St. Edith Stein – Teresa ‘blessed by the Holy Cross’

 “The innermost essence of love is self-offering. The entryway to all things is the Cross”

On this day, St. Teresa Benedicta a Sancte Cruce, along with her sister Rosa, was murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz together with the other Dutch Catholics of Jewish origin deported because of the the Dutch Bishops’ denunciation of the Nazi Regime. The first reading of today’s Mass speaks of the fear of the People of Israel when confronted with entering the Promised Land. The Gospel, instead, shows us the boldness of the Syrophoenician mother who overcomes her fears to seek healing for her daughter. The way of love is the way of the trust in the Lord of Love, even in the face of great obstacles. And He will feed us, as he fed St. Edith Stein, not with “table scraps” but with His Body and Blood. Do not be afraid.