Rome (AsiaNews) – 10 years on from the death of the world’s most famous missionary,  On September 4, the Mother Teresa Centre’s first publication, “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light” will be available. This historic book reveals previously unknown aspects of Mother Teresa’s interior life through her correspondence with her spiritual directors and superiors over the course of some sixty years.

 Her call to found a new congregation to serve the poorest of the poor identified her closely with Jesus on the Cross and the poor she ministered to; she lived through years of unremitting “darkness”, feeling rejected by God but determined to “love Him as He had never been loved before”. Her heroic and firm faith, her fidelity, courage and cheerfulness throughout this painful and extended trial highlight the outstanding degree of holiness she attained

 Come Be My Light presents Mother Teresa’s inspiration and “darkness” in the context of Catholic mysticism as explained by St John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. The book reveals that Mother Teresa can be compared to other great mystics before her, such as St. Paul of the Cross and St. Jeanne de Chantal, who both struggled for more than 40 years with the apparent absence of God. St. Vincent de Paul, St. John Vianney, and St. Therese of Lisieux also had similar experiences.

 Another facet of Mother Teresa’s experience unveiled in the book is her identification with the poorest of the poor she served. She came to understand that the “darkness” was the “spiritual side of her work.” She was sharing in their sense of being “unloved, unwanted and uncared for,” which she described as the greatest poverty in the world of today”.

 According to some, “the darkness” experienced by the Blessed during her life is proof that in reality she had no faith, and was in fact a type of Atheistic benefactress, moreover a con artist.  The book rightly underlines that instead, Mother Teresa’s total identification with the Sufferance of Christ on the Cross.

 The press release ahead of the launch states that “it is our hope that this book will be a source of solace and hope, especially for those experiencing darkness in their lives; that it will inspire many to seek her intercession and that it will lead them to follow Mother Teresa’s heroic way of living and loving, rising above feelings and trials, on their path to union with God”.

 The book’s editor is Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator for the cause of canonisation of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. The Centre is a non profit organisation, created and under the direction of the Missionaries of Charity, an extension of the Postulation of Mother Teresa.  Its aim is to promote genuine devotion to Blessed Teresa and knowledge of her life, work, spirituality and message through the preparation and publication of her authentic writings, distribution of devotional materials (booklets, pamphlets, prayer cards, medals, etc.) and maintenance of an official website (www.motherteresa.org). The MTC is also responsible for safeguarding her words and image from misuse or abuse.