As a young adult who was single for many years before getting married, I was able to travel quite a bit. I went on mission trips, hiking trips, camping trips, white water rafting trips – just about anything that was feasible and affordable. I saw many landscapes, looked out many airplane windows and drove countless highway miles. I have flown over the Grand Canyon on a 6-seater plane, driven through Yosemite Park and Death Valley and taken a dip in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
On one of my bigger trips, I traveled to Europe with my parents to attend a priestly ordination. I spent the majority of my time in Rome, but was able to take a side trip to Poland to visit a friend. What I saw there will always remain engraved in my memory. Besides visiting several quaint towns, my friend brought me to a concentration camp. I had already been to the Holocaust Museum stateside, which was a horrific experience in itself, but nothing could have prepared me for the eerie feeling I would get stepping foot on the grounds where thousands upon thousands of people were mercilessly murdered.
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, born as Edith Stein. A Jewish convert to Catholicism, a philosopher and a nun, she was arrested by the Gestapo and put to death at Auschwitz in August of 1942. I can only imagine her horror as she was herded into the gas chamber with her sister and hundreds of other Jews, and then her body burned in an oven. Yet, she went willingly. “Even now I accept the death that God has prepared for me in complete submission and with joy as being his most holy will for me. I ask the Lord to accept my life and my death … so that the Lord will be accepted by his people and that his kingdom may come in glory, for the salvation of Germany and the peace of the world.” (ewtn.com)
St. Teresa lived out the words of Christ in today’s Gospel: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” As she closed her eyes in death, the gates of everlasting life were opened to her. She denied herself, she accepted the evil that God allowed to happen to her and offered it up for the salvation of souls.
Let us be encouraged by the example of St. Teresa today to take up any crosses that we may be called upon to bear in our daily lives. Let us keep in mind that life in the Lord is so much greater than any death we may experience. Let us remember that our lives are in His hands, for it is God who “deal[s] death and give[s] life”. (Psalm Response)
Como joven adulto que estuvo soltero durante muchos años antes de casarme, pude viajar bastante. Hice viajes misioneros, viajes de excursiones, viajes de campamento, viajes de rafting en rápidos, casi cualquier cosa que fuera factible y asequible. Vi muchos paisajes, miré por las ventanillas de muchos aviones y manejé innumerables millas por carretera. He volado sobre el Gran Cañón en un avión de 6 plazas, he manejado por el Parque Yosemite y el Valle de la Muerte y me he bañado en los océanos Atlántico y Pacífico.
En uno de mis viajes más grandes, viajé a Europa con mis padres para asistir a una ordenación sacerdotal. Pasé la mayor parte de mi tiempo en Roma, pero pude ir por dos días a Polonia para visitar a una amiga. Lo que vi allí quedará siempre grabado en mi memoria. Además de visitar varios pueblos pintorescos, mi amigo me llevó a un campo de concentración. Ya había estado en el Museo del Holocausto en Estados Unidos, lo cual fue una experiencia horrible en sí misma, pero nada podría haberme preparado para la extraña sensación que tendría al pisar los terrenos donde miles y miles de personas fueron asesinadas sin piedad.
Hoy celebramos la fiesta de Santa Teresa Benedicta de la Cruz, nacida como Edith Stein. Judía Alemana convertida al catolicismo, filósofa y monja, fue arrestada por la Gestapo y ejecutada en Auschwitz en agosto de 1942. Sólo puedo imaginar su horror cuando la llevaron a la cámara de gas junto con su hermana y cientos de otros judíos, y luego quemaron su cuerpo en un horno. Sin embargo, ella fue sin quejarse. “Ya ahora acepto la muerte que Dios me ha preparado con total sumisión y con alegría como su santísima voluntad para mí. Pido al Señor que acepte mi vida y mi muerte… para que el Señor sea aceptado por su pueblo y para que su reino venga en gloria, para la salvación de Alemania y la paz del mundo” (ewtn.com).
Santa Teresa vivió las palabras de Cristo en el Evangelio de hoy: “El que quiera venir conmigo, que renuncie a sí mismo, que tome su cruz y me siga. Pues el que quiera salvar su vida, la perderá; pero el que pierda su vida por mí, la encontrará.” Cuando cerró los ojos en la muerte, se le abrieron las puertas de la vida eterna. Se negó a sí misma, aceptó el mal que Dios permitió que le sucediera y lo ofreció por la salvación de las almas.
Animémonos por el ejemplo de Santa Teresa hoy al tomar cualquier cruz que seamos llamados a cargar en la vida diaria. Tengamos presente que la vida en el Señor es mucho mayor que cualquier muerte que podríamos experimentar. Recordemos que nuestras vidas están en sus manos, porque es Dios quien “[da] la muerte y la vida”. (Salmo Responsorial)
Feature Image Credit: Frederick Wallace, unsplash.com/photos/grayscale-photo-of-wooden-dock-on-body-of-water-nzy7affZEEw
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works full time at Diocesan, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.