St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was the professed name of Edith Stein, who was martyred, alongside her sister Rosa, at Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Camp in 1942. Edith Stein was a Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity at the age of thirty-one and became a Carmelite nun twelve years later. As a young professional woman she was involved in the struggle for women’s rights. Pope St John Paul II declared her one of the patron saints of Europe in 1999.

There is not much we know about the life and death of St Joseph. However, there is much we can learn from the legacy he left behind, including some of his most popular patronages and saints who had a great devotion.

Jesus was lifted high on the cross in order to descend to the abyss of our suffering. He experienced our deepest sorrows: failure, loss of everything, betrayal by a friend, even abandonment by God. By experiencing in the flesh our deepest struggles and conflicts, he redeemed and transformed them.

In 1940, in the midst of the Second World War, an anonymous chaplain authored "At the Front: thoughts and prayers for the fighting forces". Here is an extract from these thoughts and prayers, containing four key points for Catholic soldiers, which many of us may still find helpful today.