From the archives: David Steinmetz on Mother Teresa

Shortly before David Steinmetz died last November, I saw him at a wedding that I was officiating. In the homily I told the story of one of my favorite Century articles—an essay that Steinmetz wrote in 2007 about Mother Teresa’s struggles with doubt.

Steinmetz claims that sainthood (in this life) is difficult because saintly people are so acutely aware of the reality of sin. It makes sense that God would seem absent to such a person, so certain is she of her shortcomings. But spiritual struggles are actually a sign that the Christian is taking her faith seriously. “From time to time,” Steinmetz writes,

everyone endures a barren period in the life of faith. Prayers bounce off the ceiling unanswered. Hymns stick in one’s throat, and whatever delight one once felt in the contemplation or worship of God withers away.