Poured into Fresh Wineskins
Piety
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the
visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or
powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all
things, and in him, all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17
“…no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine
will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather,
new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking
old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.’” Luke 5:37-39
Study
Writing this on the evening of September 5, I realize that it has been
twenty-two years since we got the news that Mother Teresa died on this night in
1997. It seems like only yesterday. St. Mother Teresa was a figure of the
modern media age as well as a prophet in the ancient tradition. She shared profound experiences of darkness
and desolation despite her devotion.
Yesterday was the Feast Day of the greatest saint of the 20th
century. Many saints did what she
did--founded religious orders, helped the poor, lived a life of heroic
sanctity. “None did it with the inner
darkness she faced after her mystical experiences,” according to James Martin, SJ.
“Peace begins with a smile.”
She was undoubtedly familiar with literal thrones – pictured in life
with figures such as Diana, Princess of Wales; President Reagan; and the Nobel
Peace Prize committee in Oslo. (Remember that St. Mother Teresa also shares a
date in death with Diana). St. Mother Teresa even knew people who came to her
hospice in desperation – enabling her to see and touch all things visible and
invisible. According to an essay by Bill McCormick, SJ, "This holy woman
gained international renown even among secular audiences for her labors for the
poor of India, and yet for many years, she could not feel God near her." Quoting his Jesuit companion Martin who also said, “She’s doing it on an empty tank.”[i]
Even though he wrote this essay three years ago, many of us also are running
on an empty tank. Our world –
politically, socially, and spiritually – remains a fractured place. Are you angry, disconnected, and frustrated? Maybe reading the recent interviews given by
Mr. Theodore McCarrick brings out some of those feelings in you like in me.
(Pardon me for skipping the links to the articles in Slate or The Washington
Post.)
Mother Teresa’s dark night of the soul was different. She did not feel abandoned by the leadership
of the Church. She felt that God left
her. Despite the much-publicized darkness in her spiritual life, she lived by
the maxim: “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without
leaving happier.”
There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy
are those.
Action
Reflect on how you can put some of Mother Teresa’s axioms into practice
as you pour out your love into the world from a new wineskin.
·
If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed
just one.
·
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action
of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
·
I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing
God, who is sending a love letter to the world.
·
If we have no peace, it is because we have
forgotten that we belong to each other.
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