Discussing Our "Dark Times": Ma Teresa Joins Our Discussion Group

At long last we get to talk about the article about Mother Teresa that was in Time Magazine.

We started off talking about where her journey, mission, and struggles met with our own. Several interesting things were mentioned:

-The lives that she touched

+ Shane Claiborn speaks of the impact on his life during his time with the Mother's ministry in his book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

-It was mentioned that the letters from the lady saint could be challenging to a person's concept of God.

+ It can dishevel one to hear that someone so Holy and devout could not hear God (focus that statement less on her and more on God not speaking).

+It's Disheartening that she was doing what we SHOULD be doing, yet God was not speaking to her!

-The question was asked: "I wonder if she was looking in the wrong place?"

+"Often times we see what we want to see, and where we are looking is not in the right place."

-Some saw hope in her story

+If someone that devout can have such strong doubts...it can be comforting

-"Perhaps she got as close to God as humanly possible and what she was feeling, her "dark times" was really the void between the limitations of Human and Holy!

-The Article talks about the "divine spark" that led her into her mission/purpose...of that Holy encounter. But perhaps that that spark of spiritual warmth did not sustain.

+It was asked: "do we force God and that spiritual feeling (warm, happy, comfortable, etc...)?

+It was pointed out that even through the "dark times" she never strayed from her goal! That was admirable!

=The question was asked: Could we do that in her position?

-It was expressed: "The idea of the [type?] of relationship we're supposed to have with God is an idea we've created!

+Do we create our own reality w/in our spiritual(re)ality????

We then switched gears to talk about our own personal "dark times", What they are/have been, where we are now, and how those times shape us.

-For many the "dark times" centered around a lack of divine direction/guidance/intervention.

+lack of calling, or a calling without the opening of doors/opportunities and divine intervention.

+many times this was because of the given expectations on us (by society, family, church, etc...)

=what does this say about OUR expectations of God??

-For some it is being burnt out on Religion/Christianity (in particular).

+religious people and organizations have turned some off

+Anger towards what the religious organizations/institutions were teaching

=felt like it never brought them closer to God

-MOSTLY OUR "DARK TIMES" CENTER AROUND QUESTIONS!

-"Do we get caught up so much with how life is supposed to be that we stop living it?"

+"Do we live too much off of the expectations?" (our own and the expectations of others)

=We get depressed when we continually compare ourselves to those expectations!

-"We see God through ourselves! Through our own filters!

+Filters change- does that make our view of God with those previous/current/future filters WRONG????

There was so much good discussion happening, we hated to end! Feel free to jump in and let the conversations continue!