Mother Teresa: "Pain is Christ Kissing You."

[Red Terror]

So every time you get a body ache you should just visualize the King of Kings giving you a smooch: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That is how Mother Teresa views it. But how ironic! ---- Whenever she came down with some malady she would be rushed to the best hospitals in the Western World to treat her illness. Hmmm. Food for thought!

[MANICHAEAN]

Are you into "tweets" by any chance old fruit?

[YesNo]

I don't have any problem with Mother Teresa. The fact that she went to a hospital to be treated does not mean she did not see Christ kissing her while suffering under whatever pain she felt.

[Ecurb]

Mother Theresa's namesake, St. Theresa of Avila, was a mystic who had (perhaps) sexualized visions of religious experiences. Here she describes one of her visions:



“Beside me, on the left, appeared an angel in bodily form.... He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; and his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest rank of angels, who seem to be all on fire.... In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails. When he pulled it out I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one's soul content with anything but God. This is not a physical but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it—even a considerable share.”

I have no idea if Mother Theresa's comment shares any of these sentiments, visions, or religious experiences.

[mona amon]

“Beside me, on the left, appeared an angel in bodily form.... He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; and his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest rank of angels, who seem to be all on fire.... In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails. When he pulled it out I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one's soul content with anything but God. This is not a physical but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it—even a considerable share.”

Interesting! Till now I only knew of Bernini's highly erotic sculpture, "The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa", but I always thought that the artist had taken liberties with his theme. I had no idea it was a fairly accurate portrayal of her own writings.

Note: Like Ecurb I'm talking about St. Theresa of Avila, and not about Mother Theresa.

[Magnocrat]

So every time you get a body ache you should just visualize the King of Kings giving you a smooch: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That is how Mother Teresa views it. But how ironic! ---- Whenever she came down with some malady she would be rushed to the best hospitals in the Western World to treat her illness. Hmmm. Food for thought!

You have to take great care how you judge others, remember it is easy to find faults since we all have them.

[Red Terror]

Mother Theresa's namesake, St. Theresa of Avila, was a mystic who had (perhaps) sexualized visions of religious experiences. Here she describes one of her visions:




I have no idea if Mother Theresa's comment shares any of these sentiments, visions, or religious experiences.

She got nailed by an angel. Hmmmm ....

[YesNo]

I think sexuality and mystical experiences are closely related. In a sense she could have been nailed by an angel in her mystical experiences.

Although it has been a while since I read it, Sally Kempton's book "Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga" might be a place to start exploring this idea.