Life Ways

"The greatest figure of prophecy and sanctity steps forth out of the darkest night."—Edith Stein

How often in human history has our inhumanity given rise to holiness? It is as if God feels the need to atone for an atrocity by raising up a prodigy of grace.

The October 11, 1998 canonization of Edith Stein by John Paul II makes her the newest saint to emerge from the utter darkness of Auschwitz. And anyone familiar with the process of canonization knows that the Church does not manufacture saints. No other scrutiny of a lifetime can come close to the intense investigation of a proposed saint. The exception to this is, of course, the unique witness of a martyr. But, when faced with another saint of Auschwitz, we might be tempted to be cynical: is it sanctity or circumstance?

In little over a week, during August 1942, Edith Stein (Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) was arrested, transported to and executed in the now infamous death camp. When the Dutch bishops boldly spoke out against the arrest and deportation of Jews
the German occupying force retaliated. They seized and swept away several thousand priests and religious of Jewish extraction.

What, then, singles out Edith Stein? Was not Edith simply sharing in the same fate imposed on her people? What about her older sister, Rosa Stein, an extern at the Carmel of Echt who died with her in Auschwitz?

Multitudes of holy people passed through Auschwitz, but three things single out Edith Stein: 1) She was acutely aware of the mounting danger and consistently warned against it. 2) She willingly involved herself in the plight of her people. 3) Both her own writings and the accounts of witnesses exist as evidence of her martyrdom.

Edith Stein’s canonization is actually based on both forms of martyrdom, that of charity and that of blood. In a unique twist of events, Edith Stein’s cause was introduced under both heroic virtue and martyrdom affirming her holiness in a sense twice over.

From her birth on the Day of Atonement, Oct. 12, 1891, until her death on Aug. 9, 1942, Edith was set on a purposeful path. She was to be a signal to our century that truth is the center of our identity and we travel toward it only to find that it also defines God. Edith was the youngest daughter of a widowed working mother. Despite her mother’s fervent Jewish faith, Edith became an agnostic. Throughout her life, Edith fostered the search for truth and meaning. It led her to the study of philosophy, but it also grounded her in a life of virtue, particularly empathy which would become her hallmark. Unawares, Edith the agnostic, the seeker, was living the human equivalent of Christian charity. She was already living in the very heart of God.

Naturally sensitive to truth, Edith recognized and accepted Christianity when she experienced it in the life of her newly widowed friend. Comparing its logic to her philosophical quest Edith experienced an irresistible sense of rest. At last, she had found the convergence point and from then on she discovered the attraction of the Cross. She embraced the cross as the true meaning of life and offered up her entire life in sacrifice so that love and truth might meet in her. Eventually, she found a way to live this identity as a Carmelite. The hidden life became her new philosophy; empathy with the cross became so much a part of her identity she received the religious name, Sr. Teresa Benedicta a Cruce. As her martyrdom approached, she wrote this note: "I am content now. One can only learn the Science of the Cross if one truly suffers under the weight of the Cross. I was entirely convinced of this from the very first and I have said with all my heart: hail Cross, our only hope." (Edith Stein, Edith Stein Self-Portrait In Letters, Institute of Carmelite Studies)

The great lesson we all can learn from this holy woman is this: that point where the cross enters every life is precisely the point at which circumstance and sanctity converge. The living out of our Christian vocation is often impeded by the very circumstances of our life. But, Edith Stein offers this crossing point as the true center of our life where we really live. This is the mark of our identity as followers of Christ.

A captivating dramatization of the remarkable inner journey of Edith Stein: The Seventh Chamber of Edith Stein: An Interpreted Life (Pauline Video), #7004-8 $39.95 ($59.95 Canada)

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