Edith Stein: Selected quotes from St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

The following are just a few verified quotes from Edith Stein, aka St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, martyr of Auschwitz and co-patron of Europe.

“God is Truth. All who seek truth seek God, whether this is clear to them or not.”
Edith Stein, Letter 259

“Prayer is the highest achievement of which the human spirit is capable.”
Edith Stein, The Hidden Life

“God is love, and Love is goodness giving itself away. It is a fullness of being that does not want to remain enclosed in itself, but rather to share itself with others, to give itself to them, and to make them happy.”

Edith Stein, The Hidden Life – Love for Love

“We understand the law of the New Covenant . . . to be the Lord himself, since he has in fact lived as an example for us of the life we should live . . . we can never finish studying the Gospel.”
Edith Stein, The Hidden Life – History and Spirit of Carmel

“To speak to God is easier by nature for woman than for man because a natural desire lives in her to give herself completely to someone.”
Edith Stein, Woman – Principles of Women’s Education

“Mary is Our mother in the most real and lofty sense, a sense which surpasses that of earthly maternity . . . she love us, she knows us, she exerts herself to bring each of us into the closest possible relationship with the Lord.”

Edith Stein, Woman

“For those blessed souls who have entered into the unity of life with God, everything is one: rest and activity, looking and acting, silence and speaking, listening and communicating, surrender in loving acceptance and an outpouring of love in grateful songs of praise.”
Edith Stein, The Hidden Life – The Prayer of the Church

“This heart, it beats for us in a small tabernacle where it remains mysteriously hidden in that still, white host.”
Edith Stein, The Hidden Life – Poem – I will remain with you.

These selected, verified quotes of Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) are taken from original manuscripts by the Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington DC 20002. Special thanks to the Carmel of St. Joseph, 59 Allendale, Terre Haute, In 47802 who identified and made available these beautiful quotes in their book Thoughtworthy: St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.