An Extraordinary Woman: Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Our daily lives can seem very ordinary—whether we are a full-time student, work all day, or are a stay-at-home mom. Often, our work can feel suffocating, when it grows mundane. Such as reading endless pages for class, answering countless emails at work, or dealing with the fourteenth temper tantrum at only 9 a.m.

Yes, it’s hard to see eternity when the present moment is so overwhelming.

When I become discouraged by ordinary activities, it is nice to remember the many extraordinary women who make up the Communion of Saints.

One such woman, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (or Edith Stein), is someone whose genius and writing were the basis of my undergrad thesis on femininity. When I lack patience in God’s timing, when I struggle to persevere, or when I become selfish and want my own way, I always turn to this dear Saint for support.

From Jewish to Atheist to Catholic

This intelligent, determined, and brave woman was born in Germany in 1891. Edith was raised in a good Jewish household but became an atheist when she was a teenager. She converted to Catholicism in 1922, after reading Saint Teresa of Avila’s autobiography. However, Edith’s conversion caused tension between her and her devout Jewish mother, and she felt separated from her Jewish community. Despite this, Edith did not back away from her new-found faith.

While Edith desired to enter a Carmelite convent soon after her conversion, she was encouraged by her spiritual advisors to wait. She ended up waiting twelve years before she finally entered her vocation as a cloistered Carmelite.

Waiting on the Lord Can Be Long

Waiting on God’s timing was not easy for Edith, who was highly ambitious and driven, completing her doctorate in philosophy at the age of 25, at a time when it was a rarity for women to finish an undergrad degree, let alone a graduate degree.

Especially because she was used to pursuing her own goals, Edith could have grown despondent waiting on the Lord. However, that was not Edith’s response. Instead she encountered God in the ordinary and continued to play to her strengths. She used her brilliant mind and hard-earned degree to teach German and history to Dominican Sisters. She also lectured and wrote some of the most profound writings on femininity I have ever read.

Even so, waiting for a lengthy period of time for God to answer a prayer, especially a prayer pertaining to vocation, can take a toll. Everyday tasks can start to become excruciating when life feels unsettled, and it can be hard to persevere when the odds seem against you.

After years of waiting, Edith experienced a deep unrest, even in her teaching. Eventually, she was forced to resign her position as the Nazi regime rose to power. They required all civil servants to produce proof of heritage, and Jews were extremely limited in their employment opportunities. Edith continued to trust God, even when obstacles delayed her from fulfilling her vocation to be a Carmelite and unjust laws prevented her from pursuing her profession. Interestingly, the intensified persecution Edith experienced as a Jewish descendant led her spiritual advisor to allow her to enter Carmel sooner than she expected, which proves that God really can make good come from bad.

Leaning on the Saints for Strength

In my own life as a single woman, the transition from college to career has been challenging. It does not help that I do not follow the perceived “normal” timeline for entering my vocation. Of my twelve childhood friends, only three of us pursued an undergraduate degree. The rest married young. Now, only two of us remain unmarried, and my fellow single girlfriend and I sometimes feel the sting of not being settled in our desired vocation. We can feel hurt or left out just because we are not following the same timeline as others.

That is why I turn to Edith Stein. Because she is no stranger to feeling misplaced and rejected. She experienced tension with her mother and the Jewish community when she became Catholic. She was pushed out of her German citizenship due to her Jewish heritage. She waited until the age of 42 to enter her vocation at Carmel. Through it all, she did not waste a single moment. Rather, she led a productive life and used her gifts and talents, especially her teaching and writing, to serve others.

My friend and I also realize through our work and studies that this is where God has placed us. And here, in this present moment, we must strive to do His Will with great joy and grace, just like Edith Stein did.

God’s Timing is Perfect

It was not easy for Edith to persevere, and according to her autobiography, she became depressed and suffered deeply from the persecution of her fellow man under the Nazi regime. However, throughout her trials, tribulations, and lessons in patience she said this about God’s timing:

Things were in God's plan which I had not planned at all. I am coming to the living faith and conviction that—from God's point of view—there is no chance and that the whole of my life, down to every detail, has been mapped out in God’s divine providence and makes complete and perfect sense in God’s all-seeing eyes.

What patience and love for God’s will! Truly a fiat moment, just like our Mother Mary. ]

Edith finally entered Carmel in 1934 and became Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Her sister Rosa, who also converted to Catholicism, entered Carmel with Edith. They were in the order for only eight years before they had to seek safety from the Nazis in the Netherlands. However, they were eventually arrested and killed in the gas chamber at Auschwitz.

Edith was declared a martyr by the Catholic Church, because she died for the moral teachings of the Faith. She was canonized on October 11, 1998.

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross inspires me to continuously incorporate love, trust, and patience in my daily tasks. We do not know how many days we have to serve God. Therefore, we must fully love Him and give Him everything today. God comes to us in the mundane, and if we are attentive to Him, we will hear Him whisper, “Here I am! You have found Me by your faithfulness to the ordinary.”

Alexa M. is an administrative assistant who reads, writes, crochets, bakes, and sings in her spare time.

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