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But Martin stressed that Teresa's belief in God never wavered—just her feeling of connection to Jesus, especially after her intense mystical experiences.

"It's one thing to feel that God is not with you. It's another thing to believe that God doesn't exist," he said.

How all this may affect her bid for sainthood remains unclear. Some say it makes her even more impressive. While her spiritual loneliness became known during the canonization process, Kolodiejchuk said this is the first time the arc of her inner spiritual life is compiled in one place in her own words.

Gezim Alpion, the author of Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity? who teaches at the University of Birmingham in England, wondered whether the Catholic Church was trying to capitalize on Teresa's popularity by releasing her private confessions.

"It's atrocious to think that whatever you tell these people in confidence becomes popular," he said.

Despite Mother Teresa's requests for privacy, publication of her private thoughts should be expected, said the Rev. Richard McBrien, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame and author of Lives of the Saints.

"Nothing," he said, "is private in a canonization procedure."

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light is available from ChristianBooks.com and other retailers.

Time 's September 3 cover story is "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith."

The New York Times published an op-ed on the significance of the letters.

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August (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51