With the 10th anniversary of her death approaching, Blessed Mother Teresa is very much in the news.

A collection of her letters, in which she details her spiritual struggles and doubts, is about to be published. Instead of throwing cold water on her cause for sainthood, I suspect it will only fan the flames; the woman depicted in the excerpts is a human, fallible, anxious, seeking soul. In other words, a person very much like the rest of us. Her spiritual turmoil and misery, to my mind, only make her very real earthly accomplishments all the more astonishing. Already, some are comparing this book, “Come Be My Light,” to Thomas Merton’s “The Seven Storey Mountain” for the profound and moving way in which the author examines her own soul.

I have a feeling the book will soon earn a spot on many nighstands, in many backpacks, nestled beside many breviaries — with a lot of passages underlined and margins marked in pencil.

Meantime, a lay organization in Calcutta is working tirelessly on her canonization:

The Catholic Association of Bengal, the largest lay organization of the Archdiocese of Calcutta, has declared 2007 the Year for the Canonization of Mother Teresa, AsiaNews reported.

The organization launched a two-week prayer campaign today, which will lead up to the 10th anniversary of the nun’s death, with plans to continue the initial celebration until Sept. 23.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who founded the Missionaries of Charity, died Sept. 5, 1997, and was beatified in October 2003.

The organization’s chairman, Eugene Gonsalves, told AsiaNews: “More than three years have passed since the title of ‘blessed’ was conferred on our beloved Mother Teresa.

“During her life, Mother was a living saint to many. There is no doubt that she is already a ‘saint’ to many more around the world.

“Sainthood for Mother Teresa in a real sense may not be far away as many miracles are happening by her intercession.”

Let us pray for her, and with her. And let us hope she also is praying for us.