Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
The day before she died, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity foresaw her death: “It is our Lady, full of light,” she said, “who will take me by the hand to lead me into heaven.” Thank you for joining our novena!
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Blessed Francis Palau y Quer understood the power of intercession; “that God might give His grace to those who do not or cannot ask it, He enjoined us to pray for one another, so that we might be saved.”
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Elizabeth summed up her heavenly calling thus: “My mission will be to draw souls into interior recollection, by helping them to go out from themselves.”
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In her song of praise to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, Elizabeth exclaims that it is “God in us and we in him.” For Elizabeth, the Eucharist is “heaven on earth.”
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A good Teresian Carmelite, St. Elizabeth has her own concept of how “Martha and Mary” blend together: while we are in action, “the soul can remain buried in its contemplation.”
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“I believe that the secret of peace and happiness is to forget oneself,” St. Elizabeth says. St. Paul explains: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed… persecuted, but not forsaken.”
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St. Elizabeth quotes St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died,” before she exclaims: “O blessed death in God!”
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St. Elizabeth defines her title, “Praise of Glory” as “a soul that gazes on God;” she also uses terms like reflector, bottomless abyss, and crystal. St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians provides the original context.
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“I have found my heaven on earth,” Elizabeth explains, “because Heaven is God, and God is in my soul.” St. Paul explains that Christ, who descended to earth, ascended “far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.”
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“He dwells in me—and I in Him,” Elizabeth writes to a priest. “I have only to love Him and let myself be loved.” St. Paul prays that we may we strengthened in our inner being as we are “being rooted and grounded in love.”
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Father Quang D. Tran, S.J.—a great devoté of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity—leads our meditations this year on the theme of God's indwelling, making our souls more each day, His Heaven on Earth.
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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity wrote a series of farewell letters at the end of October 1906; today we read her promise to pray for young Clémence, a companion in the novitiate who left Carmel in the summer of 1906. Elizabeth was her “guardian angel” in Carmel, helping her to adapt and adjust to monastic life.
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St. Thérèse replies on this date in 1896 to two letters from Maurice Bellière—his anguished plea in July from the barracks in Caen and his grateful 14 October thank-you after his return to the seminary.
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St. Teresa’s testimony of her personal growth in love and compassion reminds us that all our striving for perfection comes down to this: loving others with God’s love. Thanks for joining our novena!
Saint Teresa writes, “If you do not strive for the virtues and practice them, you will always be dwarfs.” Today then, let’s pray for the grace to grow in virtue, so that God’s love for us may be expressed and nurtured in our love for Him.
When Saint Teresa wrote a poem about the Song of Songs, she said, “my Beloved One is mine and I at last am surely His.” All our self-denial and humble sacrifice prepare us for union with God.
Today we read about St. Teresa’s vision of hell. Hell is a theme that appears often in her writings; it underlines the fact that free will is a gift and that we can choose to love God freely for our redemption through Christ.
For Saint Teresa, Jesus is the foundation and model of humility in the spiritual life. Humility plays an important role in our interior growth in holiness, and in truthful relationships with God and others.
Saint Teresa uses a variety of images to describe the soul; one of the most famous is the castle, where Christ dwells within us. Our task is to care for our souls so that we may radiate Christ to others.
Saint Teresa often refers to the humanity of Christ in her writings; it is crucial to her doctrine on prayer. Let’s recognize that she invites us to be in love with Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God-With-Us.
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Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
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