This is one of our favorite family books. At least once a week we’ll crack open the cover and escape into a great adventure with one of the saints. There’s so much literature to choose from, but the Bible stories and true-life biographies of holy heroes never gets old. Over the weekend we read about Edith Stein. A Jew, a German philosopher turned-atheist, then Catholic. Finally, she entered a Carmelite Order as St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross. In 1942 she was arrested and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where she died in the gas chamber. Her legacy and writings offers a powerful testimony of finding Truth and living courageous holiness. After reading her short story in “Book of Saints” the boys and I set out to dig deeper. There are several You Tube videos and online resources and books about her life. I can’t wait to study her writings!
In the meantime, I wanted to share a prayer she wrote. I think this is a perfect “Sink Reflection” for anyone struggling to meet the demands of the day, and with finding peace with God’s plan today.
“God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take it’s course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed; just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with him. Then you will be able to rest in Him–really rest–and start the next day as a new life.”
-Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross)
Lovely reflection! Thank you for sharing. I found you through CatholicMom.com…so glad I did!
Thank you so much for your comment Gina! Grateful for Lisa's article, and glad you visited!