During the past year, I have been blessed by several opportunities to visit with an old and dear friend who has had a huge impact on my life. We have known each other for more than two decades and our discussions have always centered on prayer, mysticism, and discerning what God calls us to be and do with this one life that we are blessed to live.

When we met, I was just finding my way in the world and my friend was preparing to retire. Despite an age difference of more than thirty years, our conversations came easily. Even though our personal spiritualities are different, we came to understand and appreciate how the other person prayed, related to, and thought about God. So many years after our first meeting, I can always count on my friend to be generous with time, to be a good listener, and to help me figure things out on my own.

When I last visited my friend, I noticed a small cross and placard on a side table. The cross was simple, crafted from unfinished wood. It was placed on top of a small card. Upon the card were printed the following words in just this way:

To stand
before the face of God
continues to be
the real content
of our lives.

Although I cannot find an attribution, my friend assures me that the quotation comes from the writings of Edith Stein (1891-1942), the German philosopher who converted from Judaism to Christianity, then found her vocation as a nun in the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, where she took the name of Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross in 1933. Concerned for her safety in the midst of the growing Nazi threat, the Carmelites transferred Sister Teresa Benedicta to the Netherlands, where she taught philosophy to both novices and lay students.

In 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Two years later, on August 2, 1942, the Nazis arrested all of the Jewish converts who were living there, including Sister Teresa Benedicta and her sister, Rosa, who was an extern sister with the Carmelites. On August 7th, nearly 1,000 Jewish converts, all baptized Christians, were deported to Auschwitz. On August 9th, Sister Teresa Benedicta and her sister died in a gas chamber. Fifty-five years later, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was canonized by Pope John Paul II. The Catholic Church celebrates her feast day on the memorial of her death, and she is venerated as a patron of orphans, converts, martyrs, and the countries of Europe.

My friend recently told me that those words on the little card have been central to his spiritual journey for almost twenty years. To be still and reflect on the reality that God is ever- present in our lives is both simple and profound. To consider these words in their fullness is both soul-stirring and mind-blowing. At a time when so many seek to complicate our shared faith, it is good to consider that our ultimate calling is to be open and attentive to God’s presence in our lives and to reach back to the God who is always reaching out to us. It is good to remember that our relationship with God is truly and forever the real content of our lives.

Cliff Garvey
Associate Minister
Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport
Contact: cgarvey@ccgronline.com

CCGR Weekly Newsletter (8-6-23)
Bringing Home the Word (8-6-23)
The Kids Bulletin (8-6-23)

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Call to Prayer
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Feast Day – August 9th

A Prayer for the Intercession of Saint Teresa Benedicta