St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) was a Jewish convert to Catholicism, very well educated despite numerous obstacles, and who became a Carmelite nun. She died on August 9th in an Auschwitz gas chamber, along with her sister and many others. St. Pope John Paul II said the following about her at her Beatification on May 1, 1987: “a daughter of Israel, who, as a Catholic during Nazi persecution, remained faithful to the crucified Lord Jesus Christ and, as a Jew, to her people in loving faithfulness.”
Her deep faith to the Lord radiated from her and touched the lives of many. Here are some quotes we could take to heart to be more like her, and more open to what/where the Lord is calling each of us.
1.”And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him.”
2. “Only the person blinded by the passion of controversy could deny that woman in soul and body is created for a particular purpose…woman is destined to be wife and mother. Both physically and spiritually, she is endowed for this purpose.”
3. “Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love is it lacks the truth. One without the other is a destructive lie.”
4. “Women naturally seeks to embrace that which is living, personal and whole. To cherish, guard, protect, nourish and advance growth is her natural maternal yearning.”
5. “Each woman who lives in the light of eternity can fulfill her vocation no matter if it is in marriage, in a religious order or in a worldly profession.”
6. “Let go of your plans. The first hour of your morning belongs to God.Tackle the day’s work that He charges you with and He will give you the power to accomplish it.”
7. “The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.”
8. “One cannot desire freedom from the Cross when one is especially chosen for the Cross.”
9. “The woman’s soul is fashioned as a shelter in which other souls may unfold.”
10. “The love of Christ knows no limits. It never ends; it does not shrink from ugliness and filth.”
11. “If anyone comes to me, I want to lead them to Him.”
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