Come Be My Light (2007) is the revealing private writings of Mother Teresa - the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner - "for those, especially the poorest of the poor, who find themselves in any form of darkness, that they may find in Mother Teresa's experience and faith, consolation, and encouragement".
Come Be My Light shows how our experiences of despair and loss (as well as joy and achievements) need not hold us back from living a purpose-filled life, in all its richness. It is a truly inspirational (and thought-provoking) book by an extraordinary selfless icon.
Father Kolodiejchuk's preface is a personal and intimate introduction to this book and makes a better commentary of what this book is really about.
From the preface: For decades, Mother Teresa and her work received extensive public interest.
In view of all the attention she garnered during her lifetime, and particularly at the time of her death at the age of eighty-seven, the question arises: What was the source of this attractive force drawing so many people to her?
She would have certainly preferred to remain unnoticed.
She considered herself just "a pencil in God's hand" and was convinced that God was using her "nothingness" to show His greatness.
She never took credit for her accomplishments and always tried to divert the attention she received to God and "His work" among the poorest of the poor.
Yet it was not in God's providential plan for her to remain unknown.
People of all creeds and walks of life recognized her selfless love and compassion for the poor; they admired her simplicity and genuineness and were attracted by the joy and peace that radiated from her.
At the same time, all those who met her, even just once, were left with the sense that there was something more behind her penetrating gaze.
Mother Teresa could not hide her work among the poor, but what she did manage to keep hidden - and with astonishing success - were the most profound aspects of her relationship with God.
She was determined to keep these secrets of love far from mortal eyes.
The late archbishop Ferdinand Périer of Calcutta and a few priests were the only ones who had some insight into the spiritual wealth of her interior life, and even with them she constantly begged that they destroy all her letters regarding it.
The reason for such insistence can be found in her deep reverence for God and His work in her and through her.
Her silence now stands as a testimony to her humility and they delicacy of her love.
Providentially, Mother Teresa's spiritual directors preserved some of her correspondence.
Thus, when testimonies and documents were gathered during the process for her beatification and canonization, the remarkable story of her intimate relationship with Jesus, hidden from even her closest collaborators, was discovered.
In contrast to her "ordinariness," Mother Teresa's confidences reveal previously unknown depths of holiness and may very well lead her to be ranked among the great mystics of the Church.
Her life and message continue to fascinate.
This book, then, is a response to the plea of many who knew, loved, and admired her and who desire to know the motive of her action, the source of her strength, the reason for her joy, and the intensity of her love.
These pages, unveil her interior life, with all its depth and drama, and add unsuspected riches to the spiritual heritage Mother Teresa offers to the world.
- By Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, Postulator, Cause of Canonization fo Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Director, Mother Teresa Center.
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