I remember the collective gasp, even if not audible, when the world first heard about St. Mother Teresa’s “dark night,” a fifty-year period of feeling God’s absence from her life. Some said that the book Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta” shouldn’t be published. As a matter of fact, she herself had asked for the writings to be destroyed upon her death, likely because of a fear that these letters and other private writings might bring doubt to others. In the end, we can never know the full effect of the book’s publication, but we do know that the book reveals that doubt is a very human condition with the ability to affect almost anyone.
In our scripture readings for today, Thomas refuses to believe in the Resurrection until he sees Jesus with his own eyes. Once he does, his doubt disappears. Our maxim for the week, “no doubt,” reflects the moment when Thomas moves from skepticism to a firm declaration of “My Lord and my God!” What a blessing! Thomas gets firm proof of Jesus’ Resurrection by seeing the evidence for himself. Jesus knows, however, that many disciples will have to believe without seeing for themselves. He goes on to say, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” These words serve as our call to cast doubt aside and hold firm to our belief in Jesus for our sake and the sake of our community.
It is this communal aspect of faith that served as one of the reasons that, while St. Mother Teresa didn’t want her writings to outlive her, the Vatican wanted them preserved. They saw how her perseverance through the dark night of her soul models the hanging on, trusting, and forging ahead that we are all called to at different times in our lives. Furthermore, her life also affirms for us, on this Divine Mercy Sunday (and always), that God’s mercy and love can work through us, even when we feel like life is uncertain.
Just as St. Mother Teresa and other committed Christians serve as role models for us, it is good to remember that we can also be models of faith for others. On our strong days, we carry others along on our shoulders. On days when we falter, we grab the hands of our brothers and sisters of faith, allowing them to lift us up. Together, may our collective demonstration and witness of faith in Jesus proclaim “No doubt!” in our skeptical world today.
