- Feb 5, 2002
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Written by Fr Hugh Mackenzie, Chaplain at Westminster Cathedral
“Whoever seeks the truth is seeking God, whether consciously or unconsciously”
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
One night in 1921, the 28-year-old Edith Stein stayed up all night reading a book that she had recently discovered. This book was the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila, a renowned Carmelite saint. Edith was profoundly moved by Teresa's mystical description of the soul's connection with the absolute God. The next morning, she declared, "This is the truth," and was baptized the following year. Soon after, she joined the Carmelite order, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
In making her a patron of Europe in 1999 Pope John Paul II highlighted how her philosophical background in phenomenology, a 20th-century school of thought focused on the conscious human experience, had prepared her for “coming face to face … with the testimony of Christian spiritual experience given by Teresa of Avila". Phenomenology insists on beginning philosophy by considering the meaningful and moral impact of the present-moment world upon the conscious human subject, which aligned with what Stein read in St. Teresa's reflections on the soul's journey to God.
In 1916, Stein became the personal assistant to Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology. While Husserl's work focused on the individual's interaction with their environment, Edith's own studies, beginning with her 1917 PhD thesis on "Empathy," emphasized the importance of relationships between people.
Continued below.
rcdow.org.uk
“Whoever seeks the truth is seeking God, whether consciously or unconsciously”
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
One night in 1921, the 28-year-old Edith Stein stayed up all night reading a book that she had recently discovered. This book was the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila, a renowned Carmelite saint. Edith was profoundly moved by Teresa's mystical description of the soul's connection with the absolute God. The next morning, she declared, "This is the truth," and was baptized the following year. Soon after, she joined the Carmelite order, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
In making her a patron of Europe in 1999 Pope John Paul II highlighted how her philosophical background in phenomenology, a 20th-century school of thought focused on the conscious human experience, had prepared her for “coming face to face … with the testimony of Christian spiritual experience given by Teresa of Avila". Phenomenology insists on beginning philosophy by considering the meaningful and moral impact of the present-moment world upon the conscious human subject, which aligned with what Stein read in St. Teresa's reflections on the soul's journey to God.
In 1916, Stein became the personal assistant to Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology. While Husserl's work focused on the individual's interaction with their environment, Edith's own studies, beginning with her 1917 PhD thesis on "Empathy," emphasized the importance of relationships between people.
Continued below.
Linking Phenomenology to Faith: The Philosophical Legacy of Edith Stein
Written by Fr Hugh Mackenzie, Chaplain at Westminster Cathedral “Whoever seeks the truth is seeking God, whether consciously or unconsciously” One night in 1921, the 28-year-old Edith Stein stayed up all night reading a book that she had…
rcdow.org.uk
