‘Mystic in the slums’: A glimpse into the prophetic life of Mother Teresa

Last updated on: October 21, 2014 at 8:37 am by CNA Daily News

‘Mystic in the slums’: A glimpse into the prophetic life of Mother Teresa 2014-10-21T08:37:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 21, 2014 / 02:37 am (CNA).- “The world today is upside down, and is suffering so much, because there is so very little love in the homes and in family life.”

One could easily attribute these words to any number of participants in the extraordinary gathering of the Synod of Bishops in Rome that recently came to a close.

But, in reality, these were the words of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta in an interview with a Christian magazine nearly two decades ago.

“She was talking about the breakdown of the family way before anybody else,” explained David Scott, vice chancellor for communications at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “Over and over again, she would tell people, ‘You deal with the poor in the abstract and you forget about the poor in your own home’.”

“The poor are the kids you’re ignoring to do your job,” Scott said. “They’re the wife you’re ignoring at the end of the day, when you come home from work. Love really does begin in the home.”

Scott is author of a newly published book titled “The Love that Made Mother Teresa: How Her Secret Visions and Dark Nights Can Help You Conquer the Slums of your Heart” (Sophia Institute Press, 2014). Currently available online, the 113-page book is part biography and part catechesis.

Blessed Mother Teresa became a household name after she was featured in the Malcolm Muggeridge-produced BBC special “Something Beautiful for God.” In 1979, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Despite her international familiarity, very little is known about the life of the Albanian nun. She was born Agnes Gonxha in 1910 in present-day Macedonia. She first recognized her call to religious life during an annual family pilgrimage to a local Marian shrine.

In 1928, she traveled to India to join the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto. Nearly two decades later – while riding a train from Calcutta to Darjeeling – she was inspired to start a new religious order: the Missionaries of Charity.

Scott told CNA that his book is geared toward Catholics who may mistakenly think they know everything there is to know about Blessed Mother Teresa.

“That's certainly how I was when I starting writing the book,” he reflected. “I thought she was a neat nun who did neat things with the poor. But, the more you know about her, the more you realize she was a mystic living in the slums.”

Furthermore, Scott said, Mother Teresa's life and work is also extremely relevant to the modern-day Church.

He pointed to her early warnings about the breakdown of family life as well as her similarities to Pope Francis.

“The existential peripheries that Pope Francis talks about are the places in the human heart where we’ve got our sins, our addictions, all the loneliness we feel, all the indifference and injustice we have,” Scott explained. “(Blessed Mother Teresa) was writing and thinking and living all those things a long time before.”

In her 1997 book “No Greater Love,” Mother Teresa characterizes this spiritual poverty as a slum found in the heart of every person. She writes: “The streets of Calcutta lead to every man's door, and the very pain, the very ruin of our Calcutta of the heart witness to the glory that once was and ought to be.”

Scott chose to reference Mother Teresa's words on the slums of the human heart in the subtitle of his book. He said her words inspired him with their darkness, beauty and mystery.

“She's taking the very physical image of the slums and applying it to our hearts,” he said. “We make our hearts a kind of heap of ruins because of our sins, our selfishness and all of the ways we're indifferent to people.”

“But, under all that debris, we were given a heart and it was made clean in baptism. We have to get back to conversion – and part of that conversion is opening ourselves up to others, especially to the poor.”

Previous Post

October 21, 2014

The Passion of Blessed Paul VI - 'Humanae vitae'

Next Post

October 21, 2014 Formation for marriage can't end at the wedding, Catholic couple says

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much ____; apart from me you can do nothing.

Select your answer to see how you score.

Faith Peace Joy Fruit