“Whoever seeks the truth seeks God, whether he is conscious of it or not.”

“In order to be an image of God, the spirit must turn to what is eternal, hold it in spirit, keep it in memory, and by loving it, embrace it in the will.” - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross: (1891 –1942), was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Roman Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She is canonized as a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church, and she is one of six co-patron saints of Europe.

Scripture Text: (JER 31:31-34)

The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers:
the day I took them by the hand
to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
for they broke my covenant,
and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.
I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives
how to know the LORD.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, martyr in Auschwitz during WW II. There is rich material on line about her. May these quotes resonate with our reading of Jeremiah today.

Jeremiah wonders if there will be a new covenant, but he says no because God will not do away with the first covenant that expresses God’s enduring love to the Chosen People. “You don’t know what it means to me to be a daughter of the chosen people, to belong to Christ, not only spiritually, but according to the flesh”

Her words on love and suffering bring Jeremiah into the Paschal Mystery, “Love is stronger than hatred. In the end there will be only the fullness of love… If we accept the whole Christ in faithful self-giving, by choosing and walking in the way of the imitation of Christ, then he will lead us through his Passion and Cross to the glory of the Resurrection.”  Jeremiah will disappear from the Scriptures as he is led away to Egypt. “Enkindle your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.” And her final recorded words to her sister when arrested, “Come, we are going for our people.”