#stedithstein — Public Fediverse posts

Edith Stein and the Small Spark of Joy

During this week of retreat, Carmelite Quotes is sharing several reader favorites from the Substack archives. Today’s featured reflection:

🔗 Edith Stein and the Small Spark of Joy

Regular daily publications resume May 16.

Quote of the day, 6 May: St. Edith Stein

Divine virginity has a characteristic aversion to sin as the contrary of divine holiness. However, this aversion to sin gives rise to an indomitable love for sinners.

Christ has come to tear sinners away from sin and to restore the divine image in defiled souls. He comes as the child of sin—his genealogy and the entire history of the Old Covenant show this—and he seeks the company of sinners so as to take all the sins of the world upon himself and carry them away to the infamous wood of the cross, which thereby precisely becomes the sign of his victory.

This is precisely why virginal souls do not repulse sinners. The strength of their supernatural purity knows no fear of being sullied. The love of Christ impels them to descend into the darkest night. And no earthly maternal joy resembles the bliss of a soul permitted to enkindle the light of grace in the night of sins.

The way to this is the cross. Beneath the cross, the Virgin of virgins becomes the Mother of Grace.

Saint Edith Stein

Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September 1941

Stein, E 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, Stein, W (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Crucifixion with Saints and a Donor (detail), Joos van Cleve and a collaborator, oil on wood, ca. 1520. Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (public domain).

Quote of the day, 21 April: St. Edith Stein

J.M.+J.T.

Cologne-Lindenthal, 25 April 1935

Pax Christi!

Very Reverend and dear Mother Petra,

The Bridegroom sends you the little wreath of myrtle with which your love decorated him, him as well as the bridal candle, the candles on the table, the napkin, cutlery, etc. [from Edith’s temporary profession, 21 April 1935].

The Bride wore a wreath of white roses. I was very happy to hear where the adornments came from. Heartfelt thanks for them.

We have not yet finished discussing what else I am to receive from you. I thought of an emblem and lining for a vestment since the silk of the bridal dress has not yet been used and has been waiting for the necessary accessories since the Clothing Day. But perhaps our dear Mother [Mother Josepha, the prioress] will think of something more urgent.

When you visit us again—after all, we’ve been anticipating it with joy all winter—we will recount everything that happened from the first hours of the morning until night on this beautiful Easter Sunday. One cannot write about it in such detail.

The Veiling ceremony will come only three years from now, after perpetual profession. For us, the preparation consists primarily of a ten-day retreat made in total silence and solitude. During that time we are allowed to live like hermits. I will tell you about the daily schedule when I see you.

For my meditation, I had our Holy Father John’s Dark Night and the Gospel of John.

Usually, on the day before Profession, before dinner, one makes a public admission of one’s faults. I was allowed to do that at noon on the Wednesday of Holy Week so that it would not interrupt the silence of the Holy Triduum.

I found it especially good [to comply with that custom] before the first of the Tenebrae offices—once they begin one wants to leave off all occupation with oneself.

On Saturday evening I was called [to come for a few minutes to see the community] during recreation time; I received from each Sister the promise of a spiritual bouquet and a commendation of intentions.

Richly laden I then returned to the choir. Of course, out of the great riches of grace on this Easter day, I let all those have a share who have given me something of their heart to take along into Carmel.

Once more, sincere thanks for all your goodness and love. 

In caritate Christi, your Sister

Teresia Benedicta a Cruce, OCD

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 198 to Mother Petra Brüning, OSU

Notes:

• It was customary to place a small statue of the Infant Jesus on the head table in the refectory, where the newly-professed is seated next to the prioress. Myrtle is used to create a small wreath for the statue of the Infant, the “Bridegroom”, who faces his “Bride”, wearing a garland of white roses. Edith sent the myrtle wreath that had been used on the statue to Mother Petra, who had provided it and all the flowers and decorations for the celebration.
• Edith refers to the Chapter of Faults, where even to this day in many Discalced Carmelite monasteries, nuns will gather in the Chapter Room of the monastery to listen to the prioress give a brief spiritual reflection on an aspect of community life and how it applies to the Carmelite Rule and their Constitutions. The nuns then take a spiritual and moral inventory, reviewing their life together; each one admits her public faults and begs forgiveness of her sisters. On occasions like religious profession, a nun will individually and publicly admit her faults and ask for forgiveness outside of the community Chapter of Faults. Since her profession rite took place on Easter Sunday, Edith made her public admission on Holy Wednesday; she gives the reasons why.
• During the retreat days prior to her profession on Easter Sunday, Edith would have assisted at the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours in the nuns’ choir. However, she would have veiled her face with her great veil (grand Voile) when in the presence of the community so as to maintain the spirit of solitude where the Discalced Carmelites “are allowed to live like hermits,” as Edith describes above. In the photo below, the veil that you see extending over her shoulders is the great veil, while the small veil (petit Voile) tucks inside her scapular. In her hermit days while on retreat, we see that Edith preferred to spend extra hours of solitary prayer in the choir near Christ in the tabernacle while the rest of the community was occupied at recreation.

[Sources: Leuven, Stinissen & Gelber; Carmel of Haifa]

Stein, E 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Koeppel, J (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: “The Bride wore a wreath of white roses.” Image credit: Todd Petit / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

Quote of the day, 15 April: St. Edith Stein

The walls of our monasteries enclose a narrow space. To erect the structure of holiness in it, one must dig deep and build high, must descend into the depths of the dark night of one’s own nothingness in order to be raised up high into the sunlight of divine love and compassion.

No human eye can see what God does in the soul during hours of inner prayer. It is grace upon grace. And all of life’s other hours are our thanks for them. Carmelites can repay God’s love by their everyday lives in no other way than by carrying out their daily duties faithfully in every respect— all the little sacrifices that a regimen structured day after day in all its details demands of an active spirit; all the self-control that living in close proximity with different kinds of people continually requires and that is achieved with a loving smile; letting no opportunity go by for serving others in love.

Saint Edith Stein

On the History and Spirit of Carmel (31 March 1935)

Note: On 15 April 1934, St. Edith Stein was clothed in the Carmelite habit and gave herself lovingly to God in the Carmel of Cologne-Lindenthal. Her novice mistress, Sr. Teresa Renata Posselt, OCD, described that day: “it was a feast such as the Cologne Carmel has never seen.”

Stein, E 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, Stein, W (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Edith Stein on her clothing day, 15 April 1934. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

Quote of the day, 22 February: St. Edith Stein

The most pure virgin is the only one safeguarded from every stain of sin. Except for her, no one embodies feminine nature in its original purity. Every other woman has something in herself inherited from Eve, and she must search for the way from Eve to Mary.

There is a bit of defiance in each woman which does not want to humble itself under any sovereignty. In each, there is something of that desire which reaches for forbidden fruit. And she is hindered by both these tendencies in what we clearly recognize as woman’s work.

The girl must learn from youth, through a basic upbringing or conditions of life, to adapt, to deny herself, and to make sacrifices; otherwise, she will enter into marriage with longings for undisturbed good fortune and the execution of all her wishes.

At first, she will not learn correctly how to curb herself should she find her spouse disposed to her wishes; she will test how far her control goes, and when she reaches its limits, conflicts will arise. This leads to a rupture or to mutual exhaustion if her sensibility and inner make-up are not reversed.

Such a woman will not find right relationship with her children either, that is, if she does not decline from the outset to take upon herself the burdens of motherhood. Indeed, it will be a question of whether to occupy herself with them or not, depending on her mood. She is apt to pamper them or to treat them severely at the wrong time and to make selfish demands of them. In short, instead of paving their way and encouraging them, she is likely to arouse their resistance and inhibit their development.

Saint Edith Stein

Spirituality of the Christian Woman (excerpt)
Lectures to the Organization of Catholic Women, Zurich (1932)

Stein, E 2017, Essays On Woman, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 2, translated from the German by Oben, F, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

Featured image: Eve is reaching out, past the head of the crafty serpent, to her husband Adam in this oil on canvas diptych by the Florentine painter Giuliano di Piero di Simone Bugiardini (1475–1554). Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Public domain).

Quote of the day, 20 February: St. Edith Stein

He is the King of kings, the Lord of life and death. He speaks His “Follow me”, and if a man is not for Him, he is against Him. He speaks also to us and asks us to choose between light and darkness.

We know not, and we should not ask before the time, where our earthly way will lead us. We know only this, that to those that love the Lord all things will work together to the good, and further,  that the ways by which the Savior leads us point beyond this earth.

Saint Edith Stein

The Mystery of Christmas: Following the Incarnate Son of God

Stein, E 1931, The mystery of Christmas: incarnation and humanity, translated from the German by Rucker, J, Darlington Carmel, Darlington UK.

Featured image: The Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio (Italian 1571–1610), oil on canvas, ca. 1599–1600, Contarelli Chapel, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome

Quote of the day, 26 January: St. Edith Stein

Yesterday, when I looked at a picture of the Infant of Prague, it suddenly occurred to me that he is wearing imperial coronation dress and surely it was not accidental that his efficacy should come to the fore precisely in Prague.

After all, Prague has been the court of the old German or Roman Emperors, respectively, and the city makes such a majestic impression that no other city known to me can compare with it, not even Paris and Vienna. The Little Jesus came exactly when the political imperial grandeur came to an end in Prague.

Is he not the secret Emperor who will someday put an end to all misery? After all, he holds the reins even though people believe they are the rulers.

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 333 to Mother Johanna van Weersth, OCD

Stein, E 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Koeppel, J (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The miraculous image of the Infant Jesus venerated in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady Victorious, Prague. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission).

#grandeur #InfantJesus #InfantOfPrague #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross

Quote of the day, 23 January: St. Edith Stein

For those blessed souls who have entered into the unity of life in God, everything is one: rest and activity, looking and acting, silence and speaking, listening and communicating, surrender in loving acceptance, and an outpouring of love in grateful songs of praise.

As long as we are still on the way—and the farther away from the goal the more intensely—we are still subject to temporal laws and are instructed to actualize in ourselves, one after another and all the members complementing each other mutually, the divine life in all its fullness.

• We need hours for listening silently and allowing the Word of God to act on us until it moves us to bear fruit in an offering of praise and an offering of action.
• We need to have traditional forms and to participate in public and prescribed worship services so our interior life will remain vital and on the right track, and so it will find appropriate expression.

There must be special places on earth for the solemn praise of God, places where this praise is formed into the greatest perfection of which humankind is capable. From such places, it can ascend to heaven for the whole Church and have an influence on the Church’s members; it can awaken the interior life in them and make them zealous for external unanimity.

But it must be enlivened from within by this means: that here, too, room must be made for silent recollection. Otherwise, it will degenerate into a rigid and lifeless lip service.

And protection from such dangers is provided by those homes for the interior life where souls stand before the face of God in solitude and silence in order to be quickening love in the heart of the Church.

Saint Edith Stein

The Prayer of the Church (Vom Gebet der Kirche, 1936)

Stein, E 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, Stein, W (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Edith Stein on her clothing day, 15 April 1934. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission),

#prayer #silence #StEdithStein #tradition #WordOfGod

Quote of the Day, 17 January: St. Edith Stein

For a long while now I have hardly been able to do any work.

From the beginning of September until the middle of December, I took care of our good, eldest lay sister, Sr. Clara (cancer of the liver, as far as the doctors can tell). Then I got the office of turn-sister [portress], which means being a contact between the cloister and the outside world.

You can imagine that for this one needs a serviceable walking apparatus. I hope to be allowed to make my perpetual profession on April 21. Soon thereafter follows the Veiling Ceremony. That is, again, a big public celebration that the beloved baptismal sponsor [Hedwig Conrad-Martius] should not miss. Hopefully, the League of Academics will again cover the cost of travel.

We celebrated the 300th Jubilee Year of the Cologne Carmel for four days at the end of September/beginning of October. Our dear Mother wrote a beautiful commemorative booklet for the occasion. I believe you will receive it as a gift when you next visit us.

Do you know that Husserl’s health is very poor? This summer he suffered a severe recurrence of pleurisy and is not recovering well from it. Would you write to him sometime perhaps? They now live in Freiburg-Herdern, at Schöneck 6.

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 257 to Hedwig Conrad-Martius
17 January 1938

Note: In December 1937, Saint Edith Stein was appointed under obedience to the demanding office of Turn Sister (portress) at the Cologne Carmel—a role previously held by the sub-prioress. Responsible for daily provisions, communications at the grille, and the reception of guests, the office required tact, prudence, and discretion, virtues she exercised with notable charity and steadiness, in fidelity to the Constitutions of Saint Teresa of Avila.

Stein, E 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Koeppel, J (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Detailed image of Saint Edith Stein’s 1938 passport photo prepared for her travel to the Carmel of Echt in the Netherlands. Image credit: Discalced Carmelite (By permission).

#EdmundHusserl #jubileeYear #monasticLife #perpetualProfession #StEdithStein

Quote of the day, 25 December: St. Edith Stein

We know not, and we should not ask before the time, where our earthly way will lead us. We know only this, that to those that love the Lord all things will work together to the good, and, further, that the ways by which the Saviour leads us point beyond this earth.

It is truly a marvellous exchange: the Creator of mankind, taking a body, gives us His Godhead. The Redeemer has come into the world to do this wonderful work. God became man, so that men might become children of God. One of us had broken the bond that made us God’s children; one of us had to tie it again and pay the ransom. This could not be done by one who came from the old, wild and diseased trunk; a new branch, healthy and noble, had to be grafted into it.

He became one of us, more than this, He became one with us. For this is the marvellous thing about the human race, that we are all one. If it were otherwise, if we were all autonomous individuals, living beside each other quite free and independent, the fall of the one could not have resulted in the fall of all. In that case, on the other hand, the ransom might have been paid for and imputed to us, but His justice could not have passed on to the sinners; no justification would have been possible.

But He came to be one mysterious Body with us: He our Head, we His members. If we place our hands into the hands of the divine Child, if we say our Yes to His Follow Me, then we are His, and the way is free for His divine Life to flow into us.

This is the beginning of eternal life in us. It is not yet the beatific vision in the light of glory; it is still the darkness of faith; but it is no longer of this world, it means living in the kingdom of God. This kingdom began on earth when the blessed Virgin spoke her “Be it unto me”, and she was its first handmaid.

And all those who have confessed the Child by word and deed before and after His birth, St. Joseph, St. Elizabeth with her son, and all those surrounding the crib, have entered the kingdom of God. The reign of the divine King showed itself to be different from what people had expected it to be when they read the Psalms and the Prophets. The Romans remained masters in the land; high priests and scribes continued to oppress the poor.

Those who belonged to the Lord bore their kingdom of heaven invisibly within them. Their earthly burden was not taken away from them; on the contrary, many another was added to it; but within them there was a winged power that made the yoke sweet and the burden light.

The same happens today with every child of God. The divine life that is kindled in the soul is the light that has come into the darkness, the miracle of the Holy Night. If we have it in us, we understand what is meant when men speak about it. For the others, everything that can be said of it is an incomprehensible stammering. The whole Gospel of St. John is such a stammering about the eternal light that is love and life.

God in us and we in Him, this is our share in God’s kingdom, which is founded on the Incarnation.

Saint Edith Stein

The Mystery of Christmas (1931 lecture), “Union With God”

Stein, E 1931, The mystery of Christmas: incarnation and humanity, translated from the German by Rucker, J, Darlington Carmel, Darlington UK.

Featured image: The Nativity With Saints, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (Italian, 1483–1561), oil on wood panel painting ca. 1514. Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Public domain).

#Christmas #divineChild #incarnation #kingdomOfHeaven #StEdithStein

Quote of the day, 20 December: St. Edith Stein

If we live with the Church, the Advent bells and hymns will stir a holy longing in our heart; and if we have been introduced to the inexhaustible source of the Liturgy, Isaias, the great prophet of the Incarnation, will rouse us day by day with his powerful warnings and promises: “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and ye clouds, rain the just. The Lord is here, let us adore Him. Come, Lord, and do not delay. Rejoice, Jerusalem, with great joy, for thy Saviour comes to thee.”

From the seventeenth to the twenty-fourth of December the great O antiphons of the Magnificat (O Wisdom, O Adonai, O root of Jesse, O key of David, O sunrise, O king of the nations) cry ever more longingly their “Come to deliver us.” And it sounds with increasing promise: “Behold, everything is fulfilled” on the last Sunday of Advent, and finally: “Today you shall know that the Lord will come and tomorrow you will see His glory.”

Saint Edith Stein

The Mystery of Christmas

Stein, E 1931, The mystery of Christmas: incarnation and humanity, translated from the German by Rucker, J, Darlington Carmel, Darlington UK.

Featured image: Following in the footsteps of Saint Teresa of Avila in the 2015 Centenary year of her birth, photographer José-María Moreno García captured this image of the main door to the Carmel of Villanueva de la Jara. Image credit: José-María Moreno García / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

#Advent #joy #love #OAntiphons #StEdithStein

Quote of the day, 15 December: St. Edith Stein

Edith Stein was at home in the conventual family from the beginning. She used to laugh and joke like a child with the other Sisters until the tears ran down her cheeks. She used to declare that she had never laughed so much in all her life as during recreation in Carmel.

Everyone was at their ease with her. Soon after she herself had entered the Cologne Carmel she was given the wonderful experience of bringing in one of her young friends through her own example. This is what she wrote about it.

When we now stand facing each other in choir or walk together in procession I am struck more than ever by the wonderful ways of God. Naturally, in our seclusion we have a beautiful and silent Advent. How much one longs to send some of it to very many of those in the world… I believe that it would do them untold good to learn more of the peace of Carmel.

Teresia Renata Posselt, O.C.D.

Chapter 14: In the School of Humility

Posselt, T 2005, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite, translated from the German by Batzdorff S, Koeppel J, and Sullivan J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

 Featured image: Photographer Tim Mossholder captures this image of pillar candles in an Advent wreath. Image credit: Tim Mossholder / Unsplash (Stock photo)

#advent #carmelites #silence #stEdithStein #teresiaRenataPosselt

Quote of the day, 13 December: St. John of the Cross

Now, in 1591, death did intervene. While his body was succumbing to erysipelas, his heart and reputation were still being battered.

The prior of the community of Ubeda, where he had gone for treatmen,t had a grudge against him and made his dying quite difficult. Medicines were regarded as a financial drain, putrid bandages were not to be washed, visits were curtailed . . .

John’s nurse, Bernardo, captures it with a modern phrase: “It was just incredible what was taking place!”

Finally, Bernardo himself was forbidden to nurse John. Whatever about the sick man’s patience, Bernardo had had enough: he wrote in complaint, higher authorities intervened, and matters improved in time for John to die in a community at peace.

Through all this—the sidelining, the libel, the dying—John seems to have been drawing on a different source of energy. A letter written from Ubeda puts it this way:

Love greatly those who speak against you and do not love you, because in this way love will come to birth in a heart that has none. That is what God does with us: he loves us, that we might love him, through the love he has for us.

Letter 33 to a Carmelite nun
Late 1591

That is the God to whom John bears witness: a God loving first, with a love which creates good in us; a God pressing in to release new capacities in us.

Iain Matthew, O.C.D.

Chapter 12, Healing Darkness (excerpt)

Note: Saint Edith Stein gives an account of the dying hours of Saint John of the Cross on 13 December 1591. He predicted, “at midnight I shall stand before God to recite Matins.” When at last he heard the bells in the tower strike twelve midnight, he said, with the crucifix in his hand “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum” [Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit]. Edith concludes her account: “A parting glance at all those present, a final kiss for the Crucified One—then he stood before the throne of God to pray Matins with the heavenly choirs.”

Matthew, I 1995, The Impact of God: Soundings from St. John of the Cross, Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd, London.

Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

Featured image: Featured image: Escultura de San Juan de la Cruz en Segovia is a photograph by Javier Cuadrado. It appears in this post as part of a composite image created in Adobe Express. Source: Adobe Stock, Asset ID# 70762898.

#deathAndDying #history #love #stEdithStein #stJohnOfTheCross

Quote of the day, 18 November: St. Teresa of Avila

This time of greatest expenditure of energy when Teresa, along with being prioress of the Monastery of the Incarnation, retained the spiritual direction of her eight reformed monasteries, was also a time of the greatest attestation of grace. At that time she had a vision that she herself described as a “spiritual marriage.”

On November 18, 1572, the Lord appeared to her during Holy Communion.

“He offered me his right hand and spoke, ‘See this nail. It is the sign of our union. From this day on you are my bride. Up to now you had not earned it. But now you will not only see me as your Creator, your King, your God, but from now on you will care for my honor as my true bride. My honor is yours; your glory is mine’” [Spiritual Testimonies, 31].

From that moment on, she found herself united blissfully with the Lord, a union that remained with her for the entire last decade of her life, her own life mortified, “full of the inexpressible joy of having found her true rest, and of the sense that Jesus Christ was living in her” [cf. Interior Castle, VII, ch. 3].

She characterized as the first result of this union “such a complete forgetfulness of self that it truly seems as if this soul had lost its own being. It no longer recognizes itself. It no longer thinks about heaven for itself, about life, about honor. The only thing she cares about any longer is the honor of God” [Castle VII, 3:2].

The second result is an inner desire for suffering, a desire, however, that no longer disturbs her soul as earlier. She desires with such fervor that God’s will be fulfilled in her that everything that pleases the divine Master seems good to her. If he wants her to suffer, she is happy; if he does not, his will be done.

Saint Edith Stein

Love for Love, 14

Stein, E 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, Stein, W (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

#love #spiritualMarriage #StEdithStein #StTeresaOfAvila #visionOfTheNail

Quote of the day, 18 October: St. Edith Stein

I would not dodge the questions on sex—on the contrary, one ought to be glad when a spontaneous opportunity arises to speak honestly and clearly on the subject, since it simply will no longer do to send the girls out into the world without having taught them about sex.

But one must choose [the topics] carefully, avoiding sultry eroticism. However, teaching the elementary facts of life and their meaning, honestly as well as realistically, is far from dangerous.

Of course, should you have totally ignorant children among your students, even this may precipitate a crisis; you have to know your class and treat them accordingly.

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 122 to Mother Callista Brenzing, O.Cist. (excerpt)
18 October 1932

Note: Mother Callista was a member of the Cistercian convent at Seligenthal, whose sisters functioned as educators.

Stein, E 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Koeppel, J (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This is a detail from a photo of Edith Stein that was taken during her year at the German Institute of Scientific Pedagogy at Münster, 1932–33. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#education #honesty #questions #sex #StEdithStein

Quote of the day, 11 October: St. John Paul II

For the love of God and man, once again I raise an anguished cry: May such criminal deeds never be repeated against any ethnic group, against any race, in any corner of this world!

It is a cry to everyone: to all people of goodwill; to all who believe in the Just and Eternal God; to all who know they are joined to Christ, the Word of God made man. We must all stand together: human dignity is at stake. There is only one human family.

The new saint also insisted on this: “Our love of neighbour is the measure of our love of God. For Christians — and not only for them — no one is a ‘stranger’. The love of Christ knows no borders”.

Saint John Paul II

Homily for the Canonization of Edith Stein
11 October 1998

Note: St. John Paul II quotes from Edith Stein’s lecture, The Mystery of Christmas, given to Catholic Academics on 13 January 1931 in Ludwigshafen, Germany. In the section called “Union in God,” Professor Stein says: “For the Christian there is no stranger. Whoever is near us and needing us most is our ‘neighbour’; it does not matter whether he is related to us or not, whether we like him or not, whether he is morally worthy of our help or not. The love of Christ knows no limits. It never ends, it does not shrink from ugliness and filth. He came for sinners, not for the just. And if the love of Christ is in us, we shall do as He did and seek the lost sheep.”

Featured image: Repairs in anticipation of the Jubilee Year were underway at St. Peter’s Basilica on the day of St. Edith Stein’s canonization. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission)

#humanDignity #Jewish #loveOfGod #StEdithStein #StJohnPaulII

Quote of the day, 11 October: St. John Paul II

For the love of God and man, once again I raise an anguished cry: May such criminal deeds never be repeated against any ethnic group, against any race, in any corner of this world!

It is a cry to everyone: to all people of goodwill; to all who believe in the Just and Eternal God; to all who know they are joined to Christ, the Word of God made man. We must all stand together: human dignity is at stake. There is only one human family.

The new saint also insisted on this: “Our love of neighbour is the measure of our love of God. For Christians — and not only for them — no one is a ‘stranger’. The love of Christ knows no borders”.

Saint John Paul II

Homily for the Canonization of Edith Stein
11 October 1998

Note: St. John Paul II quotes from Edith Stein’s lecture, The Mystery of Christmas, given to Catholic Academics on 13 January 1931 in Ludwigshafen, Germany. In the section called “Union in God,” Professor Stein says: “For the Christian there is no stranger. Whoever is near us and needing us most is our ‘neighbour’; it does not matter whether he is related to us or not, whether we like him or not, whether he is morally worthy of our help or not. The love of Christ knows no limits. It never ends, it does not shrink from ugliness and filth. He came for sinners, not for the just. And if the love of Christ is in us, we shall do as He did and seek the lost sheep.”

Featured image: Repairs in anticipation of the Jubilee Year were underway at St. Peter’s Basilica on the day of St. Edith Stein’s canonization. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission)

#humanDignity #Jewish #loveOfGod #StEdithStein #StJohnPaulII

Quote of the day, 6 October: St. Edith Stein

While the spiritual gardens of Mother Teresa were spreading their lovely fragrance over all of Spain, the Monastery of the Incarnation, her former home, was in a sad state. Income had not increased in proportion to the number of nuns, and since they were used to living comfortably and not (as in the reformed Carmel) to finding their greatest joy in holy poverty, discontent and slackening of spirit spread.

In the year 1570, Fr. Fernández of the Order of St. Dominic came to this house. He was the apostolic visitator entrusted by Pope Pius V with examining the disciplinary state of monasteries in Castile. Since he had already become thoroughly acquainted with some monasteries of the reform, the contrast must have shocked him.

He thought of a radical remedy. By the authority of his position, he named Mother Teresa as prioress of the Monastery of the Incarnation and ordered her to return to Avila at once to assume her position. In the midst of her work for the reform, she now had to undertake a task that for all intents and purposes appeared impossible.

Oh, daughter, daughter! These Sisters in the Incarnation are My Sisters, and you delay? Well, take courage; behold I want it, and it isn’t as difficult as it seems to you. And whereas you think some harm will come to your houses, both they and the Incarnation will benefit. Do not resist, for My power is great.
Our Lord to St. Teresa, 10 July 1571
Spiritual Testimonies, 16

Exhorted by the Lord himself, she declared her readiness. However, with the agreement of Fr. Fernández, she gave a written statement that she personally would continue to follow the primitive Rule. One can imagine the vehement indignation of the nuns who were to have a prioress sent to them — one not elected by them — a sister of theirs who had left them eight years earlier and whom they considered an adventuress, a mischief-maker.

The storm broke as the provincial led her into the house. The provincial, Fr. Angel de Salazar, could not make himself heard in the noisy gathering. The “Te Deum” that he intoned was drowned out by the sounds of indignation. Teresa’s goodness and humility finally brought about enough quiet for the sisters to go to their cells and to tolerate her presence in the house.

They were saving the decisive declarations for the first chapter meeting. But how amazed they were when they entered the chapter room at the sound of the bell to see in the prioress’ seat the statue of our dear Lady, the Queen of Carmel, with the keys to the monastery in her hands and the new prioress at her feet. Their hearts were conquered even before Teresa began to speak and in her indisputable loving manner presented to them how she conceived and intended to conduct her office.

In a short time, under her wise and temperate direction, above all by the influence of her character and conduct, the spirit of the house was renewed. Her greatest support in this was Fr. John of the Cross, whom she called to Avila as confessor for the monastery.

Saint Edith Stein

Love for Love: The Life and Works of St. Teresa of Jesus
14. Prioress at the Monastery of the Incarnation

Note: Saint Teresa took up her office as Prioress at the Monastery of the Incarnation on 6 October 1571

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This detail of a photographic artwork created by Elías Rodríguez Picón comes to us thanks to the Discalced Carmelite nuns of Alba de Tormes. The artist’s sister is the model for this scene, which is intended to show the beginning moment of the Transverberation. You can see and read more about his photographic technique in this article from La Hornacina (in Spanish). Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission).

#Constitutions #MonasteryOfTheIncarnation #prioress #StEdithStein #StTeresaOfAvila

Quote of the day, 29 September: St. Edith Stein

 Since September 29 we’ve had a new Mother who would like me to write something again.

Saint Edith Stein
Echt, 5 November 1940

Just now I am gathering material for a new work since our Reverend Mother wishes me to do some scholarly work again, as far as this will be possible in our living situation and under the present circumstances. I am very grateful to be allowed once more to do something before my brain rusts completely.

Echt, 17 November 1940

I am going about my new task like a little child making its first attempts at walking.

Echt, 16 May 1941

Please, will Your Reverence also pray a little to the Holy Spirit and to our Holy Father John for what I am now planning to write. It is to be something for our Holy Father’s 400th birthday (24 June 1942)…

Echt, 8 October 1941

Because of the work I am doing I live almost constantly immersed in thoughts about our Holy Father John. That is a great grace. May I ask Your Reverence once more for prayers that I can produce something appropriate for his Jubilee?

Echt, 18 November 1941

Dear Mother,

… I am satisfied with everything. A scientia crucis [science of the cross] can be gained only when one comes to feel the Cross radically. I have been convinced of that from the first moment and have said, from my heart: Ave, Crux, spes unica!

Echt, December 1941

Dear Sister Maria,

… while working on this task it often happened when I was greatly exhausted that I had the feeling I could not penetrate to what I wished to say and to grasp. I already thought that it would always remain so. But now I feel I have renewed vigor for creative effort. Holy Father John gave me renewed impetus for some remarks concerning symbols. When I finish this manuscript I would like to send a German copy to Father Heribert [Discalced Carmelite provincial in Germany] to have it duplicated for the monasteries.

The only reason I write so little is that I need all the time for Father John.

Echt, 9 April 1942

My dear ones,

A [Red Cross] nurse from [Amsterdam] intends to speak today with the Consul. Here, every petition [on behalf] of fully Jewish Catholics has been forbidden since yesterday. Outside [the camp] an attempt can still be made, but with extremely little prospect. According to plans, a transport will leave on Friday. Could you possibly write to Mère Claire in Venlo, Kaldenkerkeweg 185 [the Ursuline Convent] to ask for [my] manuscript if they have not already sent it. We count on your prayers. There are so many persons here who need some consolation and they expect it from the Sisters.

In Corde Jesu, your grateful

B.

Westerbork transit camp, 5 August 1942

Mother Antonia Ambrosia Engelmann, O.C.D. was elected prioress of the Carmel of Echt on 29 September 1940.  It is to her that we owe a debt of gratitude for Saint Edith Stein’s ultimate volume, The Science of the Cross. Gelber and Leuven (1993) note that although it was her final work, the manuscript was published as Vol. I in Edith Steins Werke. When Edith and Rosa were arrested in August of 1942, the completed portions of her manuscript had already been sent to a typist. Unaware of the fate that awaited her, Edith asks to retrieve that manuscript as if to continue working on it while in prison.

Stein, E. 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Discalced Carmelite, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Vintage Remington Portable typewriter with German text. Original Flickr source no longer available.

#monasticLife #obedience #StEdithStein #StJohnOfTheCross #TheScienceOfTheCross

Quote of the day, 9 August: St. Edith Stein

Because hidden souls do not live in isolation, but are a part of the living nexus and have a position in a great divine order, we speak of an invisible church. Their impact and affinity can remain hidden from themselves and others for their entire earthly lives.

But it is also possible for some of this to become visible in the external world. This is how it was with the persons and events intertwined in the mystery of the Incarnation.

Today we live again in a time that urgently needs to be renewed at the hidden springs of God-fearing souls. Many people, too, place their last hope in these hidden springs of salvation.

This is a serious warning cry: Surrender without reservation to the Lord who has called us. This is required of us so that the face of the earth may be renewed. In faithful trust, we must abandon our souls to the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit.

We may live in confident certainty that what the Spirit of God secretly effects in us bears its fruits in the kingdom of God. We will see them in eternity.

Saint Edith Stein

The Hidden Life and Epiphany

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Vintage stereograph card depicting a boy and girl kneeling in prayer beside a brass bed with a red and white quilt, captioned “Now I Lay Me. At the End of Day.” Image credit: End of the day – Now I lay me, ca. 1850-1920, stereograph from the Stereograph Collection, Boston Public Library Arts Department. No known copyright restrictions.

#eternity #HolySpirit #KingdomOfGod #StEdithStein #surrender #trust

St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 9: Unbounded desert

SCRIPTURE READING
Hosea 2:14–17

I am going to lure her
and lead her out into the wilderness
and speak to her heart.
I am going to give her back her vineyards,
and make the Valley of Achor a gateway of hope.
There she will respond to me as she did when she was young,
as she did when she came out of the land of Egypt.

When that day comes – it is Yahweh who speaks –
she will call me “My husband,”
no longer will she call me “My Baal.”
I will take the names of the Baals off her lips,
their names shall never be uttered again.

MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 12

An immense, unbounded desert

Dark contemplation is the secret ladder: secret as is mystical theology that is communicated and infused into the soul through love.

The mystical wisdom is therefore also called secret because it has the characteristic of hiding the soul within itself. . . . Occasionally, it so engulfs the soul in its secret abyss that she has the keen awareness of being brought into a place far removed from every creature. She accordingly feels that she has been led into a remarkably deep and vast wilderness unattainable by any human being, into an immense, unbounded desert. And this, for her, is the more delightful, pleasant, and lovely, the deeper, vaster, and more solitary it is. She is conscious of being so much more hidden, the more she is raised above every created being. This abyss of wisdom elevates and enriches the soul to a high degree: it engulfs her in the veins of the science of love and lets her know in this way how base are creatures in comparison with the lofty, divine knowledge and feelings, and gives her an insight into how lowly, inadequate, and entirely incapable all images and words are with which one speaks of divine things in this life.

NOVENA PRAYER

Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.

We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)

In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)

We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.

If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.

Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.

Here mention your intentions

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.

Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.

Let us unite in prayer

#desert #love #mysticalTheology #novena #prayer #StEdithStein

9 August: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Stein

August 9
SAINT TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS STEIN
Virgin and Martyr

Memorial
In houses in Europe: Patroness of Europe, Feast

Edith Stein was born to a Jewish family at Breslau on October 12, 1891. Through her passionate study of philosophy, she searched after truth and found it in reading the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Jesus. In 1922 she was baptized a Catholic and in 1933 she entered the Carmel of Cologne, where she took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was gassed and cremated at Auschwitz on August 9, 1942, during the Nazi persecution, and died a martyr for the Christian faith after having offered her holocaust for the people of Israel. A woman of singular intelligence and learning, she left behind a body of writing notable for its doctrinal richness and profound spirituality. She was beatified by Saint John Paul II at Cologne on May 1, 1987 and canonized in Rome on October 11, 1998. On October 1, 1999 Saint John Paul II proclaimed Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross a Co-Patroness of Europe.

From the common of martyrs or of virgins

THE SECOND READING

(Edith Stein Werke (Freiburg, 1987), 11:124-126)

From the spiritual writings of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Ave Crux, spes unica!

We greet you, Holy Cross, our only hope! The church puts these words on our lips during the time of the passion, which is dedicated to the contemplation of the bitter sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world is in flames. The struggle between Christ and antichrist rages openly, and so if you decide for Christ you can even be asked to sacrifice your life.

Contemplate the Lord who hangs before you on the wood, because he was obedient even to the death of the cross. He came into the world not to do his own will but that of the Father. And if you wish to be the spouse of the Crucified, you must renounce completely your own will and have no other aspiration than to do the will of God.

Before you, the Redeemer hangs on the cross stripped and naked, because he chose poverty. Those who would follow him must renounce every earthly possession.

Stand before the Lord who hangs from the cross with his heart torn open. He poured out the blood of his heart in order to win your heart. In order to follow him in holy chastity, your heart must be free from every earthly aspiration. Jesus Crucified must be the object of your every longing, of your every desire, of your every thought.

The world is in flames: the fire can spread even to our house, but above all the flames the cross stands on high, and it cannot be burnt. The cross is the way which leads from earth to heaven. Those who embrace it with faith, love, and hope are taken up, right into the heart of the Trinity.

The world is in flames: do you wish to put them out? Contemplate the cross: from his open heart, the blood of the Redeemer pours, blood which can put out even the flames of hell. Through the faithful observance of the vows, you make your heart open; and then the floods of that divine love will be able to flow into it, making it overflow and bear fruit to the furthest reaches of the earth.

Through the power of the cross, you can be present wherever there is pain, carried there by your compassionate charity, by that very charity which you draw from the divine heart. That charity enables you to spread everywhere the most precious blood in order to ease pain, save and redeem.

The eyes of the Crucified gaze upon you. They question you and appeal to you. Do you wish seriously to renew your alliance with him? What will your response be? Lord, where shall I go? You alone have the words of life. Ave Crux, spes unica!

RESPONSORY

℟ We preach Christ Crucified, a scandal to the Jews and foolishness to the pagans, * but for those who are called, whether they be Jews or Greeks, we preach Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
℣ The desire of my heart and my prayer rises to God for their salvation; * but for those who are called, whether they be Jews or Greeks, we preach Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.

PRAYER

Lord, God of our fathers,
you brought Saint Teresa Benedicta
to the fullness of the science of the cross
at the hour of her martyrdom.
Fill us with that same knowledge;
and, through her intercession,
allow us always to seek after you, the supreme truth,
and 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.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Catholic Church 1993, Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Rev. and augm.), Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome.

#Carmelite #CoPatronessOfEurope #LiturgyOfTheHours #martyr #Memorial #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross #virgin

St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 8: Purgative dryness

SCRIPTURE READING
Wisdom 19:14–17

God Guides and Protects His People

Every nation will be punished if it does not welcome foreigners, but these people, who had earlier welcomed the foreigners with happy celebrations and treated them as equals, later made them suffer cruelly. These people were also struck with blindness, like the men of Sodom who came to the door of that righteous man Lot. They found themselves in total darkness, as each one groped around to find his own door.

MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 1

Purgative dryness

A case of purgative dryness of the dark night can be discerned by three signs:

1) that the soul finds no delight in creatures;

2) that “the soul turns to God solicitously and with painful care, and thinks it is not serving God but turning back because it is aware of this distaste for the things of God.”

3) one recognizes purgative dryness in that “the soul is powerless in spite of all its efforts to meditate and make use of the imagination, the interior sense, . . . God no longer communicates himself through the senses as he did before, by means of the discursive analysis and synthesis of ideas, but has now begun to communicate himself through pure spirit by an act of simple contemplation for which neither the exterior nor the interior senses of the sensory human being have any capacity.”

This dark and, for the senses, dry contemplation is “something secret and hidden and even for the one who possesses it, mysterious.” Ordinarily, it imparts to the soul an inclination and a demand to remain alone and at rest. She is unable to dwell on any particular thought, nor does she have any desire to do so. If those in whom this occurs knew how to remain quiet, “they would soon experience in that unconcern and idleness a precious interior nourishment. This refection is namely so delicate that the soul cannot usually feel it if it desires it excessively or tries to experience it specifically. . . . It is like air that escapes when one tries to grasp it in one’s hand . . . God deals with the soul in this state in such a manner and leads it along such a special way that, if it desires to work with its own faculties and strength, it would rather hinder than help the work of God.” The peace God produces in the spirit through the dryness of the sensory being is “spiritual and most precious” and its “fruit is quiet, delicate, solitary, satisfying, and peaceful, and far removed from all the earlier gratifications which were more palpable and sensory.” So one understands that only the dying of the sensory being is felt and nothing is experienced of the beginning of the new life that is concealed beneath it.

It is no exaggeration when we call the suffering of the souls in this state a crucifixion. In their inability to make use of their own faculties they are as though nailed fast. And to the dryness is added the torment of fear that they are on the wrong path.

PRAYER

Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.

We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)

In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)

We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.

If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.

Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.

Here mention your intentions

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.

Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.

Let us unite in prayer

#drynessInPrayer #novena #prayer #purgation #StEdithStein

St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 7: Oppression and dryness

SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.

Truly I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.

MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 1

Oppression and dryness

It was mentioned earlier that the active entrance of the soul into the dark night is only possible for her because God’s grace anticipates her, draws her, and supports her along the entire way.

But for beginners this anticipatory and enabling grace does not as yet have the character of the dark night. Rather, God treats them the way a tender mother treats her tiny children—carrying them in her arms and feeding them with sweet milk: in all their spiritual exercises—in prayer, meditation, and mortifications—they receive abundant joy and consolation. This joy then motivates them to devote themselves to spiritual exercises. They are unaware of the imperfections that lie therein and how many faults they commit in their practice of virtue.

In order to be freed from all these defects we must be weaned from the milk of consolations and be fed with strengthening nourishment….

“After beginners have exercised themselves for a time in the way of virtue and have persevered in meditation and prayer and through the delight and satisfaction they experience in this have become detached from worldly things and have gained some spiritual strength in God, which helps them to restrain their appetites for creatures, and for God’s sake are able to suffer a little oppression and dryness without yearning to return to those better times when they experienced more pleasurable satisfaction and gratification… then… God darkens all this light and closes the door and the spring of sweet spiritual water they were tasting as often and as long as they desired…. Now he leaves them in such darkness that they do not know which way to turn in their discursive imaginings.”

PRAYER

Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.

We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)

In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)

We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.

If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.

Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.

Here mention your intentions

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.

Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.

Let us unite in prayer

#darkNight #drynessInPrayer #novena #prayer #StEdithStein

St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 6: Dryness, distaste, trial

SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 8:34–38

Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

MEDITATION
The Science of the Cross, Chapter 1

Dryness, distaste, and trial

We have considered by what ways [St. John of the Cross] penetrated the message of the cross. The following sections wish to show how this message was incorporated into the doctrine and life of the saint. To do so, it is necessary to set the content of the message before our eyes—for the time being, in a brief outline. We set it down here exactly as we find it expressed by the master of the science of the cross:

“‘How narrow is the gate and constricting the way that leads to life! And few there are who find it’ (Mt 7:14). We should particularly note the exaggeration and hyperbole conveyed by the word how in this passage.

This is like saying: Indeed the gate is very narrow, narrower than you think. . . . This path on the high mount of perfection is narrow and steep, it can only be trodden by wanderers who carry no burden that could drag them downwards. . . .  Since in this, God alone is the goal that one should seek and gain, then only God ought to be sought and gained. . . .

Our Lord, for our instruction and guidance along this road, imparted to us that wonderful teaching—I think it is possible to affirm that the more necessary the doctrine the less it is practiced by spiritual persons—. . . . ‘If anyone wishes to be my disciple let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life, will lose it but whoever loses it for my sake, will save it’ [Mk 8:34-35].

Oh, who can make this counsel of our Savior on self-denial understandable, practicable, and attractive! . . . Annihilation of all sweetness in God . . . dryness, distaste, and trial. . . . the pure spiritual cross and the nakedness of Christ’s poverty of spirit. . . .

A genuine spirit seeks rather the distasteful in God than the delectable, leans more toward suffering than toward consolation, more toward going without everything for God than toward possession, and toward dryness and affliction than toward sweet consolation, for it knows that in this consists the following of Christ and self-denial, while the other is nothing further than seeking oneself in God . . .

Seeking God in God [sic] means… for love of Christ, to choose all that is distasteful whether in God or in the world.”

PRAYER

Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.

We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)

In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)

We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.

If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.

Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.

Here mention your intentions

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.

Stein, E 2002, The Science of the Cross, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 6, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.

Let us unite in prayer

#ascesis #drynessInPrayer #novena #prayer #StEdithStein #trials

St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 5: We are not ruined

SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 68:32–35

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord
who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.
He thunders his voice, his mighty voice.
Come, acknowledge the power of God.

His glory is on Israel; his might is in the skies.
God is to be feared in his holy place.
He is the Lord, Israel’s God.
He gives strength and power to his people.

Blessed be God!

MEDITATION
Three Dialogues: I Am Always in Your Midst

God is

How foolish now this doubt appears to me!
If God’s call sounds within a soul,
When he leads it to our house’s door
And to knock hard—why should we not open
The door wide, our arms and our heart?
If he shows the way, then he also knows
That it is not a wrong track where people suddenly get lost;
No spurious way that ends in desert sands.
That step by step the road will be revealed, I firmly believe.
And in fact what is certain?
Where is “certain fate”? Yes, we see—
And it’s good that we are so confronted—
How around us structures are becoming ruins
That seemed to us to have been raised for eternity.
One thing alone is certain: that God is
And that his hand holds us in being.
Then even if around us the whole world falls to wrack and ruin,
We are not ruined if we hold ourselves to him.

PRAYER

Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.

We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)

In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)

We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.

If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.

Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.

Here mention your intentions

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.

Let us unite in prayer

#faith #novena #prayer #presenceOfGod #StEdithStein

St. Edith Stein Novena 2025, Day 4: The desert of Carmel

SCRIPTURE READING
John 2:7–10

Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water,’ and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now,’ he told them, ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said, ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink, but you have kept the best wine till now.’

MEDITATION
A Chosen Vessel of Divine Wisdom

Her aim was the ‘desert’ of Carmel

“A page from the great book of God’s mercy” is what Sister Marie-Aimée called her life. This life is very simple in its external course, but has an inner richness that can only be hinted at in a short biography. Those who would like to know more about it must refer to her own writings.

A delicate face of angelic purity and spirituality, big, soft, and deeply penetrating eyes that have knowledge of the supernatural world as well as of their natural home—this is Dorothea Quoniam, who in Carmel received the name of Marie-Aimée de Jésus. This name tells the secret of her life: “loved by Jesus” with an overwhelming, jealous love that laid total claim to her from her very first day.

Occasionally, [Jesus] revealed himself to her in human form and each time corresponding to her age, so that he seemed to grow up with her. When she was nineteen, her relatives wanted to arrange her future. One day they introduced a young man to her, and, after an opening conversation, let her know that he came as a suitor. Dorothea said not a word. She only smiled, but this smile was of a kind that made the poor fellow lower his eyes, blush, and wish that he had never come. The Lord had revealed himself beside this young man “in the full radiance of his virginal beauty” and said, “Compare!” At the same time, a smile of divine irony played about his lips and evoked its reflection in the face of his bride. The first attempt of this kind was rejected, and she knew how to refuse all thereafter with calm firmness.

She had already known when she moved to her ‘Nazareth’ that her aim was the ‘desert’ of Carmel. But she had to await the Lord’s hour.

PRAYER

Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.

We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)

In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)

We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.

If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.

Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.

Here mention your intentions

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.

Let us unite in prayer

#Carmelite #desert #discernment #novena #prayer #StEdithStein #vocation

Quote of the day, 3 August: Doctor Lenig’s testimony

I met Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce, known in the camp as Edith Stein, on [3 August 1942], in the transit camp at Amersfoort, in barracks No. 9, if I am not mistaken.

On that Sunday all Catholics of Jewish, or partly Jewish, ancestry were arrested by the German hangmen’s helpers as a reprisal for a pastoral letter that had been read from the pulpits of all Dutch churches the previous Sunday.

When your Sister, together with about three hundred men, women and children had been driven behind the barbed wire fence of the camp, they had to stand for hours on the barrack-square, where they could watch a roll call that had been in progress for two or three days as punishment for the entire camp.

More upsetting was the condition of most of the women…
It was at this moment that Edith Stein courageously showed her commitment.

With diligence, they read the Imitation of Christ that someone had smuggled in; a Trappist faithfully said Holy Mass for them—his six brothers and sisters who had all joined the same Order were with him [the Loeb family], all prepared for transport.

Holy Communion was distributed diligently, and despite the harassment by the SS, every one of this flock destined for death steadfastly sang the Confiteor daily, until the last of them had gone their way…

It was also very moving to see the response of this brave flock of believers when they heard that there were priests somewhere in the camp; immediately they gave up some of their meager rations, their tobacco, their money, etc., that were now useless to them but might help the priests to placate their torturers and so hope to experience the day of liberation.

Dr. Fritz Lenig 

 As recorded by Sister Teresia Renata Posselt, O.C.D. in Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite, chap. 22

Note: Dr. Fritz Lenig was a German physician, entrepreneur, and refugee in the Netherlands who was interned at Camp Amersfoort when the transport arrived carrying the Carmelite Stein sisters and the Trappist Loeb family, along with other Catholics of Jewish ancestry.

After the war, the Cologne Carmelites were anxiously searching for news of Edith and Rosa’s whereabouts. An unexpected 1947 article in l’Osservatore Romano claimed the sisters had been killed, but the source was untraceable. The Cologne nuns sent a circular letter worldwide to correct misinformation about the sisters.

As a direct result, Professor Max Budde contacted the nuns to tell them that his friend Dr. Fritz Lenig had been at Camp Amersfoort when Sister Benedicta and Rosa arrived, but had escaped death.

This excerpt presents Dr. Lenig’s eyewitness testimony to the Carmel of Cologne concerning Edith and Rosa’s arrival at Camp Amersfoort on 3 August 1942.

Posselt, T 2005, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite, translated from the German by Batzdorff S, Koeppel J, and Sullivan J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: St. Edith Stein among Catholic prisoners behind barbed wire, an artistic rendering of the testimony recorded in this post. Image credit: © Romulo Rodrigues, used by kind permission of the Discalced Carmelites.

#Amersfoort #FritzLenig #martyrs #StEdithStein #testimony

Quote of the day, 2 August: St. Edith Stein

Naturally we are very grateful that we are allowed to stay here at least until further notice. (As people see it, it should be called: not being sent away.) The “further notice” now depends totally on the development of the overall situation—a further reason to pray untiringly for the great common concerns. Surely we are united in doing this.

Saint Edith Stein
Letter 333, 2 February 1942

The Nazis wanted to exterminate all Jews. This group of Jews who had become Catholic forms a separate whole. They became companions because they were arrested and murdered for the same reason.

On August 2, 1942, the Nazis arrested a large number of Catholic Jews in the occupied Netherlands and sent them to their deaths at Auschwitz. The provocation for this action was a pastoral letter that had been read in Catholic churches on the previous July 26.

This letter included the text of a telegram that had been sent by the leaders of ten Christian denominations to the German occupying forces on July 11. Both the pastoral letter and the telegram protested the persecution of Jews in the Netherlands.

From various sides, the question has been raised whether these murdered Catholic Jews can be considered martyrs for the Catholic faith. Some respond that they cannot because, as they rightly point out, the Nazis had already determined to exterminate all Jews, and Catholic Jews were not exempt. The Catholic Jews were not murdered because they were Catholic, this position maintains, but because they were Jewish.

This argument does not, however, do full justice to the reality. While Catholic Jews would have been murdered even without the telegram and pastoral letter, there are significant arguments for considering them a separate group, distinct from the other Jews who were killed during the Holocaust.

That they are blood witnesses for Catholic faith and morality is precisely what sets them apart. The Catholic Jews who were arrested on August 2 form a distinct group because their deaths can be directly linked to actions taken by the Catholic bishops in the Netherlands.

The occupying forces made the decision to arrest Catholic Jews on July 27 because the bishops had stood up for human dignity and human rights in accordance with their Catholic vision of man.

To repeat, it was the intention to exterminate all Jews, including those who had been baptized. What made the Catholic Jews in the country a special group of martyrs is that they were arrested and murdered because the Nazis wanted to take revenge on the Catholic Church in response to the bishops’ protest against the inhumane treatment of all Jews. The occupiers’ attempt to prevent the reading of the telegram proves how afraid the Nazis were that Christian leaders could mobilize the people against the planned “Endlösung” [the “Final Solution”].

Father Paul W. F. Hamans

Chapter 1, The Murder of Catholic Jews in Response to the Dutch Bishops

Note: On the same Sunday when Dutch Catholics heard their bishops’ letter read aloud, Saint Titus Brandsma was executed by lethal injection in Dachau.

Hamans, PWF & McInerny, R 2010, Edith Stein and Companions: On the Way to Auschwitz, Ignatius Press, San Francisco.

Featured image: Screenshot from the 1944 Westerbork Transit Camp Film, filmed by Rudolf Breslauer under orders of SS commander Albert Gemmeker. Public domain. Source: https://youtu.be/sTocq4aR27s?t=92

https://youtu.be/sTocq4aR27s

#Holocaust #Jews #martyrs #Netherlands #pastoralLetter #StEdithStein

Quote of the day, 1 August: St. Edith Stein

Every mystery of this life that we seek to discern in loving contemplation is for us a fount of eternal life. And the same Savior, whom the written word presents to our eyes on all the paths he trod on earth in human form, lives among us disguised in the form of the eucharistic bread. He comes to us every day as the bread of life.

In either of these forms, he is near to us; in either of these forms, he wants to be sought and found by us. The one supports the other.

When we see that Savior before us with the eyes of faith as the Scriptures portray him, then our desire to receive him in the bread of life increases. The eucharistic bread, on the other hand, awakens our desire to get to know the Lord in the written word more and more deeply and strengthens our spirit to get a better understanding.

Saint Edith Stein

For January 6, 1941

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: A nun receives communion from the hands of then Auxiliary Bishop Luis Javier Argüello García in the Carmel of Valladolid for the Solemnity of St. Teresa, 15 October 2016. The Flickr account of the Archdiocese of Valladolid contains an entire album of photos from the celebration. Image credit: Ángel Cantero for Iglesia en Valladolid / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

#breadOfLife #Eucharist #scripture #StEdithStein #theology

St. Edith Stein Novena 2025: Introduction

That is why I am going to lure her and lead her out into the wilderness and speak to her heart.

Hosea 2:16

“It always seemed to me that our Lord was keeping something for me in Carmel that I could find only there.”

These words come from Saint Edith Stein’s own account, “How I came to Carmel,” preserved for us by her novice mistress and prioress, Mother Teresia Renata Posselt, in her biography, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite.

What could this brilliant philosopher and renowned lecturer have been seeking? What mystery did she perceive in Carmel that even her extensive knowledge of Carmelite spirituality through reading could not satisfy? Mother Teresia Renata offers us insight:

In these words this outstanding philosopher and famous lecturer, already revered as a saint by many people, acknowledged that something was lacking before she could be completely happy and fulfilled. We ask ourselves: What could this be? And what is this Carmel from which she expected this final fulfillment that the Lord had saved up for her as the best?

Carmel presents a mystery that cannot be taken in at a glance. Even those intimately acquainted, like Edith, with Carmelite spirituality through reading the works of its great exponents can scarcely avoid shrinking when for the first time they begin to breathe the dry air of Carmel. They soon have a sense that they have been set in a trackless desert, a waterless land that only slowly surrenders its secrets.

This is the mystery we will explore together in this novena—that “trackless desert” of Carmel revealed through Saint Edith Stein’s own writings and experience. Like the holy prophet Elijah, who waited upon God’s word in the Wadi Cherith, we will follow Edith as the Lord lures her into the spiritual desert where He speaks most intimately to the heart.

Let us attune our spiritual ears to the words of sacred Scripture and to the wisdom of Saint Edith’s writings as she draws us deeper into that “waterless land that only slowly surrenders its secrets.” May God bless us all as we journey together through these nine days.

Pray each day with St. Edith Stein
Join us every day as our novena unfolds

Day One
Into the desert (The Science of the Cross)

Day Two 
The darkest path (The Science of the Cross)

Day Three 
Dryness and emptiness (The Science of the Cross)

Day Four 
The desert of Carmel (A Chosen Vessel of Divine Wisdom)

Day Five 
We are not ruined (I Am Always in Your Midst)

Day Six 
Dryness, distaste, trial (The Science of the Cross)

Day Seven 
Oppression and dryness (The Science of the Cross)

Day Eight 
Purgative dryness (The Science of the Cross)

Day Nine
Unbounded desert (The Science of the Cross)

NOVENA PRAYER

Saint Edith Stein,
faith in the holy angels gives me confidence—
confidence to believe, in the midst of all suffering,
in the divine life-force we all share,
which flows through all creation
as the sap flows from the vine into its branches.

We do not stand alone
in this fierce struggle between life and death.
“When my enemies press in on me…” (Ps 56:2),
“…then God fights for me.” (Josh 23:10)

In this valley of tears,
I lift my eyes in trust to you,
you holy angels and saints:
your task is to pass on that Love
whose “beginning and end is the triune God.”
(Edith Stein, Complete Works)

We are held and drawn into this radiant stream
of light and love, of life and truth.
The more we are united with you
through surrender to the divine will,
the more your love becomes our love,
your light our light.

If we believe in this communion,
we already walk in the light.

Intercede for us,
that we may take part in the restoration of all creation.

Here mention your intentions

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

℣. Saint Edith Stein,
℟. Pray for us.

Posselt, T 2005, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite, translated from the German by Batzdorff S, Koeppel J, and Sullivan J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

All scripture references are from The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition, copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday & Company, Inc. as accessed from The Internet Archive website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Edith Stein and St. Joseph.

LET US UNITE IN PRAYER

#Carmel #novena #prayer #spiritualDesert #StEdithStein

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 9

Day 9
Glory of Carmel

Scripture Reading
John 20:30–31

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sint Michael,” 13 June 1942

“Glory of Carmel, teach us to love Christ alone,
to follow Christ and to love his cross,
to listen to the Word who took flesh from your flesh…”

What About My Own Life?

The Word of God that the Gospel has left us is the treasure to which we can constantly return—to see, in Jesus, our God at work in the lives of people. Learning from Mary, today I can choose to open the Bible and softly repeat the word that seems most important to me in the passage I’ve just read. Perhaps an inspiration may flow from meditating on this passage: to act, or speak, or make a connection between that reading and my life.

May you all have a beautiful journey with Mary under the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#GloryOfCarmel #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 8

Day 8
With You Today

Scripture Reading
John 19:25–27

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sint Michael,” 13 June 1942

“At the foot of the Cross I stood with you today
and I felt clearly as never before
that at the foot of the Cross you became our Mother!”

What About My Own Life?

Everything is a gift… And even when the Son dies, He still gives Mary another son: not to replace him, but so she might become the mother of all humanity. Today, I can look at whether I truly receive my life as a gift: whether I understand that I am first and foremost a son or daughter who has received everything, or whether I seek primarily to be in control of my own life.

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#CrossOfChrist #Mother #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 7

Day 7
Your Most Pure Heart

Scripture Reading
Acts 1:13–14

When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, Tagzeiten von der Allerseligsten Jungfrau Maria, Königin des Friedens

“All-powerful Queen, Queen of peace,
by your prayers protect from all evil
those who are consecrated to you.
Engrave them faithfully in your most pure heart!”

What About My Own Life?

Even if Jesus was deeply active, traveling the roads of Galilee to proclaim and heal, he was also deeply contemplative: from those moments of solitude with his Father, Jesus found the right words to preach and the strength to act. Do we truly believe in the concrete efficacy of prayer that first transforms our own hearts? Today, I can decide to take fifteen minutes, doing nothing else, just to talk with God and open myself to the action of the Holy Spirit…

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #QueenOfPeace #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 6

Day 6
A Heart That Loves Much

Scripture Reading
Luke 1:45–49

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”

O Mary…
Yes, give me a heart that loves so much
that it wants only Jesus’s greater glory and honor,
a heart that can find no rest except in heaven.

What About My Own Life?

Sometimes, the work ahead of us can seem overwhelming… Yet ever since Genesis, God has established us as guardians of his creation (Gen 2:15), entrusting us to continue his work with him, so that his plans for humanity made in his image might be fulfilled. Today, I can see how God’s plans become mine: as concrete, active, and joyful participation in the Father’s work…

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#heart #love #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 5

Day 5
A Noble and Resilient Heart

Scripture Reading
Luke 2:41–48

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”

O Mary, give me…
A noble and resilient heart
that isn’t cast down by disappointments;
that isn’t resentful, isn’t easily angered;
that isn’t paralyzed by trials;
that doesn’t take offense when overlooked,
that doesn’t lose courage in the face of indifference.

What About My Own Life?

Humiliation often discourages us, or makes us defensive… How can we endure it with Christ? He was misunderstood by his parents and his people, even unto death on the cross; how can we endure it with Mary, who was helpless before this surprising son who would end up condemned? Today, I can believe that God always leads us to victory in our struggles: the Resurrection has revealed it…

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#heart #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta #struggle

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 4

Day 4
A Meek and Humble Heart

Scripture Reading
Luke 8:19–21

Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”

O Mary…
Give me a meek and humble heart
that loves without expecting anything in return;
that joyfully makes space in another’s heart
for your Son.

What About My Own Life?

God’s folly is wiser than human wisdom (1 Cor 1:25): to gain your life, you must dare to lose it… Today, I can choose to freely give of myself—my time, my love, my effort—for those who have been given to me as brothers and sisters…

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#heart #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #selfGiving #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 3

Day 3
A Deep and Grateful Heart

Scripture Reading
John 2:1–5

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”

O Mary, give me…
A heart that knows what weakness is
and can truly sympathize with it;
a deep and grateful heart
that doesn’t neglect the little things.

What About My Own Life?

If the Word, the Logos, became flesh, he wanted to be fully within us–in our beautiful achievements as well as in our humble daily routines and problems. Today, I can choose to be attentive to people and events, welcoming them as signs that God gives me so as not to leave me alone, even in the time of trial…

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#gratitude #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta #trials

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 2

Day 2
A Noble Heart

Scripture Reading
Matthew 2:13–14

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt…” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt.

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”

O Mary…
Give me a noble heart
that does not brood over troubles
or keep obsessing over them;
a heart that nothing can chill
and that gives itself joyfully.

What About My Own Life?

God’s plans aren’t always ours, and his ways are far above our ways (cf. Is 55:9)… Each day, inevitably, life contradicts my plans in one way or another: I can try not to get irritated, not to be stubborn, but to open my heart to discover the specific ways God’s presence appears in my life today…

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#heart #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #selfGiving #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Day 1

Day 1
The Heart of a Child

Scripture Reading
Luke 1:30–38

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus…” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you…” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Pray with St. Edith Stein
ESGA 20, “Sub tutela Matris”

O sweet Mother Mary, give me a heart
candid and open like the heart of a child,
transparent like the water of a clear spring.

What About My Own Life?

To give thanks and praise—this is the first movement of prayer. Today, I can thank God for his gifts: the gift of life, the joy of knowing him and being able to love him, and the unexpected gifts that will come through those I encounter throughout the day…

NOVENA PRAYER

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#gifts #Mother #novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta #thanksgiving

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2025: Introduction

On this day we give thanks that our dear Lady has clothed us with the “garment of salvation.”

Saint Edith Stein
“On the History and Spirit of Carmel”

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Edith Stein (1891-1942)
Poetry by St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Daily reflections by the Discalced Carmelite Friars, Paris Province

Edith was born on October 12, 1891, in Prussia to a Jewish family from Breslau (Wrocław). The youngest of seven children, she was less than two years old when her father died. As a teenager, Edith stopped believing and praying altogether.

In 1913, she studied philosophy at Göttingen under Edmund Husserl, who’d just started a new philosophical movement called phenomenology. This approach gave her an answer to her endless search for truth. She went on to complete her thesis and became the first woman in her country to earn a doctorate in philosophy.

In 1917, while visiting the widow of her friend Adolph Reinach, she experienced the strength that comes from the Risen Christ. Then in 1921, reading Saint Teresa of Avila’s autobiography, she realized that the truth she’d been seeking had a face—the face of Christ. Edith was baptized in the Catholic Church in 1922, even though her family couldn’t understand her decision. While teaching with the Dominican sisters in Speyer, she gave many talks throughout Germany and Europe on education, women’s roles, and religious calling.

In 1933, Nazi laws banned her from teaching entirely. She decided it was time to answer the call she’d felt at her baptism—she entered the Carmel of Cologne, taking the name Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was 42 years old. In 1939, to protect her community from danger, she moved to the Carmel in Echt, Holland. But the Nazis invaded there too, and in 1942, Edith was arrested with her sister, Rosa—also a Catholic convert—along with thousands of other converts, including Dominican and Trappist religious. On August 9, the train carrying her, Rosa, and hundreds of others arrived at Birkenau extermination camp (Auschwitz II). Edith and Rosa were killed immediately, along with most of the others.

Canonized in 1998, this great intellectual and spiritual figure was declared co-patron of Europe the following year. Her many writings—philosophical, theological, and spiritual works like Life in a Jewish Family and Science of the Cross—continue to guide those who, like her, are searching for the Truth. Her feast day is August 9.

Pray each day with St. Edith Stein
Join us every day as our novena unfolds

Day One
The Heart of a Child

Day Two 
A Noble Heart

Day Three 
A Deep and Grateful Heart

Day Four 
A Meek and Humble Heart

Day Five 
A Noble and Resilient Heart

Day Six 
A Heart That Loves Much

Day Seven 
Your Most Pure Heart

Day Eight 
With You Today

Day Nine
Glory of Carmel

Novena Prayer

O Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity.
O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity.
There are none that can withstand your power!
O help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for me and obtain my requests!
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands!

Our gratitude to the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Paris Province and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Le Havre for their gracious permission to translate and publish their 2025 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

#novena #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #prayer #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedicta

Quote of the day, 3 July: St. Edith Stein

Faith, unlike the natural experience of God, in a certain sense is already marked by fulfillment, though not, of course, as our own experience fulfills what we merely know, but rather as what we clearly understand compared to what we only have a vague “hunch” about (not yet taking “natural knowledge of God” here for natural theology but for the “grasping along with” of a higher power in plain natural experience).

Again, faith is marked by fulfillment as an enrichment of the content of knowledge (insofar as it tells us something new about God over and above our natural experience and natural theology).

And lastly, faith is fulfillment as a confirmation by a higher authority of what we have already known.

Saint Edith Stein

Supernatural Experience of God; Natural Knowledge of God

Stein, E and Redmond, W 2000, Knowledge and Faith, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Simon Vouet (1590-1649), L’incrédulité de St Thomas, c. 1635, Lyon. Image credit: © jean louis mazieres / Flickr (Some rights reserved).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
As we celebrate St. Thomas today, let’s consider how our own ‘vague hunches’ about God can mature into the clear understanding and fulfillment that—blessed to believe without seeing—declares My Lord and my God!
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#faith #fulfillment #KnowledgeAndFaith #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross

Quote of the day, 1 July: St. Edith Stein

My sister, who was baptized in Cologne at Christmas 1936, has been here since the 1st of July 1939, and is well established as an extern and outside sacristan, so that she will be sorely missed; she is also a Tertiary of our Order (Sister Rosa Maria of Jesus).

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 331 to Hilde Vérène Borsinger (excerpt)
31 December 1941

Note: This excerpt comes from a letter written as efforts were underway to expedite Edith’s transfer to another monastery outside the Netherlands. Writing to request a favor from Madame Borsinger in Switzerland, Edith hoped to obtain entry permits and visas for herself and her older sister Rosa Stein. Both sisters would perish at Auschwitz on 9 August 1942.

Stein, E. 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Discalced Carmelite, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Collage created in Adobe Express featuring archival photographs of St. Edith Stein and her sister Rosa (courtesy of the Discalced Carmelites by gracious permission) with vintage document assets from Adobe.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What would you want others to remember about your faithful service?
⬦ Take a moment to reflect.

#extern #RosaStein #SecularCarmelites #StEdithStein #Switzerland #transfer

Marie du jour, 23 May: St. Edith Stein

The image of the Mother of God demonstrates the basic spiritual attitude which corresponds to woman’s natural vocation; her relation to her husband is one of obedience, trust, and participation in his life as she furthers his objective tasks and personality development; to the child she gives true care, encouragement, and formation of his God-given talents; she offers both selfless surrender and a quiet withdrawal when unneeded.

All is based on the concept of marriage and motherhood as a vocation from God; it is carried out for God’s sake and under His guidance.

Saint Edith Stein

The Ethos of Women’s Professions
Lecture to the Association of Catholic Academics, Salzburg, 1 September 1930

Stein, E 2017, Essays On Woman, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 2, translated from the German by Oben, F, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

Featured image: The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1615–1620), oil on canvas by Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639). Birmingham Museums Trust (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do I see my relationships and responsibilities as a vocation entrusted to me by God?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#BlessedVirginMary #marriage #MotherOfGod #motherhood #StEdithStein #vocation #women

Marie du jour, 22 May: St. Edith Stein

In Mary, we do not see the Lord, but we see her always by the Lord’s side

Her service is rendered directly to Him: through the prayer of intercession, she intercedes with Him for humankind; she receives from His hands graces to be bestowed and does indeed transmit them.

She does not represent the Lord but assists Him. Her position is thus analogous to that of Eve by the side of the first Adam. But Mary is beside Jesus, not for His sake but for ours.

Saint Edith Stein

Problems of Women’s Education
Lectures for 1932 Summer Semester, German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy

Stein, E 2017, Essays On Woman, The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Book 2, translated from the German by Oben, F, ICS Publications, Washington D.C.

Featured image: The Coronation of the Virgin with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist (c. 1478–79), oil on panel by Domenico Ghirlandaio and workshop. Denver Art Museum (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do I turn to Mary as one who assists Christ for my sake and intercedes with Him on my behalf?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#AdamAndEve #BlessedVirginMary #intercessor #Mediatrix #StEdithStein

Marie du jour, 6 May: St. Edith Stein

Divine virginity has a characteristic aversion to sin as the contrary of divine holiness. However, this aversion to sin gives rise to an indomitable love for sinners.

Christ has come to tear sinners away from sin and to restore the divine image in defiled souls. He comes as the child of sin—his genealogy and the entire history of the Old Covenant show this—and he seeks the company of sinners so as to take all the sins of the world upon himself and carry them away to the infamous wood of the cross, which thereby precisely becomes the sign of his victory.

This is precisely why virginal souls do not repulse sinners. The strength of their supernatural purity knows no fear of being sullied. The love of Christ impels them to descend into the darkest night.

And no earthly maternal joy resembles the bliss of a soul permitted to enkindle the light of grace in the night of sins. The way to this is the cross. Beneath the cross, the Virgin of virgins becomes the Mother of Grace.

Saint Edith Stein

Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September 1941

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Crucifixion with Saints and a Donor (detail), Joos van Cleve and a collaborator, oil on wood, ca. 1520. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How does Mary’s strength beneath the cross shape my view of purity, suffering, and love?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#CrossOfChrist #darkNight #ExaltationOfTheHolyCross #purity #sinners #StEdithStein #VirginMary #virginity #vows

Quote of the day, 21 April: St. Edith Stein

A few months previously a young Cologne girl had entered the small novitiate at Lindenthal. Wide-eyed, she had observed Sr. Benedicta and all the happenings on her special day. Now she clung to Sr. Benedicta like a small trusting child and asked, “How does Your Charity feel?”

Sr. Benedicta answered in a tone that cannot be imitated: “Like the Bride of the Lamb.”

Sr. Teresia Renata Posselt, O.C.D.

Recalling Edith Stein’s profession on Easter Sunday, 1935
Carmel of Cologne-Lindenthal

Note: To her good friend Mother Petra Bruning, OSU, Edith wrote:

The Bridegroom sends you the little wreath of myrtle with which your love decorated him, him as well as the bridal candle, the candles on the table, the napkin, cutlery, etc. [from Edith’s temporary profession, 21 April 1935]. The Bride wore a wreath of white roses. I was very happy to hear where the adornments came from. Heartfelt thanks for them.

Posselt, T 2005, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite, translated from the German by Batzdorff S, Koeppel J, and Sullivan J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: A simple wreath of white flowers rests on rustic wooden planks, evoking the bridal crown worn by Edith Stein on the day of her temporary profession. Image credit: tab62 / Adobe Stock. Asset ID# 102178876. Licensed under Adobe Stock standard terms.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do I allow myself to be claimed by Christ with the joyful trust of a bride, wholly His and wholly loved?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#brideOfChrist #CarmelOfCologne #LambOfGod #novitiate #religiousProfession #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross #TeresiaRenataPosselt

Quote of the day, 28 January: St. Edith Stein

Dramatis Personae: St. Thomas Aquinas, Edmund Husserl

Scene: The study of Privy Councilor Husserl, Freiburg

Time: Late evening, 8 April 1929

Husserl (alone): My good visitors meant well with their kind birthday wishes and I certainly would not have missed a one. But after such a day it is hard to relax, and I have always been one for a good night’s sleep. Actually, after all the chatter I would appreciate a decent conversation on philosophy to get my mind back on track.

(A knock) At this late hour?

Come in, please.

A Religious (in white habit and black mantle): I’m sorry to bother you so late at night, Professor, but I heard what you just said and thought I might still chance a visit. I wanted to speak with you today—just you and I, for I do not take part in social gatherings—but since early morning I have not had the chance to be alone with you until now.

Husserl (kindly but somewhat at a loss): You are most welcome, Reverend Father. I’ve had religious as students before, but to tell the truth I don’t remember having any with your particular color-scheme. Could you please help out my poor memory?

The priest (smiling slightly): No, I have never sat at your feet. Only from afar have I followed with great interest how your philosophy arose and evolved. And some of your students have come and told me about you. I am Thomas Aquinas.

Husserl: Well, this is certainly the biggest surprise of the day. Do sit down. Forgive me if I am unsure how I should act. I would be grateful for some advice.

Thomas: Quite casually, please. Treat me like any other visitor who comes to talk about philosophy. That’s why I’m here, you see.

Husserl: Then do come and sit over here in the corner of my old leather sofa…

Saint Edith Stein

What is Philosophy? A conversation between Edmund Husserl and Thomas Aquinas (excerpt)

Note: St. Edith Stein composed this imaginary dialogue between Husserl and Aquinas for the 70th birthday of her mentor, Edmund Husserl, 8 April 1929.

Stein, E and Redmond, W 2000, Knowledge and Faith, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Photographer Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. captures this detail from a stunning mural by Filippino Lippi in the Carafa Chapel of the Dominican church and convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. It is entitled “The Dispute of St Thomas” or “The Triumph of St. Thomas Over the Heretics.” Image credit: Lawrence Lew, OP / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

#birthday #dialogue #Dominican #drama #EdmundHusserl #philosophy #StEdithStein #StTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross #StThomasAquinas

Quote of the day, 13 January: St. Edith Stein

“By this I know that you love me, if you keep my commandments” [cf. Jn 14:15].

If we are children of God we shall be led by His hand, doing His will, not our own. We shall place every care and hope in Him and be no longer troubled about ourselves and our future. This is the reason why God’s children are free and happy.

But how few even of the truly pious, even of those ready for heroic sacrifices, possess this freedom. They all walk as if they were bent down by the heavy burden of their cares and duties. They all know the parable of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. But if they meet someone without capital or pension or insurance, and who yet lives without worrying about future, they shake their heads as if that were something extraordinary.

Indeed, if we expect from the Father in heaven that He will always provide for the income and station in life which we ourselves consider desirable, we may be very much mistaken. Only then can our trust in God remain unshaken, if it includes being prepared to accept absolutely everything from the hand of the Father, for He alone knows what is good for us.

And if one day want and the lack of even the necessities of life should be better for us than a comfortably secure income, or if we should need failure and humiliation rather than honour and reputation, we must be prepared also for this. If we do this, we can live for the present without being burdened by the future.

The words “Thy will be done” must be the rule of the Christian’s life in all their fullness. They must be the principle that regulates his day from morning to night, the course of the year, and his whole life. It then becomes the Christian’s only concern. For all other cares, the Lord will make Himself responsible; this alone will remain with us as long as we live.

From the objective point of view, it is not absolutely certain that we shall always remain in the ways of God. Just as the first man and woman became estranged from God though they had been His children, so every one of us is always balancing, as it were, on the edge of the knife between nothingness and the fullness of the divine life. Sooner or later we shall be feeling this also subjectively.

In the infancy of the spiritual life, when we have just begun to surrender ourselves to the guidance of God, we feel His guiding hand very strongly; it is clear as daylight what we have to do and what to avoid.

But it will not remain like this. If we belong to Christ, we have to live the whole Christ-life. We must mature into His Manhood, we must one day begin the Way of the Cross to Gethsemani and to Golgotha. And all sufferings that come from without are as nothing compared with the dark night of the soul, when the divine light no longer shines, and the voice of the Lord no longer speaks.

God is there, but He is hidden and silent. Why is this so?

We are speaking of the mysteries of God, and these cannot be completely penetrated. But we may well look a little into them. God became Man in order once more to give us a share in His life. This is the beginning, and this is the last end.

But between these, there is something else. Christ is God and Man, and if we would share His life, we must share both in the divine and the human life. The human nature which He took enabled Him to suffer and to die. The divine nature which He possessed from eternity gave His suffering and death infinite value and redemptive power.

Christ’s suffering and death are continued in His mystical Body and in each of His members. Every man must suffer and die. But if he is a living member of the Body of Christ, his suffering and death will receive redemptive power from the divinity of the Head.

This is the objective reason why all the saints have desired to suffer. This is not a pathological pleasure in suffering. It is true, to natural reason it appears as a perversion. But in the light of the mystery of salvation, it shows itself to be highly reasonable.

And thus, the man who is united to Christ will remain unmoved even in the dark night of feeling estranged from and abandoned by God. Perhaps divine providence is using his agony to deliver another, who is truly a prisoner cut off from God. Therefore we will say: “Thy will be done” even, and particularly so, in the darkest night.

Saint Edith Stein

The Mystery of Christmas, V. (“Thy Will Be Done”)
13 January 1931, Ludwigshafen, Germany

Stein, E 1931, The mystery of Christmas: incarnation and humanity, translated from the German by Rucker, J, Darlington Carmel, Darlington UK.

Featured image: Photographer Ian Chen captures this image of a person gazing at the Milky Way on a clear night amid the tufa spires of the Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark in the California Desert Conservation Area near Searles Lake, California. Image credit: ianchen0 / Unsplash (Stock photo)

#freedom #happiness #HeavenlyFather #Jesus #mystery #StEdithStein #suffering #trust #unionWithGod #willOfGod

Quote of the day, 6 January: St. Edith Stein

The Child in the manger stretches out His small hands, and His smile seems to say even now the same as later the lips of the Man: “Come to me, all you that labour and are burdened” [Mt 11:28].

The poor shepherds have followed His call, when the radiance of the sky and the voice of the angel had announced the good tidings to them in the fields of Bethlehem, simply saying: “Let us go to Bethlehem” and setting out on their way [cf. Lk 2:15].

The kings from the far-away East followed the marvellous star with the same simple faith; on them all the hands of the Child poured the dew of His grace and they “rejoiced with exceeding great joy” [Mt 2:10].

These hands give and demand at the same time: you wise men, lay down your wisdom and become simple like children; you kings, give your crowns and your treasures and bow down humbly before the King of kings; do not hesitate to take upon yourselves the sufferings and hardships His service entails.

The Christian mysteries are an indivisible whole. If we become immersed in one, we are led to all the Others. Thus the way from Bethlehem leads inevitably to Golgotha, from the crib to the Cross.

Saint Edith Stein

The Mystery of Christmas
January 13, 1931, Ludwigshafen, Germany

Stein, E 1931, The mystery of Christmas: incarnation and humanity, translated from the German by Rucker, J, Darlington Carmel, Darlington UK.

Featured image: The Adoration of the Magi by Dutch artist Leonaert Bramer (1596–1674) is an oil on oak panel on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Curators date the work between 1630 and 1635. Image credit: Detroit Institute of Arts (Public domain)

#Bethlehem #crib #cross #Epiphany #golgotha #InfantJesus #Magi #mystery #StEdithStein #star