Edith Stein was a German Jew who converted to Roman Catholicism, entered a Discalced Carmelite order of nuns, was gassed at Auschwitz in 1942, and was canonized a saint in 1998. Edith Stein (Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross OC), born in 1891, was the youngest child in a large Jewish family living in Breslau,...
Category: Biography
A Personal Statement of What it Means to Me to be a Catholic
I am a Catholic by choice. I made my choice at an early age after I attended Mass for the first time with my mother. We lived in a small tight-knit colonial community on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. My mother was the only Catholic in her social circle. We attended a non-denominational...
I Cried Yesterday
I cried yesterday. At church. Totally unexpected. Totally spontaneous. This is what happened. My church is large. It seats 1500 in the pews with room in the back for rows of folding chairs. There is a center aisle that leads toward the altar. At the Offertory, the time during Mass, when lay persons carry up...
How I got Started Writing
Just before finishing my PhD, the UCLA School of Nursing offered me a job as an Assistant Professor. I was warned right away that UCLA was a “publish or perish” university. That meant that if I didn’t publish research papers, no matter how wonderful I was as a teacher, I would not get promoted or...
Deciding Which Illustrations to Include in “Only by the Grace of God”
One of the most difficult decisions I had to make in producing this book was which pictures and documents to include and which to leave out. Since every illustration increased the cost of the project, I needed to keep the number of illustrations down. Some family pictures came from my cousin, Bill Mattas, and some...
On Becoming a Successful Dieter: Suggestions on How to Lose Weight Successfully
Becoming a successful dieter does not happen overnight. It takes time, persistence, dedication, consistency, a plan of action and a firm commitment. Not everyone can be a successful dieter. Some people are successful for only the short term while others can “take it off and keep it off.” Successful dieters know there is no “quick...
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