Today, August 9, is the feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).
Sister Stephanie Stueber wrote a review of the book EDITH STEIN. THOUGHTS ON HER LIFE AND TIMES by Henry Bordeaux c1959, for publication in the St. Louis Review. Here is her book review.
"When one sincerely meditates on a woman who is at once a Jew, a Catholic, a philosopher, a Carmelite, a mystic, and a martyr, a woman who is described as 'a witness of the spirit of the highest order' (p. 18), the ascent to prayer is spontaneous and the gaze towards spiritual heights is magnetic. So it is with this simple little book by Henry Bordeaux. One is drawn to aspire to the things of the spirit--the spirit whose life is truth, humility, love, suffering; the spirit who breathed so freely in the soul of Edith Stein.
"This book is not a biography of Edith Stein, who as Sister Benedicta of the Cross, went to an ignominious yet heroic death in one of Hitler's gas chambers. Neither is this book an exposition of the life and thought of a Christian scholar who gave up all--family, nationality, learning, life--for Christ. In a series of reflections on the soul qualities which make Edith Stein eminently and genuinely Christian, Bordeaux associates other individuals, related situations--all of which combine to dramatize man's yearning search for God, a search unusually poignant in our century, unusually tense and intense.
"In the contemporary milieu, where truth is so distorted and egoism is so exalted, Bordeaux is significantly drawn to admire Edith Stein's simplicity and humility. Aptly he summarizes her as a woman who 'was true' (p. 32). Her pure and instinctive love of truth literally drove her to face realities honestly, to follow their implications courageously, and to be humble graciously. 'Inspired only by the love of truth in which was hidden the love of God, Who finally appeared to her in all His splendor' (p. 32), Edith Stein answered the demands of Truth Who led her from reason to faith, from philosophy to prayer, from scholarship to suffering. Because in life she was a person 'who never ceased to grow' (p. 62), Edith Stein in death will never cease to inspire souls to seek the heights of mystical contemplation, the depth of mystical silence, and the breadths of mystical love.
"Bordeaux's thoughts on Edith Stein's life and times are 'deep, deep thoughts,' which by their simplicity solicit admiration for one who was true and by their brevity beckon further study of one who in love followed Truth."
From Stephanie's drop file
Sister Stephanie Stueber wrote a review of the book EDITH STEIN. THOUGHTS ON HER LIFE AND TIMES by Henry Bordeaux c1959, for publication in the St. Louis Review. Here is her book review.
"When one sincerely meditates on a woman who is at once a Jew, a Catholic, a philosopher, a Carmelite, a mystic, and a martyr, a woman who is described as 'a witness of the spirit of the highest order' (p. 18), the ascent to prayer is spontaneous and the gaze towards spiritual heights is magnetic. So it is with this simple little book by Henry Bordeaux. One is drawn to aspire to the things of the spirit--the spirit whose life is truth, humility, love, suffering; the spirit who breathed so freely in the soul of Edith Stein.
"This book is not a biography of Edith Stein, who as Sister Benedicta of the Cross, went to an ignominious yet heroic death in one of Hitler's gas chambers. Neither is this book an exposition of the life and thought of a Christian scholar who gave up all--family, nationality, learning, life--for Christ. In a series of reflections on the soul qualities which make Edith Stein eminently and genuinely Christian, Bordeaux associates other individuals, related situations--all of which combine to dramatize man's yearning search for God, a search unusually poignant in our century, unusually tense and intense.
"In the contemporary milieu, where truth is so distorted and egoism is so exalted, Bordeaux is significantly drawn to admire Edith Stein's simplicity and humility. Aptly he summarizes her as a woman who 'was true' (p. 32). Her pure and instinctive love of truth literally drove her to face realities honestly, to follow their implications courageously, and to be humble graciously. 'Inspired only by the love of truth in which was hidden the love of God, Who finally appeared to her in all His splendor' (p. 32), Edith Stein answered the demands of Truth Who led her from reason to faith, from philosophy to prayer, from scholarship to suffering. Because in life she was a person 'who never ceased to grow' (p. 62), Edith Stein in death will never cease to inspire souls to seek the heights of mystical contemplation, the depth of mystical silence, and the breadths of mystical love.
"Bordeaux's thoughts on Edith Stein's life and times are 'deep, deep thoughts,' which by their simplicity solicit admiration for one who was true and by their brevity beckon further study of one who in love followed Truth."
From Stephanie's drop file
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