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Embracing Edith Stein by Anne Costa

The big question in our culture these days is - are men and women really all that different? Catholic teaching says that, yeah, men and women are different, but equal. How does that work? Pope John Paul II talks about the "feminine genius," but what does that even mean? Every time I've sought out answers to these questions, I end up steeped in stereotypes that make me want to run in the opposite direction -- until I discovered Edith Stein. She was an early twentieth century philosopher and saint, who gave numerous lectures on women, and topics like what it means to be a woman, the deepest desires of the female heart, and ways women's tendencies can become twisted and harmful.