Thursday, August 9, 2018

Book review of Saint Edith Stein: A Spiritual Portrait by Dianne Marie Traflet


Saint Edith Stein received a good Jewish upbringing in Germany, but died a Catholic martyr in Auschwitz. Dianne Marie Traflet crafts a beautiful picture of her development in St. Edith Stein: A Spiritual Portrait. Traflet wrote her doctorate on Stein, and offers retreats on Stein’s rich spiritual insights. Stein is a powerhouse of philosophical and pastoral wisdom. Her academic prowess complements her humble desire to suffer for others. This book is my first significant introduction to Stein, and it balances biographical details with investigations into her values and thought life.

Stein was born in 1891 and raised in Breslau in a large Jewish family. She was sensitive and quiet, a contemplative child.[1] She made a conscious decision in her teen years to stop praying. Around the same time, she dropped out of high school. She eventually received intensive tutoring and returned to complete her high school diploma. Despite her mother’s strong faith convictions, Stein never returned to devout Jewish practice and prayer. She left for university and discovered phenomenology, a branch of philosophy. She transferred universities to study under Edmund Husserl. She earned her doctorate, and served as an assistant and editor for Husserl.

Stein Family picture - Edith is the little girl sitting to the front right
(Mr. Stein was deceased, but his passport picture was edited into the picture)

[All pictures are from photo insert in the center of St. Edith Stein: A Spiritual Portait]

Traflet presents Stein’s conversion in stages, and spends time reflecting on each step in her journey. During her years in university, Stein was gently prompted by the Holy Spirit to turn to the Catholic faith. She met faithful Catholic converts in her philosophical club who inspired her, such as Max Scheler. [2] She saw a simple woman enter an empty cathedral to pray. It struck Stein that the woman had a personal conversation with God. During WWI, Stein served as a nurse. A university professor with whom she was friends gladly served his country. He died in action, and his wife’s Christian witness impressed Stein immensely. Traflet writes, “The seeds of conversion were beginning to blossom.” [3] Another big moment came when Stein read St. Teresa of Avila. She declared, “This is the Truth!” and sought a priest to baptize her. [4] She entered the church on January 1, 1921, and began reading spiritual classics and making Ignatian retreats.[5] She desired to enter a convent immediately, but the Holy Spirit delayed her entrance twelve years.

Edith Stein, front, serving as a nurse during WWI  

During that time, Stein taught in a Dominican-run school for girls, and gradually became popular on the Catholic lecture circuit. [6] She served as a confidant and mentor for countless friends and acquaintances. She ministered powerfully to those who sought her counsel. She maintained a full schedule of prayer, appointments, writing, and speaking engagements. Her advice was practical, yet inspired. A student writes of Stein: “With just a very few words – just by her personality and everything that emanated from her – she set me on my way, not only in my studies, but in my whole moral life. With her, you felt that you were in an atmosphere of everything noble, pure, and sublime that simply carried you up with it.” [7] She maintained a prolific correspondence with professional, family, and social contacts. She fully participated in the prayer life of the sisters, and regularly went on retreat. She devoted her life to spiritual reflection and holiness. Her family, especially her mother, strongly opposed her conversion. The years between her conversion and entrance into religious life softened the blow somewhat.

Portrait of Edith Stein taken in Breslau in 1916

Meanwhile in Germany, the Nazi party was growing in strength. As a Jew, Stein was at risk. She lost her teaching position due to her ethnicity, and her spiritual director finally gave assent for her to apply for the Carmelites. [8] She was readily accepted, and entered at 41 with a deep peace despite her family’s misgivings. That same year, 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power. Stein wrote, “In our time, when the powerlessness of all natural means for battling the overwhelming misery everywhere has been demonstrated so obviously, an entirely new understanding of the power of prayer, of expiation, and of vicarious atonement has again awakened.”[9] Stein comforted her visitors and fellow religious sisters, encouraging them in their vocation to pray for the world.

Portrait of Edith Stein during her time in academia

As conditions in Germany grew worse, she was transferred to Echt, Holland. Soon, the Nazis invaded that country as well. Stein foreshadowed her end repeatedly in her writings, calmly placing her trust in God and uniting herself to Him in His crucifixion. Her new name, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, captured her spiritual influences. Her writings on the cross and spiritual maternity have shaped modern church spirituality. She writes that Christians must “become guides of other persons striving to the light; they must practice spiritual maternity, begetting and drawing sons and daughters nearer to the kingdom of God.”[10] Stein’s perspective on spiritual motherhood is rooted in Mary, and inspired John Paul II and countless others. Stein explains that motherhood extends far beyond natural progeny to include, “universal divine love for all who are there, belabored and burdened.”[11]

Stein advocated on behalf of the Jews. She composed dialogues comparing the state of Jews under the Nazis to Esther’s plight. Her knowledge of the Old Testament allowed her to speak on behalf of her people. In fact, she felt more Jewish as a Christian than she had since her youth. She wrote the pope as a “child of the Jewish people who, by the grace of God, for the past eleven years has also been a child of the Catholic Church.”[12] The pope offered her family a blessing, but the letter imploring his public intervention on behalf of the suffering Jews in Germany seemed to have little immediate effect.

When church authorities in Holland refused to comply to Nazi demands, the Nazis retaliated by taking into custody the Jewish converts to Catholicism, who typically received pseudo-immunity from policies targeted against Jews. Stein was praying in adoration when SS officers knocked at the convent door. She and her sister Rosa, who had become Catholic and joined Edith in religious life, were taken from the convent to an internment camp called Westerbork.[13] The habited sisters stood out, creating “an atmosphere of heavenly life,” [14] according to witnesses.  She remained cheerful, succoring her fellow prisoners with her motherly love.[15] Along with two of her godchildren and her biological sister Rosa, she was taken by train to Auschwitz concentration camp on August 7, 1942.[16] Records show that the prisoners were stripped naked, examined, and sent to “shower.”  The gas chamber sealed, and the Stein sisters gave their lives side-by-side in the gas chambers for their faith.[17] As Edith Stein prophetically spoke so many times before, a believer must surrender to death with Christ to enter into the resurrection.

Last known picture of Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) prior to her martyrdom

Traflet’s observations about Stein reveal years of deep research and meditation about Edith Stein as Dr. Traflet journeyed toward her licentiate and doctorate in Sacred Theology at St. Thomas Aquinas University in Rome. Traflet describes the transformation in Stein’s orientation: “The recognition of God’s power and love in her own life led her away from any self-absorption and into selfless service.” [18] Traflet’s insights link periods in Stein’s life. She offers poignant analysis on Stein’s thoughts and actions.

Another gem contained in the book is the continuous thread of quotes in Stein’s own words. Rather than simply offering narrative, Traflet contextualizes Stein’s writings and permits her to speak for herself. The quotes are moving and apropos. Traflet’s years of work with Stein’s materials bears good fruit in this easy-to-read book of only 150 pages. Stein’s core identity comes through even to those unfamiliar with her story.  Stein’s religious poetry contains layers of mystery, especially those on the Eucharist, which Traflet includes to highlight Stein’s spiritual development. Stein wrote during her time in Echt: “Your body mysteriously permeates mine And your soul unites with mine: I am no longer what once I was…” [19] Traflet ends the book with a beautiful poem by Stein about Christ being “Easter in us!”



[1] Dianne Marie Traflet, St. Edith Stein: A Spiritual Portrait (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2008), 5-6.
[2] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 13.
[3] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 16.
[4] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 44.
[5] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 41.
[6] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 23.
[7] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 50.
[8] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 25.
[9] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 27.
[10] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 53.
[11] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 97.
[12] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 126.
[13] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 141.
[14] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 30.
[15] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 139.
[16] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 142.
[17] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 143.
[18] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 19.
[19] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 83.
[20] Traflet, St. Edith Stein, 151.

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