Quote of the day, 23 December: St. Edith Stein

We know not, and we should not ask before the time, where our earthly way will lead us.  We know only this, that to those that love the Lord all things will work together to the good, and, further, that the ways by which the Saviour leads us, point beyond this earth.   

“It is truly a marvelous exchange: the Creator of mankind, taking a body, gives us His Godhead.” #EdithStein

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The Redeemer has come into the world to do this wonderful work.  God became man so that men might become children of God. One of us had broken the bond that made us God’s children, one of us had to tie it again and pay the ransom.

This could not be done by one who came from the old, wild and diseased trunk; a new branch, healthy and noble, had to be grafted into it. He became one of us—more than this, He became one with us.  

For this is the marvelous thing about the human race, that we are all one. If it were otherwise, if we were all autonomous individuals, living beside each other quite free and independent, the fall of the one could not have resulted in the fall of all.  

In that case, on the other hand, the ransom might have been paid for and imputed to us, but His justice could not have passed on to the sinners; no justification would have been possible.

But He came to be one mysterious Body with us: He, our Head; we, His members.  If we place our hands into the hands of the Divine Child, if we say our ‘Yes’ to His ‘Follow Me’, then we are His, and the way is free for His divine Life to flow into us.

Saint Edith Stein

The Mystery of Christmas, 3. Union with God

“If we place our hands into the hands of the Divine Child, if we say our ‘Yes’ to His ‘Follow Me’, then we are His, and the way is free for His divine Life to flow into us.” #EdithStein

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Stein, E 1931, The mystery of Christmas: incarnation and humanity, translated from the German by Rucker, J, Darlington Carmel, Darlington UK.