Mother Teresa's Secret Fire Blog from Our Sunday Visitor

Catholics worldwide celebrate the centennial of Mother Teresa

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:54:00 +0000

From the August 22, 2010, issue of OSV Newsweekly

by Mary DeTurris Poust

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s simple yet profound spirituality, which calls us all to holiness, still resonates today, a century after her birth
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was in many ways a study in contrasts. The diminutive founder of the Missionaries of Charity was at once the epitome of humility and yet a towering figure in the world at large. She was the definition of compassion toward others while taking on tremendous sufferings and sacrifices. She struggled with darkness in her own prayer life but remained a beacon of light to others. She promoted a spirituality that was on its surface so simple but at its core so profound.

It would be easy to get caught up in the awesomeness of Mother Teresa and think that what she preached was beyond anything that “regular” people could practice. But the real message of this “saint of the gutter,” whose 100 th birthday will be celebrated with much fanfare and some controversy around the world on Aug. 26, was that we are all called to be saints, and we can begin right where we are at this moment.

Small things with love

“Holiness is not the luxury of the few, it is a simple duty for each one of us,” she once said, emphasizing that peace and love and compassion must begin first at home, among the people closest to us.

Her writings on how to love God, serve others and live out the spirituality she taught are compiled in a new book, “Where There Is God, There Is Love” (Random House, $24), edited by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator of Mother Teresa’s cause for canonization and director of the Mother Teresa Center, which has offices in California, Mexico, India and Italy. Read the remainder of the article here»

Learn more about Blessed Mother Teresa on osv.com»

Conversion Diary blog on Secret Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Our Sunday Visitor) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:35:00 +0000

From Jennifer Fulwiler's blog, Conversion Diary:

"Last night I was reading the excellent book Mother Teresa's Secret Fire by Joseph Langford, and I came across this inspiring passage that I thought I'd share:

[Her letters] show a Mother Teresa not unlike the rest of us, as we struggle to answer the promptings of grace that nudge us beyond ourselves. Unfortunately, when faced with new challenges our first response is often negative, as we listen instead to the voice that insists we cannot change....

Read the remainder of Jennifer's entry here»

Get your own copy of Mother Teresa's Secret Fire by clicking here»

Excerpt from Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady

noreply@blogger.com (Our Sunday Visitor) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:00:00 +0000

By Father Joseph Langford.
Excerpt from the Introduction, "A Light Shining in the Darkness"
"Mother Teresa? A female Albert Schweitzer with nothing much to say...." That is how the "Saint of Calcutta" has so often been seen, even by those who admire her. Thanks to thirty thousand pages of documents gathers for her canonization, a fuller and more nuanced picture of Mother Teresa's inner world is coming to light. What we find is a grand kaleidoscope of surprising depth and richness, a mix of colors, even of darkness and light, which yield their beauty only by being seen together. To attempt to describe Mother Teresa in a few broad strokes by holding up one or another aspect of her life or work without reference to the whole is to fail to grasp who she was.
Mother Teresa lived with her heart in the heavens and her hands buried in the worst this world could offer. She managed not only to live at both poles of this soul-stretching axis, but to wed them, to make them one in Christ, such that Calcutta became a gateway to Jerusalem. She worked this miracle not only in herself, but in all those she touched -- the poor, her own Sisters, and the many volunteers and acquaintance of every faith (and none) who found themselves in her orbit. For all of these, through the challenge of her inward night, she spanned darkness and light, pain and love, riches and pverty, even the trappings of heaven and hell, that we might do the same.
From Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady, by Father Joseph Langford, MC, Copyright © 2007, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. All rights reserved. Order online here»

Read an exerpt from 'Mother Teresa's Lesson of Love and Secrets of Sanctity'

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:09:00 +0000

From the book by Susan Conroy, is here an excerpt entitled, "We Are Called to be Faithful"»

Some people who visit the Home for the Dying naturally are upset about the way this place is run, the quality of medical attention, and the overall conditions. I was not at issue with the goings-on, because I was more attuned to the spiritual side of what was happening there — the love, the peace, the joy, the tenderness with which the patients were cared for — more than the medical side, which was not the least bit “high tech,” but neither was it meant to be. As Mother Teresa has said in the past, “God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful.” To me, it was a beautiful place, a place where people died in peace with God after being loved and cared for like angels. “I don’t want the work to become a business, but to remain a work of love,” Mother Teresa said. And that is what her work was and continues to be.
Mother Teresa was once asked: “Why do you give them fish to eat? Why don’t you give them a rod to catch the fish?” She responded: “But my people can’t even stand. They’re sick, crippled, demented. When I have given them fish to eat and they can stand, I’ll turn them over and you give them the rod to catch the fish!”9 She felt that we each have a role to play in serving those in need. She understood that there are many different levels of service, each of them important. Mother Teresa personally was called to serve at the level where people could not even help themselves; she was called to do work that was essential, and to do work that most of us would never care to do. Read the rest here»

Father Langford interviewed on C-SPAN

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:10:00 +0000

"Father Joseph Langford talked about his book Mother Teresa's Secret Fire: The Encounter That Changed Her Life and How It Can Transform Your Own (Our Sunday Visitor; October 15, 2008). Mother Teresa referred to September 10, 1946, as Inspiration Day, but did not speak about her experience until she shared it with Father Langford in 1984 as they co-founded the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. He was interviewed at the 2008 National Book Club Fair."
See the interview here»

Order Mother Teresa's Secret Fire here»

Visit Our Sunday Visitor's Mother Teresa web site, with a wealth of excerpts, articles, and multimedia, here»

Happy Catholic blogs about Mother Teresa's Secret Fire

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Read Julie's post "10,000 Hours, Prayer, and Mother Teresa" here»
An excerpt: "I meant to only read one chapter but was drawn on and on. It is written that way, so simple but compelling at the same time. The book tells us of how Mother Teresa was transformed by God and then leads us to consider how we are called for that same sort of transformation. The chapter about the mystery of prayer didn't hit me like a brick but gently was integrated into my previous thinking as a natural progression. The following excerpts are cobbled together from the chapter to give you a taste. In a nutshell let me give you this summary: "What can be more important than prayer?"

Also from Happy Catholic, "Just How Much Does God Love You?"»

Father Langford's Washington Post Article

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:41:00 +0000

Father Langford wrote an article for Advent for the Washington Post (Dec. 23, 2008):

"Mother Teresa and God's Recovery Plan"

While the challenges of Mother Teresa's life may seem to have little to do with us in 21st Century America, this may be less and less the case in years to come, as the many-sided specter of crisis looms over our nation and world.
Who will teach us to deal with these previously unknown trials? What solutions will there be for us--besides escape, the hollow promises of a prosperity gospel, or the secret of "attracting abundance"? Mother Teresa's secret was quite another: more robust, reliable, and real; born of the most powerful force in the universe--the only One to have faced death and overcome it forever. The God-man whose light shines still gentle and strong in our collective night.
As the years go by, Mother Teresa's challenges may seem less foreign and her solutions more meaningful, even vital. Our common human plight has become our bond with her.
She would tell us that we are each equipped by God to not only survive our personal Calcutta, but to serve there--to contribute to those around us whose personal night intersects our own. If she could face the worst of human suffering, all the while bearing her own pain, then we can do the same in the lesser Calcutta that is ours.
She has taught us the divine alchemy that turns our personal hardships into compassion for others, our lack of material goods into wealth of spirit, and, should it come to that, the loss of our standard of living into the chance to become what ease and abundance would never have allowed us to be.
Mother Teresa's lessons will prepare us, as no political or economic programs can, to live through our trials with grace, and to turn them into blessings for others. If this simple, humanly un-extraordinary woman could have filled Calcutta's slums with such love and energy and ingenuity, then we can learn to do the same in our life, no matter what may come.
The history of those whom we call the saints reaches back to the beginning of all things, when on the first day God said, "Let there be light." This does not refer to the light of the sun, which was not created until the fourth day, but to God's own light. Adam and Eve were created to inhabit and embody that first light. According to Jewish tradition, after the Fall, God left a trace of original glory on the body of Adam and Eve. At the tip of their hands and feet, God left slivers of flesh dipped in light, translucent tokens of that first light that is still our destiny. Something as humble as fingernails would be God's reminder to us of the transparency that once was ours, and of the light from which, and for which, we were made.
The saints of today, like Mother Teresa, are sent for this same purpose. They are that small sliver of humanity, dipped in God, that still shines with his light. Their lives beckon us back, calling us to our senses and our source, as God called out to Adam after the Fall, "Where are you?" They reflect here and now the luminous face of our first parents, coming forth fresh from the hand of God.
Witnessing to this light in the midst of darkness would become the focus of Mother Teresa's entire vocation. God sent her to "be his light" in Calcutta's night, the dimensions of which transcend mere geography. She was asked to share this universal "night" in her own soul, and she did so without wavering. It is precisely her share in this inner night that made her not just a teacher, but a guide--a companion on our own journey into light.
Read it on the Washington Post site»
Order Mother Teresa's Secret Fire here»

A plug from Peggy

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:52:00 +0000

Columnist Peggy Noonan plugged "Mother Teresa's Secret Fire" over the weekend in The Wall Street Journal. At the end of a review of books she especially enjoyed in 2008, she writes:

None of these books were more important in the end than a modest and unheralded book called "Mother Teresa's Secret Fire" by Joseph Langford, a priest of her Missionaries of Charity and her close friend of many years. You wouldn't think there's much new to say here, but there is. Everyone knows that as a young nun in Calcutta, Mother Teresa, then Sister Teresa, left her convent, with only five rupees in her pocket, in order to work with the poorest of the poor in the slums of the city. But what made her do this?

On Sept. 10, 1946, on a train to Darjeeling, on her way to a spiritual retreat, she had, as Father Langford puts it, "an overwhelming experience of God." This is known. But its nature? It was not "some dry command to 'work for the poor,'" he says, but something else, something more monumental. What? For many years, she didn't like to speak of what happened, or interpret it. So the deepest meaning of her message remained largely unknown. Says Father Langford, "What was deepest in her . . . is still a mystery even to her most ardent admirers. But it was not her wish that this secret remain forever unknown."

In this book, based on her letters, writings and conversations, he tells of how she came to serve "the least, the last, and the lost," not as a female Albert Schweitzer but as "a mystic with sleeves rolled up." Father Langford tells the story of her encounter
on the train, of what was said, of what she heard, and of the things he learned from her including, most centrally, this: You must find your own Calcutta. You don't have to go to India. Calcutta is all around you.

It's better than I'm saying. But this is a good time to have Mother Teresa's life in mind, and to remember, perhaps, that all can change, that a life—and a world—can be made better all of a sudden, out of the blue, unexpectedly. But you have to be
listening. You have to be able to hear. Happy 2009.

"I love Him in the poor"

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:08:00 +0000

The following is an excerpt from OSV's pamphlet, Blessed Mother Teresa:

" I believe that we are not really social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of people. But we are really contemplatives in the heart of the world. For we are touching the body of Christ twenty-four hours. We have twenty-four hours in His presence" -- from Mother Teresa's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1979
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us that when we meet those in need, we meet Him, and that when we serve those in need, we serve Him. Blessed Teresa is a living witness to the truth of Jesus' words, and to their power. The Christ she meet in the Eucharist each day revealed to her His presence in the poor.
Blessed Teresa also reminds us that if Christ is present in the poor, we have much to learn from them. They teach us about human dignity, patience, and wisdom. It is, as Blessed Teresa said, a priviledge to live with and serve the poor.
It is tempting to turn away from the difficulty of suffering, to let someone else handle it, to hope it will go away. Sometimes we are even tempted to take pleasure in the suffering of others or, at the very least, rest complacently in our belief that suffering was unavoidable or even deserved.
But when we listen to Jesus, when we see how Blessed Teresa put flesh onto His words and what joy it brought to the suffering, even if for only the brief moments before they passed from this life, how can we continue to think this way?
"In the Eucharist, I see Christ in the appearance of the bread. In the slums, I see Christ in the ... poor. Sometimes we meet Jesus rejected and covered in filth in the gutter. Sometimes we find Jesus stuffed into a drain, or moaning with pain from sores or rotting with gangrene, or even screaming from the agony of a broken back. The most distressing disguise calls for even more love from us."
"We can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by the society -- completely forgotten, completely left alone. That is the greatest poverty of the rich countries."
-- Mother Teresa

This pamphlet, written by Amy Welborn, is available from Our Sunday Visitor in packages of 50 for $14.95 plus S&H. Click here to order»
Request a single, sample copy by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelopes to Bl. Mother Teresa Pamphlet, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, IN 46750.

Learn more about Mother Teresa

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Our Sunday Visitor has created a Flash presentation to help illustrate the love of Blessed Mother Teresa. Click the image below to learn more about her life and work.

Fr. Langford on Catholic Spotlight

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:48:00 +0000

Father Joseph Langford was interviewed on the Catholic Spotlight on Dec. 1, 2008. Find the details and the podcast here»

From the 'Foreword'

noreply@blogger.com (Cathy) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:28:00 +0000

The book you hold in your hands is itself the fruit of an encounter — one that took place years ago, as you will read, through the mediation of a photograph on the cover of a paperback book. As Providence would have it, that seemingly insignificant occurrence progressively involved Father Joseph Langford in Mother Teresa’s life and work, to the point of founding with her the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, something for which I personally am particularly grateful. Throughout the years, he has prayed, reflected, and written on the charism — spirituality and mission — given to Mother Teresa for her religious family, striving to discover and articulate its depths and implications, something Mother Teresa herself did not do. This book can be said to be a synthesis of his work. It lays a groundwork for others to follow and build upon, for, as we discovered through her private letters contained in Come Be My Light, Mother Teresa’s charism, like her holiness, contains unsuspected profundity yet to be fully appreciated.
With his distinctive style and gift of eloquence, Father Joseph delves into the questions about Mother Teresa that shaped his own spiritual journey since that first encounter with her — and through her, with God — thirty-six years ago. In Secret Fire, he not only presents his reflections on what made Mother Teresa who she was and how we, too, can become who we are called to be, but provides meditations that have been a source of grace to many over the years.
In the last years of her life, Mother Teresa would exhort those she met, either individuals or groups, to take up the challenge to strive after holiness: “I want — I will — with God’s grace — be — holy.” May these pages enrich that striving and encourage you on your way.

FR. BRIAN KOLODIEJCHUK, M.C.
Postulator
Director, Mother Teresa Center
Editor, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light

Order Mother Teresa's Secret Fire with free shipping by clicking here»

OSV newsweekly on Mother Teresa

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:52:00 +0000

We've had some great articles on Mother Teresa in recent years in the OSV newsweekly, the No. 1 national Catholic weekly in the United States. Here's a sampling of the best:

From our October 12, 2008, issue:
Book reveals Mother Teresa's Secret Fire»
How I met Mother Teresa»

From our September 2, 2007, issue:
Ten years ago, someone beautiful went to God»
Mother Teresa 'simply loved life'»
In Focus: One heart at a time»

From the April 1, 2007, issue:
The Secret Fire Within Mother Teresa»

From the December 31, 2006, issue:
Thirsting for Jesus the way he thirsts for us

Catholic News Service on new Mother Teresa book

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:12:00 +0000

CNS' Nancy Frazier O'Brien just interviewed Father Joseph Langford about his new book, "Mother Teresa's Secret Fire."

"As America faces its own dark night of the soul," the priest said, Mother Teresa shows Americans and the rest of the world "how to live joyfully, creatively, in a way that leaves a legacy."

Read the full story here.

So what about Mother Teresa's "crisis of faith"?

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:30:00 +0000

Ever since an August 2007 Time magazine provocatively titled "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith", many people have had lingering questions about whether Mother Teresa was really a saint, or worse, if she was some sort of hypocrite. The magazine article looked at what was then a new book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light - The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta (Doubleday, $22.95), a collection of previously unpublished letters by Mother Teresa.

That makes for good journalistic sensationalism, but the real story is a lot more complex — and interesting.

Here are a couple of links to stories that will help you get beyond the hype to the true story:

— Paul Thigpen, editor of The Catholic Answer magazine, gives an overview here.

— The editor of Mother Teresa's letters, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, who also serves as the postulator for her canonization cause, told OSV in our Sept. 23, 2007 issue how she was being misunderstood, and even said she should be the patron saint of unbelievers.

Offer a petition to Mother Teresa

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Have something you'd like to prayerfully place in Mother Teresa's intercessory hands?

Here's an opportunity to do so, over at the Our Sunday Visitor Web Mother Teresa site.

A Mother Teresa "word search" puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:55:00 +0000

This puzzle on the Our Sunday Visitor web site is not just for kids: It has some 30 words buried among random letters.

What's cooler is that it can be played both interactively, or printed out as a PDF for completion away from a computer.

Check it out.

Meditate with Mother Teresa

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:43:00 +0000

From the pages of Father Joseph Langford's new book, Mother Teresa's Secret Fire, is a five-page guided meditation for you to download in PDF format.

It is based on the core of Mother Teresa's insight into Christ's words on the cross, "I thirst."

Video trailer for the book

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Check out this one-and-a-half minute video "trailer" for Father Joseph Langford's book on Mother Teresa, "Secret Fire."

Welcome to Our Sunday Visitor's new Mother Teresa blog

noreply@blogger.com (John Norton) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:17:00 +0000

With the publication of Father Joseph Langford's new book, Mother Teresa's Secret Fire: The Encounter that Changed Her Life, and How It Can Transform Your Own, Our Sunday Visitor has launched this new blog. We'll feature posts from Father Joseph, book excerpts, audio files and more. Check back soon!