Mother Teresa's letters surprised, inspired order - Yahoo! News: "Mother Teresa's letters surprised, inspired order "
KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Letters written by Mother Teresa which reveal she sometimes doubted God surprised and then inspired many among her order, her successor said ahead of Wednesday's 10th anniversary of the ethnic Albanian nun's death.
"The sisters were surprised, I was surprised to learn how she suffered in her thirst for God," said Sister Nirmala, the diminutive superior general of the Missionaries of Charity.
"She suffered, yet she had a mask on herself of mysterious joy which comes only from complete surrender to God."
Sister Nirmala succeeded an ailing Mother Teresa six months before she died aged 87 on September 5, 1997, and will help lead a special mass to mark her passing.
The collection of letters written to colleagues and superiors over 66 years and complied by an advocate for her sainthood are due to be published on Tuesday under the title "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light".
They cover a range of subjects dear to the Roman Catholic nun but it is those which portray her as at times deeply tormented about her faith that have grabbed attention.
In 1956, the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who dedicated her life to the poor, sick and dying in India, wrote:
"Such deep longing for God -- and ... repulsed -- empty -- no faith -- no love -- no zeal."
After Time magazine published excerpts of the book on its Web site last month, Sister Nirmala said dozens of nuns had approached her asking what the letters meant.
"They understood that even as thoughts of God forsaking her entered her mind, she never rejected God, such was her thirst for God, such was her greatness," Sister Nirmala told Reuters at the weekend.
"Her letters are inspiring and it has inspired us more to carry on the good work."
In overcrowded India and elsewhere, Mother Teresa faced some strong criticism over what many saw as her dangerous opposition to population control, and stand against abortion.
Homes run by her order were also accused of doing little to alleviate the suffering of patients.
Meanwhile, Kolkata -- previously known as Calcutta and where Mother Teresa worked for decades among the poor and dying -- was painted as a pit of misery and suffering, critics argued, ignoring its long history of intellectual and artistic creativity.
But many others see her lifetime's work on behalf of the city's underclass, which thrust her to worldwide prominence, in a different light.
In the run up to Wednesday's anniversary, hundreds of people, both rich and the poor, have been thronging Mother House, the order's headquarters in Kolkata, to offer prayers and sing hymns.
There had been speculation the publication of the letters would hurt the procedure to make her a saint, but this weekend Pope Benedict said in a speech Mother Teresa's torment over God's silence was not unusual.
Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003 but has not yet been canonised by the Vatican.
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Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith - Yahoo! News
Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith - Yahoo! News: "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith "
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Monday, August 20, 2007
Christians, Jews in Holy Land alliance - CNN.com
Christians, Jews in Holy Land alliance - CNN.com: "Christians, Jews in Holy Land alliance"
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Christians, Jews in Holy Land alliance - CNN.com
Christians, Jews in Holy Land alliance - CNN.com: "Christians, Jews in Holy Land alliance"
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Sunday, July 29, 2007
Jesuits say take word of God to Second Life - Yahoo! News
Jesuits say take word of God to Second Life - Yahoo! News: "Jesuits say take word of God to Second Life "
ROME (Reuters) - Catholic missionaries have always trekked to dangerous parts of the Earth to spread the word of God -- now they are being encouraged to go into the virtual realm of Second Life to save virtual souls.
In an article in Rome-based Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, academic Antonio Spadaro urged fellow Catholics not to be scared of entering the virtual world which may be fertile ground for new converts wishing to better themselves.
"It's not possible to close our eyes to this phenomenon or rush to judge it," Spadaro said. "Instead it needs to be understood ... the best way to understand it is to enter it."
Second Life is a simulation game where players can create a virtual version of themselves -- an avatar -- and interact with other people in the three-dimensional world.
According to its Web site, it has a population of more than 8 million residents and millions of dollars change hands there every month.
"Is there (cyber) space for God?" Spadaro aaka in his article which says there are already virtual churches and temples serving countless religions. He quotes a Swedish Muslim who says his avatar prays regularly as he prays in real life.
Spadaro warns the uninitiated that "the erotic dimension is very present" in Second Life, that people can buy genitalia for their avatars in a world that is "open to any form of erotic stimulation from prostitution to pedophilia."
While the virtual world might be a refuge for some people seeking to flee the real one, it is also full of people seeking something more from life, including, possibly, religious enlightenment, he said.
"Deep down, the digital world can be considered, in its way, mission territory," he said. "Second Life is somewhere where the opportunity to meet people and to grow should not be missed, therefore, any initiative that can inspire the residents in a positive way should be considered opportune."
www.svdeals.com
ROME (Reuters) - Catholic missionaries have always trekked to dangerous parts of the Earth to spread the word of God -- now they are being encouraged to go into the virtual realm of Second Life to save virtual souls.
In an article in Rome-based Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, academic Antonio Spadaro urged fellow Catholics not to be scared of entering the virtual world which may be fertile ground for new converts wishing to better themselves.
"It's not possible to close our eyes to this phenomenon or rush to judge it," Spadaro said. "Instead it needs to be understood ... the best way to understand it is to enter it."
Second Life is a simulation game where players can create a virtual version of themselves -- an avatar -- and interact with other people in the three-dimensional world.
According to its Web site, it has a population of more than 8 million residents and millions of dollars change hands there every month.
"Is there (cyber) space for God?" Spadaro aaka in his article which says there are already virtual churches and temples serving countless religions. He quotes a Swedish Muslim who says his avatar prays regularly as he prays in real life.
Spadaro warns the uninitiated that "the erotic dimension is very present" in Second Life, that people can buy genitalia for their avatars in a world that is "open to any form of erotic stimulation from prostitution to pedophilia."
While the virtual world might be a refuge for some people seeking to flee the real one, it is also full of people seeking something more from life, including, possibly, religious enlightenment, he said.
"Deep down, the digital world can be considered, in its way, mission territory," he said. "Second Life is somewhere where the opportunity to meet people and to grow should not be missed, therefore, any initiative that can inspire the residents in a positive way should be considered opportune."
www.svdeals.com
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Scare as man tries to board popemobile - CNN.com
Scare as man tries to board popemobile - CNN.com: "Scare as man tries to board popemobile"
ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Vatican police have detained a man who tried to jump into the back of the open-air vehicle carrying Pope Benedict XVI to his weekly address in St. Peter's Square.
The man, aged between 20 and 30, was not armed and the pope's life was never in danger, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told CNN. It is not clear if he will be charged.
Video showed the man, wearing a red t-shirt, dark shorts, a baseball cap and sunglasses, launch himself over a crowd of people waving flags and holding banners on the side of the street as the popemobile passed by.
The man then jumped over the barricade and seemed to touch the back of the vehicle before at least six men in dark suits wrestled him to the ground. (Watch the pope's security guards wrestle the man to the ground )
The pontiff continued waving and did not look behind him where the incident took place.
After being questioned by Vatican police, the man will be handed over to Italian police for further questioning.
Every Wednesday, the pope gives an address, or general audience, to crowds who gather in St. Peter's Square.
Although it was quickly over, the incident recalled the attempt on the life of Benedict's predecessor John Paul II on May 13, 1981, also in St. Peter's Square.
Turkish assailant Ali Agca shot and seriously wounded the Polish pope as he was leaving the square following a general audience.
CNN's Alessio Vinci says people entering the square are screened with metal detectors. "There are thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people in the square, so security screening can be difficult."
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ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Vatican police have detained a man who tried to jump into the back of the open-air vehicle carrying Pope Benedict XVI to his weekly address in St. Peter's Square.
The man, aged between 20 and 30, was not armed and the pope's life was never in danger, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told CNN. It is not clear if he will be charged.
Video showed the man, wearing a red t-shirt, dark shorts, a baseball cap and sunglasses, launch himself over a crowd of people waving flags and holding banners on the side of the street as the popemobile passed by.
The man then jumped over the barricade and seemed to touch the back of the vehicle before at least six men in dark suits wrestled him to the ground. (Watch the pope's security guards wrestle the man to the ground )
The pontiff continued waving and did not look behind him where the incident took place.
After being questioned by Vatican police, the man will be handed over to Italian police for further questioning.
Every Wednesday, the pope gives an address, or general audience, to crowds who gather in St. Peter's Square.
Although it was quickly over, the incident recalled the attempt on the life of Benedict's predecessor John Paul II on May 13, 1981, also in St. Peter's Square.
Turkish assailant Ali Agca shot and seriously wounded the Polish pope as he was leaving the square following a general audience.
CNN's Alessio Vinci says people entering the square are screened with metal detectors. "There are thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people in the square, so security screening can be difficult."
www.svdeals.com super hot deals
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