Tapsearch Com EditorStaying on course no matter what
March 27th 2010 22:59
By Ray Tapajna - About Terry Pluto, top Cleveland Plain Dealer sports writer, who also writes about spiritual journeys.
Terry Pluto reflects on what it is called the Dark Night of the Soul by St John of the Cross
I was overwhelmed when I read the latest biography of Mother Teresa. After being in union with God and in His consolation, she was stripped of all this and drifted into the dark night of the soul. She finally recalled that she told God she would give up all so that she could serve the poorest of the poor not thinking that His presence would be one of those things.
Yet, she served the poorest of the poor and her ministry grew in global proportions with Jesus being a stranger in the night.
God deals with us as His children one by one and just as a shepherd gives his all in saving just one sheep- He is there for us no matter what. Terry Pluto's prayer "OK God get me through this", can apply to almost everything in life. Live the Resurrection as you say this prayer. Pray for the power of Holy Indifference to handle both the highest levels of consolation and the lowest levels of the dark night.
Usually, we all have someone in our lives who tell us to stay on course and Terry Pluto keeps doing this in his role as a top sports writed and author. Here is his latest article:
Easter story reminds us even Jesus felt lost and alone
Many face 'Garden of Gethsemane moments' of doubt: Terry Pluto's Faith and You
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
March 27, 2010, 7:26AM
Not long after Mother Teresa died, some of her letters became public. In them, she talked about feeling distant from God.
"The silence and the emptiness is so great," she wrote to her spiritual adviser. "I look and do not see ... Listen and do not hear ... the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me -- that I let Him have [a] free hand."
Time magazine cited that quote a few years ago in a story about Mother Teresa's "crisis of faith."
Other writers used her doubts about what God was doing -- or even if God was paying attention -- to dismiss faith entirely. Some even hinted that she was a bit of a phony because while she seemed so upbeat in her public appearances, it was a different story in the dead of night -- at least, based on some of her letters.
A reader that I'll call Sam to protect his privacy e-mailed: "My wife left me. She told me that she stopped loving me years ago AND that her heart told her it was time to go ... I wish I could make a deal with God: 'I'll give myself to you if you give my wife back to me ...' I know it doesn't work that way ..."
We don't know what triggered Mother Teresa's despair, but it's not hard to guess. Her ministry in India was to care for the poor, the forgotten, the sick, and finally, the dying.
For Sam, it was the death of a marriage, the feelings of regret, rejection and abandonment.
I thought of these two stories when reading through Matthew's account of the Easter story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus knows he's about to be arrested. He knows that his father in heaven has asked him to die on the cross. He asks his friends to pray, but Peter, James and John fall asleep three times.
Matthew wrote in Chapter 26, verses 37-38: "[Jesus] began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'"
But his friends remain asleep and after three requests through prayer, Jesus accepts God's will -- to be crucified.
When Mother Teresa wrote that "the silence and emptiness is so great," she seems to echo the feelings of Jesus in the garden. She asks her adviser to pray for her, just as Jesus asked his friends. And just as Sam asked me, in his e-mail.
Real, honest to God faith, is raw and uncensored. It's King David writing in Psalm 142: "Look to my right and see, no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge, no one cares for my life."
The book of Psalms seems to scream of despair. Sometimes they whine. Sometimes they weep. Sometimes they praise, but there seems to be far more pain.
Having recently written about parents who have children with disabilities, many of them confessed to have their own Garden of Gethsemane moments.
Tony e-mailed about how through prayer he and his wife moved from asking "Why us?" when their child was born with Down syndrome to recognizing "God has blessed us."
Tony wrote: "Not many regular kids who would say, in the middle of the day; 'Papa, let's pray for So-and-So' ... then sit and fold his hands in prayer. Or 'Papa, I think Mama needs a hug' (especially if mama and I have had words).... He also told the principal she had a nice butt!"
Sometimes -- even when our "friends" are gone or asleep -- prayer carries us to where we need to go. But it's also OK to admit the road is dark and lonely, just as Jesus did.
To reach Terry Pluto: terrypluto2003@yahoo.com
We also compare the story of Mother Teresa with our current economic situation - see Confessions for History ......
Mother Teresa went to serve the poorest of the poor and in her we see a person with internal struggles that will not stop her from serving her Love in Jesus. She shows what people should do when the Free Enterprise system ( that Greenspan does not talk about) fails its mission. It seems too many of us in the Catholic Faith wear blinders and refuse to connect the dots. We still think from the top down and are afraid of approaching the poverty issue where it starts. We do not use Rerum Novarum as something practical and wonder about it as an ideal. Others in the Christian Faith, do much of the same worrying more about being "saved" and prosperity theology while on earth. Mother Teresa just jumped in without any reservations. It is no wonder she had a state funeral honoring her by the nation of India. The conflict surrounding the biblical account - and they shared everything in common versus the right to private property - still has not matured.
Terry Pluto reflects on what it is called the Dark Night of the Soul by St John of the Cross
I was overwhelmed when I read the latest biography of Mother Teresa. After being in union with God and in His consolation, she was stripped of all this and drifted into the dark night of the soul. She finally recalled that she told God she would give up all so that she could serve the poorest of the poor not thinking that His presence would be one of those things.
Yet, she served the poorest of the poor and her ministry grew in global proportions with Jesus being a stranger in the night.
God deals with us as His children one by one and just as a shepherd gives his all in saving just one sheep- He is there for us no matter what. Terry Pluto's prayer "OK God get me through this", can apply to almost everything in life. Live the Resurrection as you say this prayer. Pray for the power of Holy Indifference to handle both the highest levels of consolation and the lowest levels of the dark night.
Usually, we all have someone in our lives who tell us to stay on course and Terry Pluto keeps doing this in his role as a top sports writed and author. Here is his latest article:
Easter story reminds us even Jesus felt lost and alone
Many face 'Garden of Gethsemane moments' of doubt: Terry Pluto's Faith and You
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
March 27, 2010, 7:26AM
Not long after Mother Teresa died, some of her letters became public. In them, she talked about feeling distant from God.
"The silence and the emptiness is so great," she wrote to her spiritual adviser. "I look and do not see ... Listen and do not hear ... the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me -- that I let Him have [a] free hand."
Time magazine cited that quote a few years ago in a story about Mother Teresa's "crisis of faith."
Other writers used her doubts about what God was doing -- or even if God was paying attention -- to dismiss faith entirely. Some even hinted that she was a bit of a phony because while she seemed so upbeat in her public appearances, it was a different story in the dead of night -- at least, based on some of her letters.
A reader that I'll call Sam to protect his privacy e-mailed: "My wife left me. She told me that she stopped loving me years ago AND that her heart told her it was time to go ... I wish I could make a deal with God: 'I'll give myself to you if you give my wife back to me ...' I know it doesn't work that way ..."
We don't know what triggered Mother Teresa's despair, but it's not hard to guess. Her ministry in India was to care for the poor, the forgotten, the sick, and finally, the dying.
For Sam, it was the death of a marriage, the feelings of regret, rejection and abandonment.
I thought of these two stories when reading through Matthew's account of the Easter story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus knows he's about to be arrested. He knows that his father in heaven has asked him to die on the cross. He asks his friends to pray, but Peter, James and John fall asleep three times.
Matthew wrote in Chapter 26, verses 37-38: "[Jesus] began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'"
But his friends remain asleep and after three requests through prayer, Jesus accepts God's will -- to be crucified.
When Mother Teresa wrote that "the silence and emptiness is so great," she seems to echo the feelings of Jesus in the garden. She asks her adviser to pray for her, just as Jesus asked his friends. And just as Sam asked me, in his e-mail.
Real, honest to God faith, is raw and uncensored. It's King David writing in Psalm 142: "Look to my right and see, no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge, no one cares for my life."
The book of Psalms seems to scream of despair. Sometimes they whine. Sometimes they weep. Sometimes they praise, but there seems to be far more pain.
Having recently written about parents who have children with disabilities, many of them confessed to have their own Garden of Gethsemane moments.
Tony e-mailed about how through prayer he and his wife moved from asking "Why us?" when their child was born with Down syndrome to recognizing "God has blessed us."
Tony wrote: "Not many regular kids who would say, in the middle of the day; 'Papa, let's pray for So-and-So' ... then sit and fold his hands in prayer. Or 'Papa, I think Mama needs a hug' (especially if mama and I have had words).... He also told the principal she had a nice butt!"
Sometimes -- even when our "friends" are gone or asleep -- prayer carries us to where we need to go. But it's also OK to admit the road is dark and lonely, just as Jesus did.
To reach Terry Pluto: terrypluto2003@yahoo.com
We also compare the story of Mother Teresa with our current economic situation - see Confessions for History ......
Mother Teresa went to serve the poorest of the poor and in her we see a person with internal struggles that will not stop her from serving her Love in Jesus. She shows what people should do when the Free Enterprise system ( that Greenspan does not talk about) fails its mission. It seems too many of us in the Catholic Faith wear blinders and refuse to connect the dots. We still think from the top down and are afraid of approaching the poverty issue where it starts. We do not use Rerum Novarum as something practical and wonder about it as an ideal. Others in the Christian Faith, do much of the same worrying more about being "saved" and prosperity theology while on earth. Mother Teresa just jumped in without any reservations. It is no wonder she had a state funeral honoring her by the nation of India. The conflict surrounding the biblical account - and they shared everything in common versus the right to private property - still has not matured.
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