Saturday, August 9, 2014

August 9: Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

History

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was born to a Jewish family in Germany and named Edith Stein. When she was a young woman, she was baptized Catholic. After the Nazis became a threat, Edith wrote to the pope, begging him to put a stop to anti-Semitism, and a few years later, the pope made a statement that the Nazi beliefs were wrong. By then, Edith had become a religious sister, taking the name Teresa. She was moved to Holland to keep her safe from the Nazis, but they conquered Holland, too. Sister Teresa were sent to a concentration camp, where she was killed.

 Activity

The Nazi regime did horrible things to many people, including murdering about six million people simply because they were Jewish. Even though this is a very sad thing to think about it, it’s important that we read and understand this history so that we can help prevent it form ever happening again. Today, get a copy of “Here There is No Why” by Rachel Roth, or another book about the Holocaust from your local library or bookstore. After you read it together, pray that God will take away all forms of racial prejudice that leads to crimes against humanity like the Jewish Holocaust.

Saint Teresa Benedita of the Cross, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

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