-
September of 1946, Teresa, then 36 years old, was sent to her annual
retreat and a needed rest, to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling, a town
nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, some 400 miles north of Calcutta
(a.k.a. Kolkata).
On the 10th, she experienced a "mystical encounter" with Christ. This
encounter would be only the first of several that would occur that year. But
lest you make the mistake of assuming that Teresa actually eye-witnessed
an apparition, or that she actually heard sounds with her own ears; let me
explain something that's crucial to keeping Teresa's experience in the proper
perspective.
Her so-called encounters are what's known as locutions (supernatural words)
viz: manifestations of God's thoughts; which may come through words heard
externally (exterior or auricular locutions) or in the imagination (interior
imaginative locutions) or immediately without any words (interior intellectual
locutions) viz: intuition. Teresa's locutions were of the interior imaginative
variety; viz: she didn't actually hear any voices nor did she see anybody; no,
it all took place in her imagination.
I'm not making this up. I own a copy of Teresa's personal letters, published
with commentary by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C. the director of the
Mother Teresa Center, and Postulator for her canonization. Father Brian is
not one of Ms. Bojaxhiu's enemies. No, they were friends for like twenty
years: he's a great admirer of hers and had his superior's approval to
publish her letters.
One of her letters, containing excerpts of some of her conversations with
"Jesus" that took place in her imagination, is on page 47. What really caught
my attention in the letter is a promise Teresa claims the locutions made to
her that went like this : "Do not fear-- I shall be with you always."
Was "Jesus" with her always? Not even! The poor woman went on from that
year forward to endure virtually five decades feeling abandoned by Christ;
and yearning for even the slightest glimmer of The Lord's presence.
Q: If the locutions were only in Teresa's imagination; then why did they go
silent? Couldn't she have kept them going?
A: Teresa wondered why the locutions stopped too. However, that's really a
question for either a professional psychologist or a neuroscientist. Our minds
seem at times to have a mind of their own. As an example, no doubt there's
been times when you heard someone call your name; when actually nobody
did. I don't know how to explain things like that any more than I know how
to explain the immoral, and oftentimes violent thoughts and imaginations
that flood our minds totally against our will.
How does the human brain, a 3-pound lump of flabby organic tissue
consisting of 60% fat, produce the phenomena of memory, consciousness,
and self awareness? How does it make us all behave so similarly at times,
and yet endow each of us with a unique and irreproducible existence? I can't
answer those questions any more than I can resolve Teresa's interior
imaginative locutions nor the mental activity of clairvoyance and horse
whispering.
Teresa died in 1997 at the age of 87; distraught with fear that God not only
didn't like her, but also that He may never have actually approved of her
work in India. Let that be a lesson. NEVER listen for a so-called "still small
voice" in your head; because it just might be nothing in the world but your
own mind's imagination getting to you. Following the lead of your own
imagination is like hitching your buggy to a tumble weed. You'll never get to
town like that.
†. 1John 4:1 . . Beloved, believe not every wind, but test the spirits whether
they are of God
Don't be gullible. Fantasized voices are the most unreliable form of
communication with God that I can possibly imagine. People actually commit
crimes because they hear a voice from God telling them to do so.
Q: Do you really think Mother Teresa had some mystical experiences?
A: People need to understand that I.I.L.'s are neither visible nor audible. No,
they are totally psychological: viz: they are essentially fantasies; which is
exactly why I strongly recommend that Christians never listen for a "still
small voice" at prayer because the human mind truly has a mind of its own;
and can easily mislead its owner.
Then there's also the paranormal aspect to consider. The Bible reveals that
there are invisible beings in the air all around us every moment of our lives--
whether we are awake or asleep --that have the ability to get inside people's
heads with subconscious suggestions, dreams, and locutions to persuade
them to think, act, and feel in ways they would never ordinarily do on their
own. This aspect of demonic control is especially terrifying because, unlike
possession, it's an activity that is impossible to detect with any of the five
human senses of taste, touch, sight, hearing, or smell. Nor can it be
detected by scientific instruments like CatScans, X-rays, or oscilloscopes.
Q: Why do you ridicule Teresa's locutions when you your own self believe
they happened?
A: I assure you there is nothing amusing about either Teresa or her
locutions; no, on the contrary, I think her condition was not only to be
deeply pitied, but also quite terrifying. Teresa's locutions led that poor
woman into a half century of spiritual dryness and alienation from God-- a
period of darkness of the soul unequalled in the history of Catholic mystics.
People are far too prone to evaluate Teresa's spirituality by her feats, when
the true proof of the pudding is not in one's feats, but rather, in one's
association with Christ; and according to Teresa's own letters; the "absent
one" was never with her in India at all.
†. Matt 7:22-23 . . Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Master, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in
thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them : I
never knew you. Depart from me, you that work iniquity.
Let that be a lesson. Somebody's accomplishments done in Christ's name,
no matter how remarkable, do not guarantee they will make it to safety
when they cross over to the other side.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
September of 1946, Teresa, then 36 years old, was sent to her annual
retreat and a needed rest, to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling, a town
nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, some 400 miles north of Calcutta
(a.k.a. Kolkata).
On the 10th, she experienced a "mystical encounter" with Christ. This
encounter would be only the first of several that would occur that year. But
lest you make the mistake of assuming that Teresa actually eye-witnessed
an apparition, or that she actually heard sounds with her own ears; let me
explain something that's crucial to keeping Teresa's experience in the proper
perspective.
Her so-called encounters are what's known as locutions (supernatural words)
viz: manifestations of God's thoughts; which may come through words heard
externally (exterior or auricular locutions) or in the imagination (interior
imaginative locutions) or immediately without any words (interior intellectual
locutions) viz: intuition. Teresa's locutions were of the interior imaginative
variety; viz: she didn't actually hear any voices nor did she see anybody; no,
it all took place in her imagination.
I'm not making this up. I own a copy of Teresa's personal letters, published
with commentary by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C. the director of the
Mother Teresa Center, and Postulator for her canonization. Father Brian is
not one of Ms. Bojaxhiu's enemies. No, they were friends for like twenty
years: he's a great admirer of hers and had his superior's approval to
publish her letters.
One of her letters, containing excerpts of some of her conversations with
"Jesus" that took place in her imagination, is on page 47. What really caught
my attention in the letter is a promise Teresa claims the locutions made to
her that went like this : "Do not fear-- I shall be with you always."
Was "Jesus" with her always? Not even! The poor woman went on from that
year forward to endure virtually five decades feeling abandoned by Christ;
and yearning for even the slightest glimmer of The Lord's presence.
Q: If the locutions were only in Teresa's imagination; then why did they go
silent? Couldn't she have kept them going?
A: Teresa wondered why the locutions stopped too. However, that's really a
question for either a professional psychologist or a neuroscientist. Our minds
seem at times to have a mind of their own. As an example, no doubt there's
been times when you heard someone call your name; when actually nobody
did. I don't know how to explain things like that any more than I know how
to explain the immoral, and oftentimes violent thoughts and imaginations
that flood our minds totally against our will.
How does the human brain, a 3-pound lump of flabby organic tissue
consisting of 60% fat, produce the phenomena of memory, consciousness,
and self awareness? How does it make us all behave so similarly at times,
and yet endow each of us with a unique and irreproducible existence? I can't
answer those questions any more than I can resolve Teresa's interior
imaginative locutions nor the mental activity of clairvoyance and horse
whispering.
Teresa died in 1997 at the age of 87; distraught with fear that God not only
didn't like her, but also that He may never have actually approved of her
work in India. Let that be a lesson. NEVER listen for a so-called "still small
voice" in your head; because it just might be nothing in the world but your
own mind's imagination getting to you. Following the lead of your own
imagination is like hitching your buggy to a tumble weed. You'll never get to
town like that.
†. 1John 4:1 . . Beloved, believe not every wind, but test the spirits whether
they are of God
Don't be gullible. Fantasized voices are the most unreliable form of
communication with God that I can possibly imagine. People actually commit
crimes because they hear a voice from God telling them to do so.
Q: Do you really think Mother Teresa had some mystical experiences?
A: People need to understand that I.I.L.'s are neither visible nor audible. No,
they are totally psychological: viz: they are essentially fantasies; which is
exactly why I strongly recommend that Christians never listen for a "still
small voice" at prayer because the human mind truly has a mind of its own;
and can easily mislead its owner.
Then there's also the paranormal aspect to consider. The Bible reveals that
there are invisible beings in the air all around us every moment of our lives--
whether we are awake or asleep --that have the ability to get inside people's
heads with subconscious suggestions, dreams, and locutions to persuade
them to think, act, and feel in ways they would never ordinarily do on their
own. This aspect of demonic control is especially terrifying because, unlike
possession, it's an activity that is impossible to detect with any of the five
human senses of taste, touch, sight, hearing, or smell. Nor can it be
detected by scientific instruments like CatScans, X-rays, or oscilloscopes.
Q: Why do you ridicule Teresa's locutions when you your own self believe
they happened?
A: I assure you there is nothing amusing about either Teresa or her
locutions; no, on the contrary, I think her condition was not only to be
deeply pitied, but also quite terrifying. Teresa's locutions led that poor
woman into a half century of spiritual dryness and alienation from God-- a
period of darkness of the soul unequalled in the history of Catholic mystics.
People are far too prone to evaluate Teresa's spirituality by her feats, when
the true proof of the pudding is not in one's feats, but rather, in one's
association with Christ; and according to Teresa's own letters; the "absent
one" was never with her in India at all.
†. Matt 7:22-23 . . Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Master, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in
thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them : I
never knew you. Depart from me, you that work iniquity.
Let that be a lesson. Somebody's accomplishments done in Christ's name,
no matter how remarkable, do not guarantee they will make it to safety
when they cross over to the other side.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
