Here are some quotes from Edith Stein, a German philosopher of Jewish origin, who converted to Catholicism, and later became a Carmelite nun. This servant of the Lord took the name of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and she was canonized in 1998. In addition, we invite you to discover the most beautiful poems of Edith Stein with .
7 spiritual phrases of Edith Stein
“If we are united to the Lord, we are members of the mystical body of Christ; Christ continues to live in his members and suffers with them; and the suffering endured in union with the Lord is his suffering, inserted in the great work of redemption and, therefore, fruitful.”
“I have always been very far from thinking that the Mercy of God was reduced to the frontiers of the visible Church. God is the truth. Whoever seeks the truth seeks God, whether he is aware of it or not.”
“Religion is not something to live in a quiet corner and during a few hours of partying, but it must be the root and foundation of all life. And this, not only for a few chosen ones, but for every Christian who is truly one.”
“Every man must suffer and die, but if he is a living member of the mystical body of Christ then his suffering and death receive a redemptive force by virtue of the divinity of the Head.”
- Pray in the midst of occupations
“When it is not possible to obtain the slightest external calm, when one does not have a room to retire to, when unavoidable duties prevent a single hour of silence, then it is necessary at least to withdraw into oneself and run to the Lord, even if be the seconds that a blink of an eye lasts, because He is there and can give us what we need in the blink of an eye.” (Translated from French by ).
“I have come to the conclusion that you have to give your inner life the food it needs, especially when there is a lot of external activity.”
- The grace of meditation
“What God works within you during the hours of meditation cannot be seen with the naked eye. But a grace so great is supposed, that all the other hours of life are grateful for and influenced by this time of meditation.
“Who are you, sweet light, that fills me, illuminates the darkness of my heart?
You lead me like a maternal hand and if you allowed yourself to leave me, I wouldn’t know how to take another step. You are the space that embraces my existence and buries it in you, away from you it sinks into the abyss of nothingness, from where you raised it to light. You, closer to me than I am to myself and more intimate than my deepest interior, still implacable and intangible and beyond all name: Holy Spirit eternal love!
“The pure image of the feminine essence is before our eyes in the Immaculate, the Virgin, which was filled with the Holy Spirit, the temple in which he built his dwelling and the fullness of grace, all his gifts. She did not want to be anything other than the slave of the Lord, the door through which she could enter humanity, because not only by herself, but by her “sweet offspring” of hers, she had to bring us back the lost salvation. ”
“As mother of God and mother of all God’s children, she is elevated above all human beings to the throne of glory, and with her the very condition of motherhood is sanctified; as a Virgin, she shows the incomparable beauty and the pleasing condition of God, as well as the fruitful condition of virginal purity; as queen, the victorious force of servile love and immaculate purity. Every woman who wants to achieve her specificity should look at her image.”
“In experience, he reveals himself sensitive to personal realities, to harmony, to globality (…). The woman’s attention is thus naturally focused on people, while experience shows us that men aspire more to external efficacy in order to concentrate on objective actions (…). The female soul lives more strongly and is more present in all parts of her body. She is moved internally by everything that happens to her, while in the man the body has more of the character of a tool, which serves her in his work, which implies a certain distance”.
“Every woman who lives in the light of eternity can respond to her vocationno matter if it is in marriage, in a religious community or in a profession in the world”.
“In case of need, every normal and healthy woman can dedicate herself to a profession. There is no profession that cannot be exercised by a woman.”
Edith Stein left us a series of writings that develop her philosophical thought and show her spiritual message. Here are some excerpts from her well-known texts.
Letter from Edith Stein to Pope Pius XI
“For weeks now, not only Jews, but thousands of genuine Catholics in Germany, and I think all over the world, have been waiting and trusting that the Church of Christ will raise its voice to put an end to this abuse of the name of Christ. That Idolatry of race and of the power of the State, with which, day after day, the masses are pounded on the radio, isn’t it a patent heresy? Is not the war of extermination against Jewish blood an insult to the most sacred humanity of our Redeemer, to the most holy virgin and to the apostles? Isn’t all this in absolute contradiction with the behavior of Our Lord and Savior who even on the Cross prayed for his persecutors? And isn’t this a black stain on the chronicle of this Holy Year that should be a year of peace and reconciliation?” (April 12, 1933)
Edith Stein’s testament
“From now on I accept with joy, and with absolute submission to his holy will, the death that God has prepared for me. I ask the Lord to accept my life and also my death in his honor and glory; for all the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary; for the Holy Church and, especially, for the maintenance, sanctification and perfection of our Holy Order, in particular the Carmelite convents of Cologne and Echt; in atonement for the lack of faith of the Jewish people and for the Lord to be welcomed by his own; so that he may come to us his Kingdom of Glory, for the salvation of Germany and peace in the world. Finally, for all my loved ones, living and dead, and all those that God gave me. Let none of them take the path of perdition.”