Mother Teresa's recently published letters have taught us to be realistic about our spiritual struggles and doubts--if she could experience them, so can we. We have learned to be factual about our questions, examining what we don't know in the light of what we do.

So far she has shown us to be realistic about our doubts--if she could struggle spiritually, so can we all. We have learned to be factual about our doubts as well--when we examine what we don't know in the light of what we do, our doubts are often resolved.

When our doubts relate to the God of the universe, however, their relevance is obvious. We've explored in some depth the spiritual darkness which Mother Teresa experienced for five decades. Now, what can we learn from her struggles?

Mother Teresa came eventually to see her suffering in this way: "If this brings You glory, if You get a drop of joy from this--if souls are brought to You--if my suffering satiates Your Thirst--here I am Lord, with joy I accept all to the end of life--and I will smile at Your Hidden Face--always."

We're considering ways to understand her five decades of spiritual loneliness and suffering. Atheism, depression, discouragement, and the "dark night of the soul" have been suggested. The last has a "reparative" dimension by which suffering enables us to serve others who suffer.

Suffering often prepares us to identify with the suffering of others. In her case, Mother Teresa's experience of the absence of God could help her identify with the lost she was called to reach.

Learning about Mother Teresa's 50 years of spiritual darkness might cause some to think less of her as a follower of Jesus. To me, her sense of loneliness and spiritual pain only heightens my appreciation for her devotion to her Lord

It is...difficult to be objective about personal experience, a fact proven by the ways people are interpreting Mother Teresa's private letters and their disclosure of her five decades of spiritual darkness.

We're exploring Mother Teresa's private letters and the spiritual darkness they describe. Our purpose is not only to understand better this world-famous Christian, but also to understand better our own doubts and struggles with the faith.

It seems somehow appropriate on this dark day for us to consider what many have called Mother Teresa's "dark night of the soul." Her entire life direction had been transformed by some of the most intimate encounters with the Lord a human can experience.