“The Science of the Cross”: Edith Stein and Resilience’

This chapter explores the final trials and writings of Edith Stein (Saint Teresa Benedicta a Cruce, 1891 – 1942) from the perspective of the current debate on resilience. In particular, two aspects of Stein’s work will be used to illustrate the argument that resilience allows present-day practitioners an opportunity to move beyond a ‘mental health’ paradigm to thus explore deeper questions about the self, especially from a psycho-spiritual perspective. These two aspects, the role of the transcendent and the symbolic in resilience, will be discussed in the context of Stein’s work before conclusions will be drawn on the implications of her writing for contemporary practice.