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http://usccb.org/bible/readings/0809-memorial-teresa-benedicta.cfm

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From: Deuteronomy 4:32-40

The Lord’s Special Providence Towards His People

(Moses said to the people,) [32] “For ask now of the days that are past, which
were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask
from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever
happened or was ever heard of. [33] Did any people ever hear the voice of a god
speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? [34] Or has
any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of ano-
ther nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and
an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your
God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? [35] To you it was shown, that you
might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. [36] Out of
heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you; and on earth he
let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire.
[37] And because he loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them,
and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, [38]
driving out before you nations greater and mightier than yourselves, to bring you
in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as at this day; [39] know therefore
this day, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on
the earth beneath; there is no other. [40] Therefore you shall keep his statutes
and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well
with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days
in the land which the LORD your God gives you for ever.”

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Commentary:

4:32-40. The end of this first discourse carries an important theological message:
the profound notion of one God (monotheism); the election of Israel as God’s spe-
cific people; his special and kindly providence towards this people; the might of
God, as manifested in the prodigious works he does in favor of the chosen people;
and the consequence of all this—Israel’s duty to be faithful to the one and only
God, keeping his commandments and offering due cult only to him; by so doing,
Israel will continue to enjoy his protection.

Reading this and other passages in the sacred books shows the efforts the in-
spired writers made to update the teaching of religious traditions and apply it to
the situation and needs of Israelites in later periods; this is perhaps the reason
for the frequent calls to fidelity to the Covenant. “In the course of its history, Is-
rael was able to discover that God had only one reason to reveal himself to them,
a single motive for choosing them from among alt peoples as his special pos-
session: his sheer gratuitous love (cf. Deut 4:37; 7:8; 10:15). And thanks to the
prophets Israel understood that it was again out of love that God never stopped
saving them (cf. Is 43:1-7) and pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins (cf. Hos
2)” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 218).

The Deuterononiic formula of “the Lord is God [”ha-Elohim”, that is, the only
God] and there is no other besides him” (v. 35), which occurs often (cf. 4:39; 6:4;
32:39; etc.) is also the essence of the Prophets’ message (cf. Jer 2:11-33; Is 41:
2-29; 44:6; 46:9). The Prophets strove to draw Israel towards or maintain it in fi-
delity to the One and Only God who revealed himself to the patriarchs and to
Moses, and helped to develop and deepen an appreciation of monotheism, of the
universality of the power of Yahweh, of his moral demands, etc. But the core of
all this teaching is to be found expounded, profoundly and very specifically, in the
book of Deuteronomy. This teaching builds up the notion of the Lord as a jealous
God” (cf. Ex 20:5) who requires his adherents to be totally obedient to him; it is
a notion incompatible with worshipping the divinities adored by other peoples (cf.
Ex 20:3).

Being good, obeying the commandments of the Law of God, brings life (v. 40),
initially understood as longevity; whereas sin often brings with it misfortune or
death, as a punishment from God (cf. Ezek 18:10-13,19-20; etc.). The fact that
God is just in his treatment of man, rewarding him or punishing, sooner or later,
for the good or the evil he does, is a message that runs right through the Old
and New Testaments. In ancient texts, the accent is on reward or punishment
in this present life. In the New Testament more emphasis is put on divine retri-
bution in the future life. It is not surprising that there should be this line of deve-
lopment in the biblical ethic: God takes account of time and grace to lead men
to the fullness of truth.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 16:24-28

Jesus Foretells His Passion and Resurrection (Continuation)

[24] Then Jesus told His disciples, “If any man would come after Me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. [25] For whoever would save
his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [26] For what
will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall
a man give in return for his life? [27] For the Son of Man is to come with His an-
gels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man for what he has
done. [28] Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste
death before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.”

*********************************************************************************************

Commentary:

24. “Divine love, ‘poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to
us’ (Romans 5:5), enables lay people to express concretely in their lives the spirit
of the Beatitudes. Following Jesus in His poverty, they feel no depression in want,
no pride in plenty; imitating the humble Christ, they are not greedy for vain show
(cf. Galatians 5:26). They strive to please God rather than men, always ready to
abandon everything for Christ (cf. Luke 14:26) and even to endure persecution in
the cause of right (cf. Matthew 5:10), having in mind the Lord’s saying: ‘If any
man wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and fol-
low Me’” (Matthew 16:24) (”Apostolicam Actuositatem”, 4).

25. A Christian cannot ignore these words of Jesus. He has to risk, to gamble,
this present life in order to attain eternal life: “How little a life is to offer to God!”
(St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 420).

Our Lord’s requirement means that we must renounce our own will in order to
identify with the will of God and so to ensure that, as St. John of the Cross com-
ments, we do not follow the way of those many people who “would have God will
that which they themselves will, and are fretful at having to will that which He wills,
and find it repugnant to accommodate their will to that of God. Hence it happens
to them that oftentimes they think that that wherein they find not their own will
and pleasure is not the will of God; and that, on the other hand, when they them-
selves find satisfaction, God is satisfied. Thus they measure God by themselves
and not themselves by God” (”Dark Night of the Soul”, Book 1, Chapter 7, 3).

26-27. Christ’s words are crystal-clear: every person has to bear in mind the Last
Judgment. Salvation, in other words, is something radically personal: “He will
repay every man for what he has done” (verse 27).

Man’s goal does not consist in accumulating worldly goods; these are only means
to an end; man’s last end, his ultimate goal, is God Himself; he possesses God
in advance, as it were, here on earth by means of grace, and possesses him fully
and forever in Heaven. Jesus shows the route to take to reach this destination—
denying oneself (that is, saying no to ease, comfort, selfishness and attachment
to temporal goods) and taking up the cross. For no earthly—impermanent—good
can compare with the soul’s eternal salvation. As St. Thomas expresses it with
theological precision, “the least good of grace is superior to the natural good of
the entire universe” (”Summa Theologiae”, I-II, q. 113, a. 9).

28. Here Jesus is referring not to His Last Coming (which He speaks about in the
preceding verse) but to other events which will occur prior to that and which will
be a sign of His glorification after death. The Coming He speaks of here may refer
firstly to His Resurrection and His appearance thereafter; it could also refer to His
Transfiguration, which is itself a manifestation of His glory. This coming of Christ
in His Kingdom might also be seen in the destruction of Jerusalem—a sign of the
end of the ancient people of Israel as a form of the Kingdom of God and its sub-
stitution by the Church, the new Kingdom.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Deuteronomy 4:32-40 ©

'Did ever a people before you hear the voice of the living God, and remain alive?'

Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?

‘This he showed you so that you might know that the Lord is God indeed and that there is no other. He let you hear his voice out of heaven for your instruction; on earth he let you see his great fire, and from the heart of the fire you heard his word. Because he loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out from Egypt, openly showing his presence and his great power, driving out in front of you nations greater and more powerful than yourself, and brought you into their land to give it you for your heritage, as it is still today.

‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 76(77):12-16,21 ©

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

I remember the deeds of the Lord,

I remember your wonders of old,

I muse on all your works

and ponder your mighty deeds.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Your ways, O God, are holy.

What god is great as our God?

You are the God who works wonders.

You showed your power among the peoples.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Your strong arm redeemed your people,

the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

You guided your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation	1S3:9,Jn6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Or:	Mt5:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who are persecuted

in the cause of right,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 16:24-28 ©

Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?

‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour. I tell you solemnly, there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.’

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 16
24.	Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.	Tunc Jesus dixit discipulis suis : Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me.	τοτε ο ιησους ειπεν τοις μαθηταις αυτου ει τις θελει οπισω μου ελθειν απαρνησασθω εαυτον και αρατω τον σταυρον αυτου και ακολουθειτω μοι
25.	For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.	Qui enim voluerit animam suam salvam facere, perdet eam : qui autem perdiderit animam suam propter me, inveniet eam.	ος γαρ αν θελη την ψυχην αυτου σωσαι απολεσει αυτην ος δ αν απολεση την ψυχην αυτου ενεκεν εμου ευρησει αυτην
26.	For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?	Quid enim prodest homini, si mundum universum lucretur, animæ vero suæ detrimentum patiatur ? aut quam dabit homo commutationem pro anima sua ?	τι γαρ ωφελειται ανθρωπος εαν τον κοσμον ολον κερδηση την δε ψυχην αυτου ζημιωθη η τι δωσει ανθρωπος ανταλλαγμα της ψυχης αυτου
27.	For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.	Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui cum angelis suis : et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus.	μελλει γαρ ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεσθαι εν τη δοξη του πατρος αυτου μετα των αγγελων αυτου και τοτε αποδωσει εκαστω κατα την πραξιν αυτου
28.	Amen I say to you, there are some of them that stand here, that shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.	Amen dico vobis, sunt quidam de hic stantibus, qui non gustabunt mortem, donec videant Filium hominis venientem in regno suo.	αμην λεγω υμιν εισιν τινες ωδε εστωτες οιτινες ου μη γευσωνται θανατου εως αν ιδωσιν τον υιον του ανθρωπου ερχομενον εν τη βασιλεια αυτου

24. Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me
25. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

CHRYS; Peter had said, Be it far from you, Lord; this shall not be to you; and had been answered, Get you behind, me, Satan; but the Lord was not satisfied with this rebuke, but over and above desired to show the impropriety of those things which Peter had said, and the fruit of His own passion; whence it is added, Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me; as much as to say, You say to me, Be it far from you; but I say to you, that not only is it harmful for you to hinder Me from My Passion, but yourself will not be able to be saved unless you suffer and die, and renounce your life always.

And note, that He does not speak of it as compulsory, for He does not say, though you will not yet must you suffer this, but, If any man will. By saying this He rather attracted them ; for he who leaves his auditor at liberty, attracts him the more; whereas he that uses violence oftentimes hinders him. And He proposes this doctrine, not to His disciples only, but in common to the whole world, saying, any man will that is, if woman, if man, if king, if free, if slave; there are three things mentioned; let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

GREGORY; For unless a man departs from himself, he does not draw near to Him who is above him. But if we leave ourselves, whither shall we go out of ourselves? Or if we have forsaken ourselves, who is it then that goes? indeed, we are one thing when fallen by sin, another thing as we were made by nature. It is therefore then that we leave and deny ourselves, when we avoid that which w e were of old, and strive towards that to which we are called in newness.

ID; He denies himself whosoever is changed for the better, and begins to be what he was not, and ceases to be what he was.

ID; He also denies himself, who having bode under foot the rising of pride, shows himself in the eyes of God to be estranged from himself.

ORIGEN; But though, a man may seem to keep from sin, yet if he does not believe in the cross of Christ, he cannot be said to be crucified with Christ; whence it follows, And take up his cross.

CHRYS; Otherwise; He that disowns another, whether a brother, or a servant, or whosoever it be, he may see him beaten, or suffering ought else, and neither succors nor befriends him; thus it is He would have us deny our body, and whether it be beaten or afflicted in any other way, not to spare it. For this is to spare. So parents do then most spare their children when they hand them over to tutors, bidding them not to spare them. And that you should not think that this denial of self extends only to words or affronts, he shows to what degree we should deny ourselves, namely, to death the most shameful, even that of the cross; this He signifies when He says, And take up his cross, and follow me.

HILARY; We are to follow our Lord by taking up the cross of His passion; and if not in deed, yet in will, bear Him company.

CHRYS; And because malefactors often suffer grievous things, that you should not suppose that simply to suffer evil is enough, He adds the reason of suffering, when He says, And follow me. For His sake you are to endure all, and to learn His other virtues; for this is to follow Christ aright, to be diligent in the practice of virtues, and to suffer all things for His sake.

GREG; There are two ways of taking our cross; when the body is afflicted by abstinence, or when the heart is pained by compassion for another. Forasmuch as our very virtues are beset with faults, we must declare that vainglory sometimes attends abstinence of flesh, for the emaciated body and pale countenance betray this high virtue to the praise of the world. Compassion again is sometimes attended by a false affection which is hereby led to be consenting to sin; to shut out these, He adds, and follow me.

JEROME; Otherwise; He takes up his cross who is crucified to the world; and he to whom the world is crucified, follows his crucified Lord.

CHRYS; And then because this seemed severe, He softens it by showing the abundant rewards of our pains, and the punishment of evil, He that will save his life shall lose it.

ORIGEN; This may be understood in two ways. First thus; if any lover of this present life spares his life, fearing to die, and supposing that his life is ended with this death; he seeking in this way to save his life, shall lose it, estranging it from life eternal. But if any, despising the present life, shall contend for the truth to death, he shall lose his life as far as this present life is concerned, but forasmuch as he loses it for Christ, he shall the more save it for life eternal.

Otherwise thus; if any understand what is true salvation, and desire to obtain it for the salvation of his own life, he by denying himself loses his life as to the enjoyments of the flesh, but saves it by works of piety. He shows by saying, For he that will, that this passage must be connected in sense with that which went before. If then we understand the first, Let him deny himself, of the death of the body, we must take this that follows of death only; but if we understand the first of mortifying the propensities of the flesh, then, to lose life, signifies to give up carnal pleasures.

26. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
28. I say to you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

CHRYS; Because He had said, Who will save, shall lose and who will lose shall save, opposing saving to losing, that none should hence conclude that there was any equality between the losing on one side, and the saving on the other, He adds, What does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his soul? As though He had said, Say not that he who escapes the dangers which threaten him for Christ's sake, saves his soul, that is, his temporal life, but acid to his temporal life the whole world, and what of all these things will profit a man if his soul perishes for ever? Suppose you should see all your servants in joy, and yourself placed in the greatest evils, what profit would you reap from being their master? Think over this within your own soul, when by the indulgence of the flesh that soul looks for its own destruction.

ORIGEN; I suppose also that he gains the world who does not deny himself, nor loses his own life as to carnal pleasures, and thence suffers the loss of his soul. These two things being set before us, we must rather choose to lose the world, and gain our souls.

CHRYS; But if you should reign over the whole world, you would not be able to buy your soul; whence it follows, Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? As much as to say, if you lose goods, you may have it in your power to give other goods to recover them; but if you lose your soul, you can neither give another soul, nor any thing else in ransom for it. And what marvel is it if this happen in the soul, when we see the same happen in the body; for if you should surround a body afflicted with an incurable disease with ten thousand diadems, they would not heal it.

ORIGEN; And at first sight indeed the ransom of the soul might be supposed to be in his substance, that a man should give his substance to the poor, and so should save his soul. But I suppose that a man has nothing that giving as a ransom for his soul he should deliver it from death. God gave the ransom for the souls of men, namely the precious blood of His Son.

GREG; Or the connection may be thus; The Holy Church has a period of persecution, and a period of peace; and our Redeemer accordingly distinguishes between these periods in His commands; in time of persecution the life is to be laid down; but in time of peace, those earthly lusts which might gain too great power over us are to be broken through; whence He says, What does it profit a man?

JEROME; Having thus called upon His disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross, the hearers were filled with great terror, therefore these severe tidings are followed by more joyful; For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels. Do you fear death? Hear the glory of the triumph. Do you dread the cross? Hear the attendance of the Angels.

ORIGEN; As much as to say; The Son of Man is now come, but not in glory; for He ought not to have been ordained in His glory to bear our sins; but then He shall come in His glory, when He shall first have made ready His disciples, being made as they are, that He might make them as He is Himself, in the likeness of His glory.

CHRYS. He said not in such glory as is that of the Father, that you might not suppose a difference of glory, but He says, The glory of the Father, that it might be shown to be the same glory. But if the glory is one, it is evident that the substance is one. What then fear you, Peter, hearing of death? For then shall you see Me in glory. But if I be in glory, so also shall you be. But in making mention of His glory, He mingles there with things terrible, bringing forward the judgment, as it follows, And then shall he render to each man according to his works.

JEROME; For there is no difference of Jew or Gentile, man or woman, poor or rich, where not persons but works are accepted.

CHRYS; This He said to call to their minds not only the punishment of sinners, but the prizes and crowns of the righteous.

JEROME; But the secret thought of the Apostles might have suffered an offense of this sort; The killings and deaths you speak of as to be now, but the promise of your coming in glory is put off to a long distant time. He that knows secret things therefore, seeing that they might object this, requites a present fear with a present reward, saying, I say to you, There be some of those standing here that shall not taste death until the Son of Man come in his is kingdom.

CHRYS; Willing to show what is that glory in which He shall come hereafter, He revealed it to them in this present life, so far as it was possible for them to receive it, that they might not have sorrow in their Lord's death.

REMIG; What is here said, therefore, was fulfilled in the three disciples to whom the Lord, when transfigured in the mount, showed the joys of the eternal inheritance; these saw Him coming in His kingdom that is, shining in His effulgent radiance, in which, after the judgment passed, He shall be beheld by all the saints.

CHRYS; Therefore He does not reveal the names of those who should ascend into the mount, because the rest would be very desirous to accompany them whither they might look upon the pattern of His glory, and would be grieved as though they were passed over.

GREG; Or, by the kingdom of God is meant the present Church, and because some I of His disciples were to live so long in the body as to behold the Church of God built up and raised against the glory of this world, this comfortable promise is given them, there be some of them standing here.

ORIGEN; Morally; To those who are nearly brought to the faith, the Word of God wears the form of a servant; but to those that are perfect, He comes in the glory of the Father. His angels are the words of the Prophets, which it is not possible to comprehend spiritually, until the word of Christ has been first spiritually comprehended, and then will their words be seen in like majesty with His. Then will He give of His own glory to every man according to his deeds; for the better each man is in his deeds, so much the more spiritually does he understand Christ and His Prophets. They that stand where Jesus stands, are they that have the foundations of their souls rested upon Jesus; of whom such as stood firmest are said not to taste death till they see the Word of God; which comes in His kingdom when they see that excellence of God which they cannot see while they are involved in divers sins, which is to taste death, forasmuch as the soul that sins, dies. For as life, and the living bread, is He that came down from heaven, so His enemy death is the bread of death. And of these breads there are some that eat but a little, just tasting them, while some eat more abundantly. They that sin neither often, nor greatly, these only taste death; they that have partaken more perfectly of spiritual virtue do not taste it only, but feed ever on the living bread. That He says, Until they see, does not fix any time at which shall be done what had not been done before, but mentions just what is necessary; for he that once sees Him in His glory, shall after that by no means taste death.

RABAN; It is of the saints He speaks as tasting death, by whom the death of the body is tasted just as it were sipping, while the life of the soul is held fast in possession.

Catena Aurea Matthew 16

Carrying the Cross

Hans Memling

Oil on oak, 58,2 x 27,5 cm
Szépmûvészeti Múzeum, Budapest

August 9 - Memorial of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’ Story

A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Saint Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau, Germany—now Wroclaw, Poland—Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protégé of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis.

After living for four years in the Cologne Carmel, Sister Teresa Benedicta moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands, in 1938. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.

Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta of the Cross in 1987, and canonized her 12 years later.

Reflection

The writings of Edith Stein fill 17 volumes, many of which have been translated into English. A woman of integrity, she followed the truth wherever it led her. After becoming a Catholic, Edith continued to honor her mother’s Jewish faith. Sister Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D. , translator of several of Edith’s books, sums up this saint with the phrase, “Learn to live at God’s hands.”

franciscanmedia.org

Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Cyril and Methodius, Bridget of Sweden, and Catherine of Siena. (en.wikipedia.org)