I am jealous of John Guillaumier's easy access to correspondence space in the papers and his witty in-a-nutshell style of irreverent philosophy. To express my opinion, I require a lot more space, which is not always conceded. What follows, therefore, cannot possibly express fully my humble point of view of Mother Theresa's letters' "confessions vis-à-vis her faith".

There are two kinds of ice: thin and thick. You can have enormous faith in thin ice, and you drown. You can have little faith in thick ice and it will hold you up just fine. It's not the amount of faith you can muster that matters up front. It may be tiny, like a sesame seed but your faith must be invested in something solid.

That's what Mother Theresa manifestly did when dealing with doubt. Her only object of faith, Jesus, was solidly supported by the evidence of history, archaeology, literature and experience. Though having doubts about faith, she really did believe in the certainty that God would help her allay her doubts.

Her fundamental trust in Jesus became progressively stronger, more confident, surer and more steadfast because it had been refined through the purifying fire of doubt. Ultimately, despite obstacles, challenges and questions, her faith not only survived but it also thrived.

Fully conscious that doubt and faith can coexist, she did not have to fully resolve each and every obstacle between her and God. She lived an authentic faith in an overwhelming devotion to duty, to a heroic degree and "until it hurts". As the Church proclaims, God shows his potency at its mightiest exactly where there is weakness. (Martyr's Mass liturgy).

Was she inspired by Christ's words "As long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me. (Mat. 25:40)? She took the rational decision to put her trust in Him and held her peripheral objections in check until the day when they were resolved by her very gargantuan humanitarian work with the poor and sick. In her own words: "As to my heart, I belong entirely to the heart of Jesus."

John Azzopardi

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