Word: benedicta
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Much of the discussion about the beatification of Edith Stein, who became Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, mistakenly focuses on her death at Auschwitz ((RELIGION, May 4)). The reason for her beatification has to do mostly with the quality of her life, her deep belief, profound intellect and inspired spirituality. Far from dishonoring her Jewish roots, the Roman Catholic Church now honors her faith and the triumph of her spirit through her tragic death at the hands of the Nazis...
...Gestapo came for Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross at the Carmelite convent in Echt, the Netherlands, on Aug. 2, 1942. She and her older sister Rosa, who was living at the convent, were given five minutes to pack. Within a week the two women were at the gates of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. They died in the gas chamber on Aug. 9. In words that today ring with heroism, Sister Teresa told Rosa in Echt, "Come. We are going for our people." In those words rest the very paradox of Sister Teresa: Were her people Jews...
...rituals had to be transmitted secretly among illiterate peasants, they slowly became garbled. Over the years the words were repeated while the meaning was forgotten, though some prayers retained a discernible Latin antecedent: "Ame Maria karassa binno domisu terikobintsu . . ." obviously derives from "Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tecum benedicta...