Divine Office

August 9

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr

Optional Memorial

“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.” [1]

St. Teresa Benedicta (1891-1942), began life as Edith Stein, the child of Jewish parents. By the time she was a teenager, though, she identified as an atheist. She earned a doctorate in philosophy, summa cum laude, and her thesis “The Problem with Empathy” earned her great renown. Later, while trying to gain a professorship, a near-impossible feat for women of the day, St. Teresa Benedicta had a conversion experience. St. Teresa of Avila’s autobiography inspired her, and in 1922 she was baptized. She continued academic life and translated works of Aquinas and Newman. In 1934, she professed in the Carmelite Order. Sadly, her path took an abrupt turn. As World War II engulfed Europe, St. Teresa’s Jewish heritage caused her to be arrested and placed in Auschwitz, where she was killed. She is remembered as a ‘daughter of Israel,’ who was faithful to both her Jewish heritage and her Christian beliefs. [2]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] Teresa Benedict of the Cross, Edith Stein, Vatican News Services, October 11, 1998.
[2] Ibid.

Lord, open my lips.
— And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing to the Lord
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

The Lord is God, the mighty God,
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the highest mountains as well
He made the sea; it belongs to him,
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

Come, then, let us bow down and worship,
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker,
For he is our God and we are his people,
the flock he shepherds.

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

Today, listen to the voice of the Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness,
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me,
Although they had seen all of my works.

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

Forty years I endured that generation.
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger,
“They shall not enter into my rest.”

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.