Saint Edith Stein

According to Wikipedia, Saint Edith Stein (1891-1942) was a German-Jewish philosopher, nun, martyr, and saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Born into an observant Jewish family but an atheist by her teenage years, she converted to Christianity in 1922, was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church and was received into the Discalced Carmelite Order as a postulant in 1934. She was canonized as Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross (her monastic name) by Pope John Paul II in 1998; however, she is often referred to as "Saint Edith Stein".

To avoid the growing Nazi threat, her order transferred her to the Carmelite monastery at Echt in the Netherlands in 1939. Even so she was not safe in the Netherlands—the Dutch Bishops' Conference had a public statement read in all the churches of the country on July 20, 1942, condemning Nazi racism. In a retaliatory response on July 26, 1942, the Reichskomissar of the Netherlands, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, ordered the arrest of all Jewish converts, who had previously been spared. Stein and her sister Rosa, also a convert, were captured and shipped to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they were gassed on August 9, 1942 when Edith was 51. Here are a few things that Saint Edith said:

If anyone comes to me, I want to lead them to Him.

As for what concerns our relations with our fellow men, the anguish in our neighbor's soul must break all precept. All that we do is a means to an end, but love is an end in itself, because God is love.

My longing for truth was a single prayer.

One could say that in case of need, every normal and healthy woman is able to hold a position. And there is no profession which cannot be practiced by a woman.

The nation... doesn't simply need what we have. It needs what we are.

3 comments:

  1. Do I have that kind of conviction and passion? I really don't know. I guess my faith has never been tried like hers.
    Thanks for this challenging post Bob.
    Happy Easter.
    Sue

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  2. These are the ones who will have many many crowns to lay at the Saviors feet on that Great Day!

    Lord, give me a heart like this!

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  3. Bob, I am happy to learn of another martyr/saint who dared to stand up against the murdering Nazis. Saint Edith is now forever in the presence of her's heart's desire, the blessed Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.

    But were she still with us, Saint Edith would tell us to not forget our present day persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ around the world! Listed below is a blog/website dedicated to helping them.

    http://www.persecutionblog.com/

    Happy Easter to you and yours!

    cr

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