Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Happy feast of our patroness, Edith Stein!

If you have been praying the Novena to Edith Stein along with me all week, I hope that you found it as inspirational as I did. Her terrible martyrdom at Auschwitz reminds us that we must recognize and oppose tyranny and evil with God’s help. Please, pray with me that we will never forget the terrible Holocaust of the Jewish people by the Nazis. Never again. Please God, never again.

Did you know that The Science of the Cross was the first book of Edith Stein’s writings to be published after her death? It was the last one she composed, at the request of her prioress, in honor of the 400th anniversary of the death of St. John of the Cross in 1942. The manuscript was laying open on her desk when the Gestapo officers banged on the door at the Echt Carmel, and took the saint captive.

St. Edith believed that her life, including her suffering and death, was completely in union with Jesus Christ. Her life and death were a part of His eternal life and therefore connected in a way that is beyond human understanding. May we ever live so as to understand that mystery more deeply.

This beautiful icon is by the artist Daniel Mitsui. I have a print in my office, and I hope you might consider purchasing one too. When I am confused by so much evil, I ask her to pray for me.

Peace be with you, friends of Edith,

Kristen