by Claudia Windal

Created on: August 17, 2008

I have a great deal of difficulty in thinking of Mother Teresa as a saint. That might surprise a huge number of people and I will present my rationale here. We are all called to be saints. Some of us will be given that distinction while many of us, who lead good and godly lives, will not be named as saints. Although there are rigid standards that must be met in order for canonization, others adjust those standards according to the person or public opinion. I believe that two people have recently been canonized by society, even during their lives. Great myth mixed with reality grows as their stories are told and they tend to become bigger than life. I am thinking especially of Mother Teresa and John Paul II.

I believe that Mother Teresa was an exceptional and holy person. Her outreach and ministry with the sick and dying was one of the most exceptional examples of the compassion of Jesus Christ that I have known. Was there more, however, to Mother Teresa? I believe that her ministry needs to be held up as an example to the world.

Tucked away in stories of Mother Teresa's compassion for the sick and dying was her alliance with John Paul II's condemnation of abortion. When asked about the growing number of abandoned children in the world, Mother Teresa responded that they should all be sent to her and she and her community would care for them. One doesn't have to be pro-life to realize how ridicules that statement is!

I find a selective compassion in Mother Teresa. If a group of people of a situation fits into her theology, then she acted quickly and assertively. In the case of abandoned babies vs. abortion, her answer fit the theology of the Vatican, but was far from realistic.

Mother Theresa's response to the question of abandoned infants was certainly compassionate, if not realistic. I believe that elevating someone to sainthood requires a careful examination of all aspects of that person's faith, action, beliefs, as well as questionable theological doctrines that they may have held.

I am a vowed follower of St. Francis of Assisi. I do not believe that I will (or should) ever be considered for sainthood! I don't base this on my occasional quick anger or my over sleeping when I could be visiting someone in a nursing home. I believe that I fail to consistently recognize the Christ in the people I meet every day. I can be selective with who I acknowledge and who I mumble a "hello" with little meaning. I aspire to be more attentive to everyone I meet and to greet them

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