Suffering With Joy

A Right Relationship with God

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary 1570-1575, Tintoretto, oil on canvas, Alte Pinakothek, Munich

“Now it came to pass as they were on their journey, that He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him to her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also seated herself at the Lord’s feet, and listened to His word.  But Martha was busy about much serving.  And she came up and said, ‘Lord, is it no concern of Thine that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Tell her therefore to help me.’

But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things: and yet only one thing is needful.  Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her.’”  Lk. 10: 38-42

About eight or ten years ago, some devout Catholics got riled up over criticism of a small monastery of cloistered Carmelites by fellow Catholics engaged in what we call “social justice” issues.  It seems some Catholics attached to the local Franciscans were saying that since the Carmelites were diminishing in number and had more space than they needed, their monastery should be taken away from them and used to house the poor because “those nuns weren’t doing anything anyway.”

I knew that the Carmelites owned their property, that there was no danger of the bishop taking the monastery away from them and using it for other purposes, but I visited with one of the nuns anyway and carried back the information to the others to calm their anxieties.

The monastery is a juridical person, that is, the group of nuns were protected as an entity by canon law.  They were also a foundation of pontifical right, which means only the Pope could close them down, and he would have to have a very good reason to do so.  So the worries were unfounded and things calmed down.

The devaluing of contemplative life disturbed me a great deal then and still does today.  Martha and Mary stood out in my mind strongly.  Moreover, I now look back at what happened within the context of those who are too ill or disabled to “do” things and their devaluation by others using the utilitarian yardstick.

Martha threw herself into a great deal of effort to entertain Jesus, and was distracted from Him with all her preparations.  She was commendably concerned to show Him respect and honor, but her bustling about making much ado was beyond necessary and she could not see that.  As so often happens in these situations, Martha was probably more than a little irritated with Mary or she would not have complained to Jesus about it, fully expecting Him to take her side.

Showing His deep care for her, Jesus calls Martha by name twice and tells her that she is too concerned with activity and, in so many words, not enough concerned about focusing on Him.

This Gospel story shows how easily we can get immersed in worldly pursuits to the neglect of our relationship with God.  We get seduced into thinking that a whirlwind of activity around a good cause shows that we are dedicated to Christ when we really are dangerously close to running on empty spiritually.  Mary had chosen the better part and it was not to be taken from her.

Mother Teresa knew she could not accomplish what God asked of her without putting Him first.  Each day the Missionaries of Charity begin with adoration.  Jesus comes first.  Mother Teresa did not think that a couple of hours in adoration was “doing nothing.”

We can also see that the many sick and disabled of this world who cannot “do” anything still have a great contribution to make by suffering and praying for others who have much to do.  It is a way we all help one another to keep our priorities straight and maintain a right relationship with God.

Tags: Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, pro-life, suffering

Mother Teresa a Political Philosopher?

Normally I would not deal with political issues in this blog, but since the subject of Mother Teresa was brought up by Anita Dunn, a White House media strategist, I am making an exception.  It seems that Ms. Dunn gave a talk this spring to some high school students in which she stated that her two favorite political philosophers are Mao Tse-tung and Mother Teresa.  In the clip shown on Glenn Beck’s show and which is available on YouTube for the entire world to see, Ms. Dunn continued her address by extolling Mao to the students and elaborating on his philosophy.

 I am not going to address the myriad issues here of how a communist sympathizer came to be addressing impressionable youth, nor why the students are being exposed to uncritical and positive remarks about communism and a brutal communist leader who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Chinese and a total degradation of the people of his country.  Instead I want to correct the falsehood that Mother Teresa was a political philosopher.  She was no such thing any more than Jesus was.

 Granted, we all tend to filter reality and information through our areas of expertise.  Mathematicians and scientists apply their knowledge to events through their scientific filters, musicians and artists through their aesthetic filters, and politicians through their power filters.  It is no surprise that a person as deeply involved in politics for her total career as Ms. Dunn has been would interpret Mother Teresa’s words and actions from within her own political construct. 

Mother Teresa gave her life to bring Christ to others.  She started every day with several hours of prayer and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  She went into the streets of Calcutta and brought back the sick and the dying to care for them and honor their dignity as a human being.  Many times she said that she always saw Christ in the faces of the poor she ministered to, and that she was aware that she was bringing Christ to them.  Mother Teresa was never a political force.  She was a moral force, accomplishing what she did by the grace of God. 

By the power of God Mother Teresa was able to establish so many charitable foundations in over 700 countries.  Bishops from all over the world contacted her and invited her to bring her Missionaries of Charity to their dioceses to help with the poor and the sick.  Governments welcomed her foundations because she could do what the state could not – inspire many young women and men to give their lives selflessly for the good of others and care for the poor. 

As for herself personally, Mother Teresa lived her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience daily.  She attracted wealth from many different sources and used it all for the people she so lovingly cared for.  Once Pope Paul VI gave her an expensive automobile that had been given to him for his trip through India.  Mother Teresa and her sisters raffled it off and used the proceeds for the poor.  She slept on the floor wherever she stayed and always lived simply.  She required her religious community to live among the poor they served. 

Tags: Anita Dunn, Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, Christ, Glenn Beck, moral authority, sacrifice