9/5/2017 - Tuesday of 22nd week of Ordinary Time - St Teresa of Calcutta - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11

      In our reading from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he writes an interesting passage about the light and the darkness.  Paul tells the Thessalonians that they are not in darkness, but instead, they are children of light. They are not to be of the night or of the darkness; thus, they are to stay alert or sober for the day of the Lord that will come.  I recently came across a poem by Emily Dickinson about light and darkness entitled: "We grow accustomed to the dark"

We grow accustomed to the Dark -

When Light is put away -

As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp

To witness her Good bye -

A Moment - We Uncertain step

For newness of the night -

Then - fit our Vision to the Dark -

And meet the Road - erect -

And so of larger - Darknesses -

Those Evenings of the Brain -

When not a Moon disclose a sign -

Or Star - come out - within -

The Bravest - grope a little -

And sometimes hit a Tree

Directly in the Forehead -

But as they learn to see -

Either the Darkness alters -

Or something in the sight

Adjusts itself to Midnight -

And Life steps almost straight.

       Sometimes we can grow accustomed to the darkness we encounter on our journey through life.  Sometimes when there is no light in our lives, we grow so accustomed to the darkness, that we see better in the darkness than we can in the light.  Even though we are called to be children of the light as disciples of Christ, we might not think the light will ever come back again.  Maybe, if the light comes back, it blinds us so much that we cannot see again.  I know for me, there have been periods in my life that the darkness had so enveloped me that I once had to consciously and physically remove myself from those experiences of darkness to return to light. No matter what, we are called to cling to the hope of our faith in the midst of the darkness.  

        It is interesting that on a day when our reading address the darkness we may encounter on our journey, the saint of the day is Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was just canonized last year.  I recently read an article that was entitled “Mother Teresa: A Saint who Conquered the Darkness.”  After her death, Mother Teresa’s letters and correspondence revealed that, except for one short period, she had been afflicted with a deep sense of God’s absence, a period that lasted almost 50 years. Those who admired Mother Teresa for her work for the poor and as a woman of great faith were confused at this description of her spiritual darkness.  What did Teresa’s long stay in the spiritual wilderness mean? Was she a victim of depression? Had she lost faith in God? What gave her the inner strength to carry on even when she anguished over feelings of God abandoning her?  But, in studying what happened to Mother Teresa, it appears not to be depression or a loss of faith, but a dark night that was also a period of great spiritual development for her.  Other saints such as St John of the Cross have recounted their own experiences of darkness in their relationships with God.  In her darkness, she shared in Christ’s passion and suffering.  May the prayers and intercessions of Mother Teresa help us to see the light in the midst of the darkness.