In a world that scatters our attention and mocks tenderness, Edith Stein gives us a model for living. She chose one thing—and made it her door to God.
That one thing was empathy.
Long before it became a buzzword, Edith called it Einfühlung—the sacred act of “feeling into” another. Not as sentiment, but as mystical solidarity. For her, empathy was not weakness. It was participation in the suffering love of Christ.
Born Jewish, turned atheist, then philosopher, then Carmelite, Edith’s life was a series of conversions—but her heart remained focused. She asked, again and again: How do we keep our hearts open when the world is breaking?
Her answer was not many things. It was one.
Empathy.
In our age of distraction, Edith reminds us that holiness begins with focus. Not on everything, but on the one thing God asks of us. For her, it was to suffer with others. For us, it may be something else—but it will always be a door.
What is your one thing?
Let it be your path. Let it be your door.
Smitten With Goodness 