone could possibly be called to, if they didn't believe it was God's call??

Saint John of the Cross was not a "non-believer" either. He is one of the great saints of the Church. Yet, the classical work he wrote, "Dark Night of the Soul", describes his many years of absolute faithfulness without ever feeling the presence of God. You see, sainthood is not about feelings. It's easy to be faithful when you are riding on a spiritual high. True sainthood means absolute and unconditional faithfulness even in the absence of personal feelings of fulfillment, or a joyful sense of God's presence. This is saintly faithfulness, and God apparently allows only certain great saints to experience such testing. Anyone else would just give up and walk away. That's why Saint John of the Cross and Mother Teresa are among the greatest saints of the Church.

Answer 3

Mother Teresa was very much a believer. She died uttering the words, "Jesus, How I love You."

I believe you may have been confused by a recent news article about some of her letters. In them she was responding to some friends by saying that sometimes she "feels" God is far away. She knew times when God seems so very dear... But she also mentioned that she went years without experiencing this feeling. What we learn from Mother Teresa was that she was very much like an ordinary person.

While she did not experience a spiritual "high" all the time, she never questioned her faith in God.

Answer 4

mother t loved and devoted her life to Christ, in spite of doubts and deep depression she never wavered in helping
people who were abandoned to the streets. She was a teacher who lived in poverty with her nuns and those she vowed to help as they were in the most vile states. She had received the Nobel prize for her work and could have lived in comfort with the money. She was donated a beautiful automobile which was sold and along with her prize money she used to continue the work of the clinic.
She started as a youth, giving her life for Christ.
This hardly qualifys her as a non-believer but pushes her more toward the saintly path she richly deserves, even though she shunned the limelight and awards in real life. Her depression and doubts were her crosses to bear and her acceptance through blind faith at times
was all that kept her going. I hope this helps you to better understand the role of those who sacrafice their lives to the good of the whole.

Answer 5

She was not a non-believer. Her diaries show that, as many believers, she had periods of doubt. It is considered virtuous in Christianity to remain steadfast when doubt creeps in, and that is exactly what Mother Theresa did.

If you can call this "non-belief", then you really don't understand what faith is.

I'm not a Christian, but I hold this woman to be a much finer example of what Christ would have held up as a legacy than many of the holier-than-thou sorts who profess with their mouths an undying faith, but never lift a finger to do as Christ himself commanded ... "feed my sheep".

Answer 6

Mother Teresa had doubts. This does not make her a non-believer, but rather a person who thinks.

Answer 7

*shakes head* read the entire article (whichever one you read) next time. It wasn't that she was a non-believer, it was that she experienced times of great doubt, almost unbelief.

Part of what traditionally makes a person a saint (cannonization aside) is how they are a role model to us today and how people can relate to them. Some people might find it comforting that she did so much good in the world and still struggled like the rest of us.

Answer 8

Do you even know Mother Teresa, least her profession? She was a nun for crying out loud!!! I was told that whenever someone works for the church they are bound to be a believer, weren't you told so?

Answer 9

Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun, and humanitarian. She believed in God, she believed in self-sacrifice and devoted her lifetime to all the above. Not sure where you got the idea that she didn't believe in God.

Answer 10

oh she most definately believed but, she received no consolation to make her believe to the extent that she did. This dark night of the soul is what the book was referring to.

Answer 11

are you for real. She had her moments of doubt. like countless others in the bible. shows she is human, and has emotion. Can anyone of us say what this woman saw and experienced? She is a saint.