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Edith Stein: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
a wonderful book
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 6, 2008
St. Edith Stein, or St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, if you prefer to call her by her Carmelite name is a 'modern' Catholic saint. I have personal reasons for preferring her given name—I would say her ‘Christian’ name except that she wasn’t born Christian. She was Jewish by birth and Catholic by conversion. However, I do love the name she selected as well. Teresa of Ávila was her inspiration and is also mine.
My knowledge of, and interest in, Edith Stein is fourfold. First, she is a female and I always prefer female saints because I can more readily identify with them. Second, she was highly intelligent, a thinker, a philosopher and a writer—my favorite type of person. Third, she lived and died during the rise and fall of the Third Reich, a period in history which I find absolutely fascinating. And finally, I have come to have a special love for Edith for three personal reasons: my oldest daughter, Meg, has chosen her to be her Confirmation patron, my sister took her name when she was recently clothed a Third Order Carmelite and, last but not least, my maternal grandmother and favorite aunt are named Edith.
God works behind the scenes in simple, mysterious ways. A few short years ago, I had never heard of Edith Stein. She came upon me quietly in a little documentary which was examining how the Church selected, determined and investigated its canonical saints. When I told my mother about my daughter's choice of a Confirmation saint at a recent family gathering I sensed rather than saw or heard her surprise. She had never heard of Edith Stein. And I had forgotten—until that moment—what my maternal grandmother’s first name was. I never met her and my mother rarely speaks of her own mother. Edith is not a very common name today, but it must have been once. It was an epiphany moment for both us—my deceased grandmother’s name coming alive again through my daughter’s choice of a Confirmation saint.
‘For Edith Stein, whose entire life was a quest for truth and meaning, her hidden world held the key to what was invisible to the eye – long before Truth had a name. Stein herself realized this after becoming a Christian. In a letter to a Benedictine nun friend, she said, “Whoever seeks after the truth is seeking after God, whether consciously or unconsciously.” ‘ (p59)
Knowing my own girl as I have since birth, I would describe her also as ‘a seeker after truth’. It is my prayer that St. Edith will assist her in that quest.
Edith Stein: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is a charming and easy-to-read introduction to the saint. As she was such an intelligent woman and so much of her life was lived in her mind, no book can do her justice which does not take into account her philosophical and theological development. Scaperlander’s book does this in an accessible manner. This is the perfect introduction to a very complex woman, powerful saint and – I believe – future doctor of the Church. If you read no other book on this saint, read this one.
My knowledge of, and interest in, Edith Stein is fourfold. First, she is a female and I always prefer female saints because I can more readily identify with them. Second, she was highly intelligent, a thinker, a philosopher and a writer—my favorite type of person. Third, she lived and died during the rise and fall of the Third Reich, a period in history which I find absolutely fascinating. And finally, I have come to have a special love for Edith for three personal reasons: my oldest daughter, Meg, has chosen her to be her Confirmation patron, my sister took her name when she was recently clothed a Third Order Carmelite and, last but not least, my maternal grandmother and favorite aunt are named Edith.
God works behind the scenes in simple, mysterious ways. A few short years ago, I had never heard of Edith Stein. She came upon me quietly in a little documentary which was examining how the Church selected, determined and investigated its canonical saints. When I told my mother about my daughter's choice of a Confirmation saint at a recent family gathering I sensed rather than saw or heard her surprise. She had never heard of Edith Stein. And I had forgotten—until that moment—what my maternal grandmother’s first name was. I never met her and my mother rarely speaks of her own mother. Edith is not a very common name today, but it must have been once. It was an epiphany moment for both us—my deceased grandmother’s name coming alive again through my daughter’s choice of a Confirmation saint.
‘For Edith Stein, whose entire life was a quest for truth and meaning, her hidden world held the key to what was invisible to the eye – long before Truth had a name. Stein herself realized this after becoming a Christian. In a letter to a Benedictine nun friend, she said, “Whoever seeks after the truth is seeking after God, whether consciously or unconsciously.” ‘ (p59)
Knowing my own girl as I have since birth, I would describe her also as ‘a seeker after truth’. It is my prayer that St. Edith will assist her in that quest.
Edith Stein: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is a charming and easy-to-read introduction to the saint. As she was such an intelligent woman and so much of her life was lived in her mind, no book can do her justice which does not take into account her philosophical and theological development. Scaperlander’s book does this in an accessible manner. This is the perfect introduction to a very complex woman, powerful saint and – I believe – future doctor of the Church. If you read no other book on this saint, read this one.
February 9, 2011
I found this book at the St. Meinrad gift store, and was shocked that I had never heard of Edith Stein before. She had an deep relationship with Jesus, was a brilliant writer who was also a seer. Her story is so compelling and heart wrenching at the same time. She serves as a good example of being a bridge, which for her was between Judaism and Catholicism. She was able to appreciate the rich spiritual legacy that both had to offer.
I am so inspired by the life she lived, and thankful that so many of her writings were kept safe for posterity. I believe that this is just the introduction of my relationship with Edith Stein and I look forward to reading much more about her and of her writings.
I am so inspired by the life she lived, and thankful that so many of her writings were kept safe for posterity. I believe that this is just the introduction of my relationship with Edith Stein and I look forward to reading much more about her and of her writings.
June 9, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed getting know more about Edith Stein and who she was, but would not necessarily recommend reading this particular book to do so. Primarily, because there are other biographies often mentioned and quoted in this one that seem much more compelling (especially “Life in a Jewish Family: Her Unfinished Autobiographical Account” by Edith Stein, “Aunt Edith” by Susanne Batzdorff, and “Edith Stein: A Biography” by Waltraud Herbstrith), as well as because there is quite a lack of focus in this one.
A couple of things particularly strange about the writing: 1.) given the author’s need to explain very basics so many very basic concepts in Judaism, Catholicism, Philosophy as a whole, Phenomenology (including who Husserl is), and the History of WWII (including who Mussolini is), i found myself constantly questioning who the target audience for this book is. And 2.), there were multiple tangential mini-biographies of other people, not necessarily because they were part of Edith’s own life, but because their lives had some similarities to Edith’s.
One huge benefit to this particular biography, however, is that it does a good job of explaining the controversial nature of Edith’s canonization, looking at many, various and particular examples of the different takes on the whole event of the canonization, from within Catholicism, Judaism, Edith’s own family, and the secular world.
A couple of things particularly strange about the writing: 1.) given the author’s need to explain very basics so many very basic concepts in Judaism, Catholicism, Philosophy as a whole, Phenomenology (including who Husserl is), and the History of WWII (including who Mussolini is), i found myself constantly questioning who the target audience for this book is. And 2.), there were multiple tangential mini-biographies of other people, not necessarily because they were part of Edith’s own life, but because their lives had some similarities to Edith’s.
One huge benefit to this particular biography, however, is that it does a good job of explaining the controversial nature of Edith’s canonization, looking at many, various and particular examples of the different takes on the whole event of the canonization, from within Catholicism, Judaism, Edith’s own family, and the secular world.
May 21, 2024
As a Catholic wanting to learn more about Edith Stein (Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), this was an enlightening and interesting introduction to her life. The author includes many direct quotations from and about Edith from other sources, which greatly helped me in getting to know her. This book has given me context and answers, but has also led me to more questions about Edith Stein, which I look forward to exploring more in the future.
August 27, 2019
Edith Stein was a German Jew who converted to Catholicism in the 1920s, became a nun in the early 1930s, and was gassed at Auschwitz in 1942. This is her fascinating story, with an afterward the examines the controversy that surrounded her beatification. She was quite a feminist for her time, and I especially liked her radical views on the need for women to work outside the home.
August 13, 2019
I feel as if I found a kindred soul in Edith Stein/St. Teresa Benedicta, even though our lives are so very different. Born and raised Jewish at the beginning of the 20th century, she eventually converted to Catholicism, subsequently became a Carmelite nun, and was eventually killed, along with one of her sisters, in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. It was not exactly light reading. However, in the years before the Holocaust was in full force, Edith was an academic and a philosopher, a prolific writer, and independent woman who lived life on her own terms, and all this in Germany in the early 20th century. Even after her conversion, which was devastating to her family, she was a devoted daughter, sister, and aunt, keeping in regularly correspondence, especially with her nieces and nephews, even after she was cloistered. Her academic work and devotion to her family spoke particularly to my heart, but I most admire her steadfast pursuit of Truth. I enjoyed this biography a great deal for how succinctly it was written and for how neatly it interwove Edith's personal history with the events that led up to World War II. Hitler was only two years older than Edith, and so their lives are occasionally presented side-by-side. The book also does a good job of describing the circumstances of German Jews even before the World Wars, which was incredibly helpful and enlightening.
February 1, 2013
I was greatly moved by the witness of Edith Stein--philosopher, true feminist, poet, Jewish convert, Carmelite nun, and martyr at Auschwitz. The story of her life and death deserves to be much more widely known than it is. The author does not shy away from describing the heartbreaking pain Stein's conversion to Christianity caused her family or the controversy surrounding her canonization, and took pains to give her Jewish relatives, particularly Stein's niece, a voice. If this book's writing had been a bit more skillful, I would have given it 5 stars.
August 25, 2010
Edith Stein/Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was a truly profound philosopher. She tried hard not to let her Jewishness and femaleness get in the way, but the times would not allow it.
January 26, 2013
I was very excited to read a book on Edith Stein. I was disappointed at how poorly this one was organized.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews