A Jewish intellectual discovers St. Teresa of Ávila, converts, and dies for her race

Edith Stein, today’s saint’s given name, was a highly cultured European intellectual. She obtained a doctorate in philosophy summa cum laude from a German university after being accepted as a student by a renowned philosopher. She mastered numerous languages and worked as both a nurse and interpreter during World War I. She was a naturally gifted and effective teacher. She translated various works of Saint John Henry Newman from English and a work of Saint Thomas Aquinas from the original Latin. She published a book called Potency and Act on some foundational concepts in Thomism. Her erudition opened doors to elite circles of artists, philosophers, and other creators of culture. Yet she decided, in the flower of her life, to leave the shore, to wade into the sea of God, and to dive deep for the pearl of great price.

Years after converting to Catholicism, Edith took vows as a Carmelite nun, becoming Teresa Blessed (or “Benedicta”) of the Cross. Yet in the convent, her worldly achievements counted little. When she first walked through the doors, one of Mother Superior’s initial questions to her was: “Can you..."

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Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons; Anne-Madeleine Plum, CC BY-SA 3.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons; Vincent de Groot - [ Ссылка ], CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons; Ikar.us, CC BY 3.0 DE [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons;
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© 1971markus@wikipedia.de / Cc-by-sa-4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons;
Basd114; pair of stained glass windows about Edith Stein, Huub Kurvers, taken on 8 April 2015; Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; Friedhelm Dröge, CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons;
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro Richard Mayer, CC BY 3.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons;
RomkeHoekstra, CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons; Zarateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Braveheart, CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons;
Horsch, Willy, CC BY 3.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons;
Basd114, CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons;
Dietrich Krieger, CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons; Nheyob, CC BY-SA 3.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons; zenobia_joy, CC BY 2.0 [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons; Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-179-1575-02 / Wetzel / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE [ Ссылка ], via Wikimedia Commons

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