Questioning is the lifeblood of faith. It’s like feeding oxygen to the brain. Without questioning, faith is untilled soil.

There are countless stories of some very serious questioning in the life of faith of many of the saints who have gone before us. St. John of the Cross called his time of deepest questioning, “the dark night of the soul.” And even Jesus experienced what is called “the agony in the garden,” where “he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me.” (Matthew 26:39)

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When I was a teenager and attending church camp, a creative Methodist minister preached on this very question. He said to picture a lovely garden where everything is perfect. The flowers are all beautiful, the deer are running through the woods, people are spread out on the lawn have a really fun picnic. The children are all playing on the swings and laughing. The birds are singing. Everything is in just right. For that minister, that was “heaven.”

Then he said, picture that entire beautiful pastoral environment enclosed in a giant glass bubble. Now, picture people outside the giant glass bubble lying on top and looking in. That’s hell. That image has always stuck with me.

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This is why Mother Teresa is a SAINT! She lives in my SOUL!

Doubt is essential to an authentic life of faith. Several of those we call saints talk of the same kind of things we read in Mother Teresa's letters. St. John of the Cross called this time in his life as "the dark night of the soul."

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