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St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD Edith Stein
October 12, 1891 – August 9, 1942
Feast Day – August 9
OPENING PRAYER St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
(Teresa, Blessed of the Cross)
Holy One, we come before you in profound appreciation for the life and model of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Wash over our soul and mind with a flood of holy joy, courage and strength to be as bold and resolved as she was to follow You. Set our hearts aflame with Your Love, and walk with us along the next stretch of road before us. (continued)
St. Edith, Child of the Day of Atonement –
Yom Kippur,
Daughter of Abraham,
Bride of Christ,
Seeker of truth,
Scholar of the Church,
Handmaid of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,
Servant of the Suffering Servant,
Presence of mercy,
Victim of victimizer,
Embracer of the Cross of Christ-like love,
Martyr of Auschwitz,
Imitator of Jesus,
Conqueror of evil,
Friend of God, St. Edith,
Please join with us today in giving thanks and gratitude to the Great Mystery for your life. Amen (adapted)
VIDEO 1 A Glimpse into the Life of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross https://youtu.be/nTr856e2lOY
Edith Stein, age 3
PRAYER 2 Prayer to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Beloved St. Edith, you were a woman of great wisdom and insight
into hearts, minds, and culture. Show us how to see the
world through your eyes, and to understand the truths that you
discovered through your study and teaching philosophy and theology.
Stripped of your citizenship you continued selflessly dedicating yourself to
serving others, changing political systems, and fighting against political
inequality and injustice. Assist us as we try to follow your example
and to love others with a selfless
and generous heart. St. Edith, we appreciate
your exceptional courage and bravery. Bolster our ability
to endure in times of weakness, and to find the fortitude to face
the challenges of life with hope and determination. Amen
https://youtu.be/m1dPjr8ATQw
Dr. Stein and Her Students
READING 2 A Rich Legacy of Civil and Political Engagement
Edith Stein fell in love; she was fascinated with the philosophical approach that she believed explained her cosmic questions more satisfactorily than the Jewish Religion of her childhood. This study of existential phenomenology, originated by philosopher/Professor Edmund Husserl, had given her life a sense of ideas with depth and breadth, as she constantly longed to explore “the Truth.”
A series of providential events dropped the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila into her hands, where after spending all night reading it Edith exclaimed that “this is the Truth!” The call of the Holy One knocking at the door of her heart shattered her silent search. Edith experienced a decisive upheaval in her life as she plunged herself into a deep prayer life; mystical experiences flooded her soul long before her hemp sandals walked along the Carmelite cloister.
For ten years after finishing her doctorate and before Carmel, Dr. Stein undertook a two-volume translation of St. Thomas Aquinas, and wrote of the intersection of Thomistic Catholic theology and Husserl’s phenomenology, and later translations of “Aquinas’ Disputed Questions on Truth”. On the one hand she worked through these ancient treatises; at the same time her prayer life was nourished by retreats at the Archabbey of Beuron, where she meditated and chanted with the monks. A liturgical renewal set her to writing “The Church at Prayer,” published in 1937, which urged a peaceful coexistence between those supportive of the quiet, meditative approach to church prayer and the newer, liturgical devotees. Hmmm.. Similar to today!
Dr. Edith poured her energies into writing and lecturing, becoming an expert in women’s formation and education, across Europe. “Her theories on women’s education were published widely as she wrote, lectured, taught and spoke prolifically across Europe. Though some of her feminist theories may seem antiquated today, many of her ideas are still revolutionary: she advocated for comprehensive sexual education for women and believed that women could thrive in any professional track, including, if so called, the priesthood.”
St. Edith’s spiritual life nourished her growth along the path of the Interior Castle. Her mystical spirituality long-preceded her entrance to Carmel.
On her “Landing Day” (Entrance) to Carmel
PRAYER 3 Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
O Prince of Peace, to all who receive You, give us bright light and peace. Help me to live in daily contact with You, listening to the words You have spoken and obeying them. O Divine Child, I place my hands in Yours; I shall follow You. Let Your divine life flow into me.
I will go unto the altar of God. It is not myself and my tiny little affairs that matter here, but the great sacrifice of atonement. I surrender myself entirely to Your divine will, O Lord. Make my heart grow greater and wider, out of itself into the Divine Life. Amen
VIDEO 3 St. Edith Stein Quotes on What it Means to be a Woman
Photo taken at the doorway of the Cologne Carmel - Her “Passport” Photo
READING 3 Patron Saint of Political Resistance
St. Edith’s “Landing Day” (entrance day) as it is called in Carmel, was October 14th, 1933, two days after her 42nd birthday. She was not the usual young woman following her vocation, but an accomplished, widely read and written author in Europe. The Carmelite Monastery of Our Lady of Peace in Cologne, Germany welcomed her, as the as the Nazi attacks on the Jewish population swirled around outside.
Dr. Edith said to those who believed “entering a monastery is escapism:”
"Those who join the Carmelite Order are not lost to their near and dear ones, but have been won for them, because it is our vocation to intercede to God for everyone." In particular, she interceded to God for her people: "I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the King who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is great comfort." (October 31, 1938)
Carmel Prepared St. Edith for Martyrdom
She had already taken a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience before Carmel. Once inside, Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was directed by her Prioress to continue her writing. Specifically, she was asked to write her autobiography, which she entitled: “Life in a Jewish Family.” She said: "I simply want to report what I experienced as part of Jewish humanity," pointing out that "we who grew up in Judaism have a duty to bear witness ... to the young generation who are brought up in racial hatred from early childhood." Her writing continued with: "The Church's Teacher of Mysticism and the Father of the Carmelites, John of the Cross, on the occasion of the 400th Anniversary of His Birth, 1542-1942." Her most advanced thinking was evidenced in: “Finite and Eternal Being: An Attempt to Ascend to the Meaning of Being.”
Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, (Edith Stein) and her sister Rosa at the Carmel of Echt in the Netherlands shortly before their death Quotesgram.com
PRAYER 4 Prayer to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Lord, God of our fathers,
you brought St. Teresa Benedicta
to the fullness of the science of the Cross
at the hour of her martyrdom.
Fill us with the same knowledge;
and, through her intercession,
allow us always to seek after you,
the supreme truth, to remain faithful until death
to the covenant of love
ratified in the blood of your Son
for the salvation of all men and women. Amen
READING 4 Preparation for Martyrdom
There is a terrible temptation for us to look the other way, to pretend that we live in a different world, or to believe that we are different from the people who lived and died in the atrocities of the Second World War. Both sexism and antisemitism affect the lives of millions today, just as they impacted St. Edith.
Her work exploring human nature, the human individual, and the human being’s relation to God intersected with many important movements of life and thought in the twentieth century. Through her witness to the primacy of truth and faith in the face of political totalitarianism, and in her philosophical works, she contributed to a synthesis of phenomenological thought, and advanced the study of feminism beyond philosophers before her time. She was, in fact, the first to write of the Catholic woman ethos, and she wrote, lectured, and taught prolifically around Germany after her conversion to Catholicism. St. Edith’s writings on the role of women in society and her advocacy for women's education and equal rights surely secured her place as a stellar figure in the 20th century feminist movement. She emphasized the dignity and value of women in all aspects of life. Feminism/equal rights for women as we understand in the 21st century has wrenched through difficult times in the two preceding centuries. St. Edith, we could say, gave our grandmothers and great-grandmothers a solid Christian belief system to work from as they suffered through political and religious pressures and punishments to earn for us the freedoms we enjoy today.
As she writes: “The greatest figures of prophecy and sanctity step forth out of the darkest night. But for the most part, the formative stream of the mystical life remains invisible. Certainly, the most decisive turning points in world history are substantially co-determined by souls whom no history book ever mentions. And we will only find out about those souls to whom we owe the decisive turning points in our personal lives on the day when all that is hidden is revealed.”
St. Edith said: By knowing God we know ourselves; only through Jesus that we know God; and only through the cross that we can know Jesus."
PRAYER 5 Prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace. How wondrous are the marvels of your love. Amen
CLOSING SONG GOD OF JUSTICE by Tim Hughes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nnqOI4mVKc
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
VIDEO
The Soul of Woman – Edith Stein 11 Minute Meditation of ES sayings
https://youtu.be/AtA-KnXbNdw the holocaust is known as Shoah in judaism
https://youtu.be/FAXnkoaFB3w A Rose in Winter: The Edith Stein Story (film)
https://youtu.be/kOgTfufLFvk Short Description of Edith Stein’s Contributions to Philosophy
https://aleteia.org/2018/08/05/ what-a-woman-who-died-in-auschwitz-can-teach-us-about-femininity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvFwaEalSb0 St Teresia Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
WEBSITES
https://carmelitesofboston.org/
https://www.catholicdoors.com/
REFERENCES
Borden, S. 2006, “Edith Stein’s Understanding of Woman”, International Philosophical Quarterly, 46(2): 171–190. doi:10.5840/ipq20064623
Borden, S. 2010, Thine Own Self. Individuality in Edith Stein’s Later Writings, Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press.
Catafalque: Carl Jung and The End of Humanity. Published November 1st 2018 by Catafalque Press. ISBN 1999638409 (ISBN13: 9781999638405)
Dourley, J. P. (2014). Jung and his mystics; In the end it all comes to nothing. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
De, T., Batzdorff, S. M., Koeppel, J., & Sullivan, J. (2005). Edith Stein : the life of a philosopher and Carmelite : text, commentary and explanatory notes. Ics Publications.
Herbstreit, W. (1985). Edith Stein, a Biography. HarperCollins Publishers.Sawicki, Marianne, 1997, Body, Text, and Science: The Literacy of Investigative Practices and the Phenomenology of Edith Stein, (Phaenomenologica 144), Dordrecht: Kluwer. doi:10.1007/978-94-011-3979-3
Stein, E. (2014). The Hidden Life: Essays, Meditations, Spiritual Texts. ICS Publications.
Stein, E. (2016). Self-Portrait In Letters, 1916-1942 (The Collected Works of Edith Stein, vol. 5). ICS Publications.
Stein, E. (2017). Essays on woman. Washington, D.C. Ics Publications.
Stein, E., & Maskulak, M. (2016). Edith Stein : selected writings. Paulist Press.
Stein, S. E. (1986). Life in a Jewish Family. Collected Works of Edith Stein.
Stein, W. (2013). On the Problem of Empathy. Springer.
Szanto, Thomas and Hilge Landweer (eds.), 2020, The Routledge Handbook of Phenomenology of Emotion, New York: Routledge.
Szanto, Thomas and Dermot Moran (eds.), 2015, Empathy and Collective Intentionality. The Social Philosophy of Edith Stein, Special Issue: Human Studies, 38(4).
Szanto, Thomas and Dermot Moran, "Edith Stein", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2024/entries/stein/>.
Tyler, P. (2022). The Living Philosophy of Edith Stein. Bloomsbury Publishing.
https://historyofwomenphilosophers.org/projects/project/edith-stein/ excellent chronology of the working life of St. Edith Stein.
Pew Research Center reports approximately 49% of Americans have had one or more mystical experiences. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2009/12/29/mystical-experiences/
https://www.hprweb.com/2019/09/saint-edith-stein/ Footsteps to Truth: Saint Edith Stein, by Peter Collinsin Homilietic and Pastoral Review This article clearly articulates St. Edith Stein’s burning desire to search for the Truth, how it affected her three conversion times across her lifespan.
https://catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/st-edith-stein-martyr-for-truth.html is the Catholic Education Resource Center
https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/2024/04/09/the-mystic-in-us-the-best-in-humanity/
https://youtu.be/RELGbXEn1LY Carmelite Saints
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