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Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross: Feast Day August 9th

Edith Stein, the future Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was born into a German family and brought up in the Jewish faith. During her adolescence/young adulthood, however, she turned away from her faith and became agnostic. After earning her doctorate degree, Edith Stein was drawn to the Catholic faith and eventually the Discalced Carmelite Order, where she became Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. My daughter and I have been reading C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and it occured to me that Saint Teresa Benedicta of the the Cross is somewhat like Susan. When I was a child, I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, and after reading the last book, The Last Battle— spoiler alert— I was sad and sorry for Susan, because she had not joined the others in Aslan's country, and that she’d been caught up in the world and worldly things. Yet in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, at the Pevensie children’s coronation, Aslan tells them, "Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia," so with this in mind, there is hope that Susan, though she has drifted and must find another path, will ultimately find Aslan again. As a child, Saint Teresa had faith and then lost it, but after drifting away, she was ultimately led to Jesus, to become a religious sister, and then martyred in a Nazi concentration camp. Saint Teresa Benedicta’s life and faith journey, are a beautiful witness that there is always hope for those who drift away from the faith to come back, and that the Lord always calls those who drift away back and often fills them with a fire for the faith when they return for, once a child of God always a child of God.

Celebrating with Food:

Since Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was from Germany, here is a delicious family recipe for Peach Torte my family makes today to celebrate. It is a delicious, light and late summer treat from my husband’s great-grandmother Umhoefer which she passed down to her daughter, Mary Lou Umhoefer Schlotter (my husband’s grandmother.) It’s delicious served like coffee cake with coffee for breakfast. 

Grandmother Umhoefer’s Peach Torte Recipe: 

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons of melted butter
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 2 large peaches peeled and sliced
  • Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in microwave and set aside to cool

3. Measure out the flour and the baking powder mix together and sift

4. Slice and peel the peaches and set aside

5. In a large bowl, crack the 2 eggs (room temperature) and beat well—5 minutes

6. Add 1 cup white sugar and beat –5 more minutes

7. Add 1 cup of flour sifted with ½ teaspoon of baking powder

8. Fold in 2 tablespoons of  cooled melted butter 

9. Add ½ teaspoon of vanilla

10. Pour into a greased glass pie plate (the orginal was to use glass) or 8 x 8 square pan.

11. Lay the sliced 2 peaches on top

12. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon

13. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes and then serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Celebrating with a Craft:

Make stained glass crosses out of construction paper and tissue paper to hang up on your windows with a lovely quote from Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Below is a “how to video” that shows you how to make the craft.



Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, pray for us!

Additional Activity:

Watch the video about Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross from EWTN’s “My Catholic Family.”



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