COME BE MY LIGHT

Every Sunday I visit the poor in Calcutta’ slums. I cannot help them, because I do not have anything, but I go to give them joy…O God how easily I make them happy! Give me strength to be always the light of their lives and so lead them to You—Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Advent meditations)

Mother Teresa was the light of the lives of the poor she encountered. In the book by the title, “Come Be My Light,” it was Christ Who uttered these words to her (page 98). We always think of Christ as the light of the world, but only through us can his radiance shine in the darkness of our world. Mother Teresa was a supreme example of how we can all bring this light to the world by being the light of Christ Himself.

She struggled through the dark night of the soul as St. John of the Cross describes it. Where was Christ? Why had he left her? After seeing and hearing him so many times, suddenly He was not there to guide her through the struggles she went through to be His light in the slums of India. How could she continue to radiate his love and compassion and mercy without Him at her side? How could she follow in His footsteps if He did not show her the way? What words could she utter without hearing His Holy Spirit, the One Who promised He would be with us always and speak for us, pray for us and groan with us?

It was faith and hope and love that held her together during the years when she felt so alone. Faith that even though she no longer saw or heard her Lord, He was walking with her through the wards of the destitute and diseased that she and her Missionaries of Charity cared for. She saw Him in their faces, heard His cry as they suffered, saw their joy as they beheld her face radiating the face of Christ.

The hope of seeing Jesus again, whether in visions or in the eternal light after this life, kept her going when she felt so alone and had so many battles to win for Him. How could she do it? She had been content as a Loreto nun. Why could she not serve him in that capacity? Because he wanted “Indian Nuns, Missionaries of Charity, who would be my fire of love amongst the poor…” (page 98). This was His command—to bring souls to Him. And only she could do this for Him. Jesus kept asking her, “Wilt thou refuse?” as He explained how much He wanted to be with the poor and how He could be with them only through her. “…obey cheerfully and promptly and without any questions…I shall never leave you—if you obey.” How could she refuse her Lord? He promised never to leave her if she obeyed, therefore she did the work He chose for her knowing Jesus never breaks a promise. Hope is essential in all we do, no matter how long it takes. “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) She struggled for the rest of her life because of “things not seen” nor heard. But her faith without evidence kept her hope alive as she lived in the dark night of the soul.

Love is what Mother Teresa knew and gave to the poorest of the poor and the world, the love of Christ that filled her and spilled out on others. “…in your love for Me—they will see Me, know Me, want Me.” Christ told her not to fear—“it is I in you, with you, for you.” Again Christ asked if she would refuse Him. Her answer was her life given fully, totally in faith, hope and love.

Much has been made of her feelings of being without Christ. They have tried to convince the public that she was an atheist, that God does not exist. Nothing could be farther from the truth. She compared this lack of natural and supernatural support to “hell.” She remained faithful knowing “that the work is His…” (page 250). Her hope was alive as she gave her life to the poor, seeing in them the fire of His love as she served Him by lighting this fire. “Come Be My Light,” He asked, and she said, “Yes.” May we all be His light in a dark and lonely world.

12-04-07 Alma Maish