If you follow me and my coaching work, you’ve known inner darkness. Turns out you’re in exalted company!
Mother Teresa spent much of the six decades of her saintly work feeling that God had abandoned her.
I bring you the film
The Letters: the Untold Story of Mother Teresa.
Written and directed by William Riead, starring Juliet Stevenson in the title role, boasting film legends Rutger Hauer and Max von Sydowin featured roles, released in 2015.
This rendering of Mother Teresa’s story reveals a new a view into her interior life—shockingly divergent from her public face.
We know and admire her visage of joy. It’s stunning in the context of her work: seeking to allay the overwhelming suffering of the poorest of poor in the slums of Calcutta. We recognize the startling and thrilling contrast between her environment, what she is doing, and what her face expresses.
The film uncovers another, hidden layer of contrast:
Mother Teresa wrote to her longtime friend and spiritual advisor, Father Celeste van Exem over a nearly 50-year period, expressing her innermost feelings. During all the years of Mother Teresa’s very visible work in India, she was plagued by interior doubt, darkness and a feeling of isolation.
Yet look at what she accomplished.
In the face of feeling abandoned by God, Mother Teresa radiated love and compassion. She broke the old rules and made rules of her own (supported by the church, no less!) Mother Teresa was a true maverick. Her work touched millions of lives. The congregation she founded, “The Missionaries of Charities,” continues to grow while most religious orders are shrinking.
The sainted lady built an empire of love and compassion—because it was God’s work, and she devoted herself tirelessly to doing that work. She followed her calling with complete commitment, and she did that while in the dark.
That inner darkness you’ve known, the one that wants to drag you down, shut you up, make you small, perhaps even make you disappear…
How does it change things, to know Mother Teresa felt it, too?
Coach’s Challenge:
Watch The Letters. As you view it, consider that you and Mother Teresa are made of the same stuff. You’ve known her darkness. You have your own calling. The light she spread is no greater than the light you are capable of radiating. Go for it! Shine on!
