St. Edith Stein Novena – Day 5

SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 68

.2 Let God arise, let his foes be scattered.
Let those who hate him flee before him.
.3 As smoke is blown away so will they be blown away;
like wax that melts before the fire,
so the wicked shall perish at the presence of God.

.4 But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God,
they shall exult and dance for joy.
.5 O sing to the Lord, make music to his name;
make a highway for him who rides on the clouds.
Rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.

.6 Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
such is God in his holy place.
.7 God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth into freedom;
but rebels must dwell in a parched land.

.8 When you went forth, O God, at the head of your people,
.9 when you marched across the desert, the earth trembled:
the heavens melted at the presence of God,
at the presence of God, Israel’s God.

.10 You poured down, O God, a generous rain;
when your people were starved you gave them new life.
.11 It was there that your people found a home,
prepared in your goodness, O God, for the poor.

.12 The Lord gives the word to the bearers of good tidings:
“The Almighty has defeated a numberless army
.13 and kings and armies are in flight, in flight
while you were at rest among the sheepfolds.”

.14 At home the women already share the spoil.
They are covered with silver as the wings of a dove,
its feathers brilliant with shining gold
.15 and jewels flashing like snow on Mount Zalmon.

.16 The mountains of Bashan are mighty mountains;
high-ridged mountains are the mountains of Bashan.
.17 Why look with envy, you high-ridged mountains,
at the mountain where God has chosen to dwell?
It is there that the Lord shall dwell for ever.

.18 The chariots of God are thousands upon thousands.
The Lord has come from Sinai to the holy place.
.19 You have gone up on high; you have taken captives,
receiving men and women in tribute, O God,
even those who rebel, into your dwelling, O Lord.

.20 May the Lord be blessed day after day.
He bears our burdens, God our savior;
.21 this God of ours is a God who saves.
The Lord our God holds the keys of death.
.22 And God will smite the head of his foes,
the crown of those who persist in their sins.

.23 The Lord said: “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depth of the sea.
.24 Then your feet will tread in their blood
and the tongues of your dogs take their share of the foe.”

.25 They see your solemn procession, O God,
the procession of my God, of my king, to the sanctuary:
.26 the singers in the forefront, the musicians coming last,
between them, maidens sounding their timbrels.

.27 “In festive gatherings, bless the Lord;
bless God, O you who are Israel’s sons.”
.28 There is Benjamin, least of the tribes, at the head,
Judah’s princes, a mighty throng,
Zebulun’s princes, Naphtali’s princes.

.29 Show forth, O God, show forth your might,
your might, O God, which you have shown for us.
.30 For the sake of your temple high in Jerusalem
may nations come to you bringing their tribute.

.31 Threaten the wild beast that dwells in the reeds,
the bands of the mighty and rulers of the peoples.
Let them bow down offering silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
.32 Envoys will make their way from Egypt;
Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God.

.33 Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord
.34 who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.
He thunders his voice, his mighty voice.
.35 Come, acknowledge the power of God.

His glory is on Israel; his might is in the skies.
.36 God is to be feared in his holy place.
He is the Lord, Israel’s God.
He gives strength and power to his people.

Blessed be God!

MEDITATION
Three Dialogues: I Am Always in Your Midst

Mother Ursula’s dialogue with Saint Angela Merici

How foolish now this doubt appears to me!
If God’s call sounds within a soul,
When he leads it to our house’s door
And to knock hard—why should we not open
The door wide, our arms and our heart?
If he shows the way, then he also knows
That it is not a wrong track where people suddenly get lost;
No spurious way that ends in desert sands.
That step by step the road will be revealed, I firmly believe.
And in fact what is certain?
Where is “certain fate”? Yes, we see—
And it’s good that we are so confronted—
How around us structures are becoming ruins
That seemed to us to have been raised for eternity.
One thing alone is certain: that God is
And that his hand holds us in being.
Then even if around us the whole world falls to wrack and ruin,
We are not ruined if we hold ourselves to him.

PRAYER

Lord, God of our fathers,
you brought Saint Teresa Benedicta
to the fullness of the science of the cross
at the hour of her martyrdom.
Fill us with that same knowledge;
and, through her intercession,
allow us always to seek after you, the supreme truth,
and to remain faithful until death
to the covenant of love ratified in the blood of your Son
for the salvation of all men and women.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts
Edited by L. Gelber and Michael Linssen; translated by Waltraut Stein
The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Vol. 4 
ICS Publications, Washington DC 
© Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, Inc.