Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), Philosopher, Monastic, and Martyr 1942

The Collect:

Rite I:
Pour out thy grace upon thy church, O God; that, like thy servant Edith Stein, we may always seek what is true, defend what is right, reprove what is evil, and forgive those who sin against us, even as thy Son hath commanded; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Pour out your grace upon thy church, O God; that, like your servant Edith Stein, we may always seek what is true, defend what is right, reprove what is evil, and forgive those who sin against us, even as your Son commanded; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 31:31–34

³¹ The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³² It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm: Psalm 119:49–56

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant, *
       because you have given me hope.
⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my trouble, *
       that your promise gives me life.
⁵¹ The proud have derided me cruelly, *
       but I have not turned from your law.
⁵² When I remember your judgments of old, *
       O Lord, I take great comfort.
⁵³ I am filled with a burning rage, *
       because of the wicked who forsake your law.
⁵⁴ Your statutes have been like songs to me *
       wherever I have lived as a stranger.
⁵⁵ I remember your Name in the night, O Lord, *
       and dwell upon your law.
⁵⁶ This is how it has been with me, *
       because I have kept your commandments.

Gospel: John 3:1–15

¹ Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ ³ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ ⁵ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶ What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” ⁸ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ ⁹ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

11 ‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

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