Dear Omar:

Thanks for your concerns and prayers for my health. I am out of the hospital now and hopefully there will not be a recurrence. The doctors have me doing things that will hopefully prevent further infections.

I am glad you asked about the story on Mother Teresa. So far I have not seen any inappropriate media coverage of this, but such would be typical. Anti-Catholics ought to enjoy trashing Mother Teresa as they did when she was alive. 

The doubts of Mother Teresa are not unusual. As the postulator for her cause, Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk said that her spiritual torment actually helps her case for sainthood.

Many of the saints were tormented with doubts. The greater the mission the greater the doubts sometimes.

Back in the 1950's my uncle, who is most definitely not Christian, was reading biographies of the saints. He was struck by how many of the saints were not "saintly." Many of them were quite human and did not live lives of holiness as we think of holiness.

He asked an old priest he know how these people could become saints. The priest told him, "They became saints not because they were holy necessarily, but because God called them to do a mission and they did it until they died."

Mother Teresa despite her doubts continued in God work in India. She did it with fervor and persevered through her private torments.

That is the key to all of the Christian life -- perseverance.

Perhaps God will call Mother Teresa to be a patron saint of those who doubt.

Brothers and sisters, all who read this, we can doubt, we can have serious doubts, but we must persevere through those doubts, we must be Christian in spite of ourselves. Blessed Mother Teresa shows us the way. Follow her if you have doubts. Persevere. Continue on. Be Christian despite the torments. God will honor you for it. The reward in the end will be an eternal faith.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary