Echt, 5 November 1940
Your dear letter of April 26 came such a short time before the gates were shut that I was no longer able to thank you. For a long time we have been writing a card only in most urgent cases. But now I am permitted to go beyond that and give a sign of life in several directions where someone is worried about us.
We have been able to live our lives undisturbed. Rosa [Stein] continues to be a faithful portress, and since June she has belonged to our Third Order.
Will it ever be possible for you to send me the new book? Since September 29 we’ve had a new Mother [Prioress, Sr. Ambrosia Antonia Engelmann] who would like me to write something again. So far I have done household chores almost exclusively since the printing of the book came to a standstill.
I received news from Münster whenever Peter Wust was about to have another operation; then the obituary notice and his farewell Letter to his students. Now we are reading his memoirs at table.
Do you know where Anna Reinach is? I know nothing about anyone. Hans L. [Lipps] is surely going to be serving in the war for the duration. Where may his children be? And Ingarden and his four sons?
This year we had a lot of yellow plums, and they were nice ones. We thank you Hans [Theodor Conrad], particularly for the professional advice [concerning the plum trees].
Most cordially, your
Benedicta
Saint Edith Stein
Letter 315 to Hedwig Conrad-Martius and Theodor Conrad, Munich
Stein, E. 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Discalced Carmelite, translated from the German by Koeppel, J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
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