St. Edith Stein like Padre Pio experienced the strength of
the cross and suffering. Note in this passage how her powerlessness was
transformed by her faith in the Lord:
While in Frankfurt, she went into the Cathedral and saw a woman go in with a shopping basket and kneel for a brief prayer: “This was something totally new to me. In the synagogues and protestant churches I had visited people simply went to the services.
In November 1917, she went to visit the widow of Adolf Reinach. They recently converted to Protestantism. She was uneasy at first but then was surprised to meet a woman of faith: “This was my first encounter with the cross and the divine power it imparts to those who bear it . . . It was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine his light on me - Christ in the mystery of the cross.”
“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.”
“Every time I feel my powerlessness and inability to influence people directly, I become more keenly aware of the necessity of my own holocaust.”
While in Frankfurt, she went into the Cathedral and saw a woman go in with a shopping basket and kneel for a brief prayer: “This was something totally new to me. In the synagogues and protestant churches I had visited people simply went to the services.
In November 1917, she went to visit the widow of Adolf Reinach. They recently converted to Protestantism. She was uneasy at first but then was surprised to meet a woman of faith: “This was my first encounter with the cross and the divine power it imparts to those who bear it . . . It was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine his light on me - Christ in the mystery of the cross.”
“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.”
“Every time I feel my powerlessness and inability to influence people directly, I become more keenly aware of the necessity of my own holocaust.”
