I first "met" St. Teresia Benedicta of the Cross as Edith Stein many years ago when I was seriously studying Phenomenology for about eleven years; this was before she was a saint. She was the greatest pupil of Edmund Husserl. I can identify with her on several accounts. She was Jewish and I am part Jewish on my mother's side of the family. She lost her Jewish faith and became an atheist. I became an agnostic in college studying philosophy. She studied Phenomenology and so did I. But, later in her life, she left that school of thought and went back to Thomism. I did the same thing, quite spontaneously. She loved the spirituality of the Carmelites, and so do I, although I am more Benedictine by practice and temperament. But, she took St. Benedict's name as well as Teresa of Avila's for her name in religion. I claim her for a personal patron.
It is good for women in my generation to have St. Teresia Benedicta as a role model. As a single woman in the world of academics, she was brilliant. She was obedient and an excellent nun. She converted her sister. She lived in the same era as my grandparents and parents. She died a martyr for the Faith.
| "She is a witness to God's presence in a world where God is absent." This was stated by Prof. Jan Nota, who knew her. One can read more here at the following Vatican link.
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I love her and I am so glad she is one of the patrons of Europe. Pray to this great saint for strength in the horrible times to come. She is the woman for our age.
