Dear Friends,
Yesterday was the feast of Edith Stein & her writings are very accessible so today we have chosen as our reflections some excerpts from those writings. A bit of background for those who aren’t familiar with her story: Edith was a Jewish convert to Catholicism, very well educated despite numerous obstacles, and she became a Carmelite nun. She died on August 9th 1942 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 as a Christian 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.
We hope you will find the excerpts inspiring.
‘The Peace of Christ be with you’ is today’s blessing from Heavenly Peace. Enjoy it! But let us pray for greater peace here in the British Isles at this time.
Love to you all
‘’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.”
‘’Women naturally seek to embrace that which is living, personal and whole. To cherish, guard, protect, nourish and advance growth is her natural maternal yearning.”
“Each woman who lives in the light of eternity can fulfil her vocation no matter if it is in marriage, in a religious order or in a worldly profession.”
“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.”
“Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love if it lacks the truth. One without the other is a destructive lie.”
“The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.”
“The woman’s soul is fashioned as a shelter in which other souls may unfold.”