Tag: novena

St. John of the Cross Novena — Day 3

If you desire that devotion be born in your spirit and that the love of God and the desire for divine things increase, cleanse your soul of every desire, attachment, and ambition in such a way that you have no concern about anything. Just as a sick person is immediately aware of good health once the bad humor has been thrown off and a desire to eat is felt, so will you recover your health, in God, if you cure yourself as was said. Without doing this, you will not advance no matter how much you do.

Sayings of Light and Love, 78

 

SCRIPTURE

This is what we have heard from him, and the message that we are announcing to you: God is light; there is no darkness in him at all. If we say that we are in union with God while we are living in darkness, we are lying because we are not living the truth. But if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth; but if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong. To say that we have never sinned is to call God a liar and to show that his word is not in us.

I am writing this, my children, to stop you sinning; but if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just; he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s. We can be sure that we know God only by keeping his commandments. Anyone who says, “I know him,” and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, refusing to admit the truth. But when anyone does obey what he has said, God’s love comes to perfection in him. We can be sure that we are in God only when the one who claims to be living in him is living the same kind of life as Christ lived.

1 John 1:5-2:6

 

MEDITATION

“Cleanse your soul,” writes Our Holy Father Saint John of the Cross. This is the medicine, the remedy he prescribes to those who are sin-sick and desire health and wholeness in Christ. Cleansing the soul of all that is not God enables us to grow in devotion, the desire for the things of God, and to grow in the love of God.

What are we cleansing? Desire. Attachment. Ambition. St. John of the Cross leads us on an examination of conscience with these three points.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) provides a veritable smorgasbord of theological and catechetical delights upon which we may feast in its article on the Tenth Commandment. (CCC 2534-2557) “The tenth commandment concerns the intentions of the heart,” and that goes precisely to the heart of the teaching of St. John of the Cross. Although the teaching of the Catechism rightly focuses on “coveting the goods of another” (CCC 2534), St. John would caution us to examine our disordered desires for another’s spiritual goods, not simply temporal goods. Who among us has not desired or envied someone else’s contemplative spirit, prayerful attitude, or Christlike zeal?

The Catechism says that “the sensitive appetite leads us to desire pleasant things we do not have” (CCC 2535). But Our Holy Father John of the Cross explains how his teaching encompasses more than just the senses: “God gathers together all the strength, faculties, and appetites of the soul, spiritual and sensory alike, so the energy and power of this whole harmonious composite may be employed in this love” (Dark Night II, 11:4).

Love: that must be our true ambition. First, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; then, to love our neighbor as ourselves (Lk 10:27). St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus went one step further, praying: “You know, Lord, that my only ambition is to make you known and loved” (Pri 8). If we are willing to do some regular housekeeping, we will progress—step by step— toward the desired state of having “no concern about anything”, just like an infant in its mother’s arms (cf. Ps 131:2).

Saint Raphael Kalinowski, a Discalced Carmelite friar from Poland who learned about the Carmelite order by reading the lives of the saints during years of forced labor in the salt mines of Usole, Siberia, has some housekeeping suggestions for us. May the beauty and depth of his words bring us a message of hope and encouragement as we read and understand the teaching of Our Holy Father St. John of the Cross.

As the raging sea seems to feel displeasure at all that pollutes it, and desires to expel from itself anything foreign, so that the beauty of the mysteries it holds might appear to view in all clarity, so the soul does not tolerate anything within itself unless it is of God or leads to God; approaching confession from the abyss of her misery, she casts off everything, desiring to preserve in herself only the image of God according to which she was created, to look only at him and to rejoice only in him. In her love-filled tears she receives a shower of graces that descend from the wounds of her Savior. The misery of sin makes way for grace, the thorns become roses, and even the very poison of sin changes into an antidote for the soul. Here are the fruits of a good confession: it purifies, heals, fortifies, and beautifies the soul.

All that we have treated so far leads us back to what we discussed at the beginning: imitating our Holy Father by using the means the Savior left us to purify our soul, to preserve the heart ever pure in order to be able to transform it into an altar of the living God, and to become enamored of him in suffering and being despised: Altare Dei, cor nostrum! Humilis corde, cor Christi est [The altar of God is our heart; the humble heart is like the heart of Christ].

In the sketch of the Ascent of Mount Carmel drawn by Our Holy Father John of the Cross, we read: “Here there is no longer any way because for the just . . . there is no law.” This means that if all the prescriptions of the law have as their object the love of God, when this is fully attained, the prescriptions cease of themselves. True repentance, in crushing the heart of man, crushes everything opposed to the love of God and destroys all that does not lead to him…

And all this through Mary.

(Excerpts from On a Good Confession, 24 November 1902)

 

NOVENA PRAYER

O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.

O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you:

mention your request.

Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.

 

jan_od_krzyza_Carmel of Usole PL
Icon of St. John of the Cross venerated by the Discalced Carmelite friars of the Krakow Province at Holy Trinity House of Prayer in Piotrkowice | Credit: Discalced Carmelites

 

All Scripture references in this novena are found on the Bible Gateway website, with the exception of texts drawn from the 1968 Reader’s Edition of the Jerusalem Bible.

The novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.

Praskiewicz OCD, S 1998, Saint Raphael Kalinowski: An Introduction to his Life and Spirituality, Translated from the Italian by Coonan, T, Griffin OCD, M and Sullivan OCD, L, ICS Publications, Washington, D.C.
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St. John of the Cross Novena — Day 2

All for me and nothing for you.

All for you and nothing for me.

Sayings of Light and Love, 100-111

 

SCRIPTURE

I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him, I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upward to receive in Christ Jesus. We who are called “perfect” must all think in this way. If there is some point on which you see things differently, God will make it clear to you; meanwhile, let us go forward on the road that has brought us to where we are.

Philippians 3:8-16

 

MEDITATION

“Nothing for me.” The nada—that absolute, naked, utter nothing—of Saint John of the Cross can seem so stark, even off-putting to a novice reader of the Church’s Mystical Doctor. Nothing for me? How can this be?

In order to unpack these absolutes, it helps to have a reference point. Saint Paul can help us to understand the purpose of striving for such nakedness, such emptiness, the possession of nothing to the point of being nothing.

In the verses preceding our Scripture reading, St. Paul lists all the reasons that he had to boast of his “Hebrew-ness”. He even calls himself a “Hebrew of Hebrews.” That’s a rather bold statement. Yet despite all of his reasons to boast of his Hebrew and Pharisee pedigree, he says that “nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus.” (Ph 3:8) There’s that absolute qualifier again: nothing.

But Paul doesn’t stop there, he goes further: “For Him, I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish.” St. Paul is getting out his virtual work gloves, his virtual broom, dustpan, trash bags, and taking inventory of his life as one would assess their home and property with an insurance adjuster after a fire or natural disaster, understanding that all one possessed is a total loss, ready to be hauled away with the garbage.

Ah, but there’s a reason for rejoicing—clearing away the rubbish creates total and absolute room for Christ: “if only I can have Christ and be given a place in Him.”

This contrast of self-emptying to be filled with something greater in St. John of the Cross and St. Paul the Apostle reminds us of the self-emptying in the life of Christ:

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. (Ph 2:6-9)

And as we look at St. Paul’s words, it is interesting to look further at his all-or-nothing contrasts. We know what he considers to be nothing, a pile of rubbish. With what does he seek to replace it? Let’s search his text for the simple word, all. “All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death… All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come” (Ph 3:10,13). Yes, nothing for me leaves all for you. That is, essentially, what St. John of the Cross said, in the stark all-and-nothing contrast of his saying, todo para ti y nada para mí.

If the nada of St. John of the Cross and the rubbish-heap imagery of St. Paul still leave us wondering how to attain such noble, holy aspirations, it is St. Paul’s great disciple, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity who can show us the way. In her retreat Heaven in Faith (First Day, second prayer) she writes:

We must not, so to speak, stop at the surface, but enter ever deeper into the divine Being through recollection. “I am still running,” exclaimed St. Paul (Ph 3:12); so must we descend daily this pathway of the Abyss which is God; let us slide down this slope in wholly loving trust. “Deep calls to deep” (Ps 42:8). It is there in the very depths that the divine impact takes place, where the abyss of our nothingness encounters the Abyss of mercy, the immensity of the all of God. There we will find the strength to die to ourselves and, losing all vestige of self, we will be changed into love…. “Blessed are those who die in the Lord” (Rev 14:13)!

 

NOVENA PRAYER

O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.

O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you:

mention your request.

Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.

 

StJohn_Orleans-France
Orléans, France

 

 

All Scripture references in this novena are found on the Bible Gateway website, with the exception of texts drawn from the 1968 Reader’s Edition of the Jerusalem Bible.

The novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.

of the Trinity, E 2014, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 1: General Introduction Major Spiritual Writings, translated from the French by Kane, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
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St. John of the Cross Novena — Day 1

Those who trust in themselves are worse than the devil.

Sayings of Light and Love, 166

 

SCRIPTURE

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14

 

MEDITATION

“Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,” the Gospel tells us. And let’s notice that the conclusion of the parable is a mirror image of the song that Jesus’ own Mother sang in the home of her cousin Elizabeth: Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles (“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate,” Lk 1:52).

Another interesting item to note in the parable is the conscience of the tax collector, who was painfully aware of his sinfulness. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states that a “well-formed conscience is upright and truthful”, thus the “education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.” (CCC 1783) This education is “a lifelong task.” (CCC 1784)

So how is the conscience formed?

In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord’s Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church. (CCC 1785)

If self-trust is worse than the devil, i.e. “Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God…. the one who ‘throws himself across’ God’s plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ” (CCC 2851) then the virtue to conquer that vice would be to trust in God.

When we say ‘God’ we confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and just, without any evil. It follows that we must necessarily accept his words and have complete faith in him and acknowledge his authority. He is almighty, merciful, and infinitely beneficent. Who could not place all hope in him? Who could not love him when contemplating the treasures of goodness and love he has poured out on us? (CCC 2086)

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of St. John of the Cross’ foremost disciples responds to these rhetorical questions in these, her last written words:

It is not in the first place, but in the last place that I start out; instead of getting ahead with the Pharisee, I repeat, full of trust, the humble prayer of the tax collector; but especially I imitate Magdalene’s attitude, her amazing or rather her daring love that charms the Heart of Jesus, captivates my very own heart. Yes, I feel it, even if I had on my conscience all the sins that can be committed, I would go, heartbroken with repentance, and throw myself into Jesus’ arms, because I know just how much He cherishes the prodigal child who has returned to Him. It is not because God, in His gracious, prevenient mercy, has preserved my soul from mortal sin that I stand up and go to Him in trust and love… (Ms C 36v-37r)

 

NOVENA PRAYER

O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.

O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you:

mention your request.

Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.

 

Jean-de-la-croix_peinture-de-celine-martin
Image of St. John of the Cross painted by Sr. Genevieve of the Holy Face, OCD (Céline Martin) | Photo credit: Discalced Carmelites

 

 

All Scripture references in this novena are found on the Bible Gateway website, with the exception of texts drawn from the 1968 Reader’s Edition of the Jerusalem Bible.

The novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.

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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 9

O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to You as Your prey

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of self-control

St. Paul speaks

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely that I may be established in You as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity.  May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One, but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your Mystery.  Give peace to my soul; make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling, and Your resting place.  May I never leave You there alone but be wholly present, my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring, and wholly surrendered to Your creative Action.

O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I wish to be a bride for Your Heart; I wish to cover You with glory; I wish to love You… even unto death!  But I feel my weakness, and I ask You to “clothe me with Yourself,” to identify my soul with all the movements of Your Soul, to overwhelm me, to possess me, to substitute Yourself for me that my life may be but a radiance of Your Life.  Come into me as Adorer, as Restorer, as Savior.  O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life in listening to You, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from You.  Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplessness, I want to gaze on You always and remain in Your great light.  O my beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may not withdraw from Your radiance.

O consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, “come upon me,” and create in my soul a kind of incarnation of the Word: that I may be another humanity for Him in which He can renew His whole Mystery.  And You, O Father, bend lovingly over  Your poor little creature; “cover her with Your shadow,” seeing in her only the “Beloved in whom You are well pleased.”

O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to You as Your prey.  Bury Yourself in me that I may bury myself in You until I depart to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your greatness.

Meditation 

St. Elizabeth’s biographer, Fr. Conrad de Meester, OCD, writes that her self-control during the last two years before she entered the Carmel of Dijon was quite evident and permitted the depth and richness of her heart to become visible to others around her. Even in her famous prayer to the Holy Trinity, that sense of self-mastery shines through as she writes these self-effacing lines: “to forget myself entirely… as still and as peaceful… may nothing trouble my peace… wholly present… wholly surrendered.” Like a radiology technician who instructs a patient, “don’t breathe, don’t move”, it seems as if St. Elizabeth is choosing not to breathe, not to move, but rather to remain transfixed as she gazes on her beloved Star.

And what about us? We may recognize that we need to grow in self-control, but have no clue where or how to begin. Why not begin with our prayer lives, our spiritual habits? If we can devote 5 minutes daily to devotion, scripture, meditation, even to silence, that 5 minutes of self-discipline can enable us to grow in self-mastery in other areas of our lives, as well. Is it worth a try? If we answer, “yes,” then St. Elizabeth probably would say this novena was worth the effort.

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elizabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

8x10.ai
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Flickr

 

Scripture passages for the novena provided by Bible Gateway

Prayer to the Holy Trinity translated by the Discalced Carmelite nuns of Boston Carmel

Novena Prayer translated by the nuns of the Carmel of Dijon

References to Fr. Conrad de Meester’s biography of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity are drawn from Rien Moins Que Dieu: Sainte Élisabeth de la Trinité (Presses de la Renaissance, Paris, 2017)

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Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 9

Oh, mis Tres, mi Todo, mi Bienaventuranza, Soledad infinita, Inmensidad donde me pierdo

San Pablo nos habla

Te encargo que guardes este mandato sin mancha ni reproche hasta la venida de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, la cual Dios a su debido tiempo hará que se cumpla.

Al único y bendito Soberano,
Rey de reyes y Señor de señores,
al único inmortal,
que vive en luz inaccesible,
a quien nadie ha visto ni puede ver,
a él sea el honor y el poder eternamente. Amén.
(2 Tim 6,14-16)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Oh, mis Tres, mi Todo, mi Bienaventuranza, Soledad infinita, Inmensidad donde me pierdo, me entrego a Vos como una presa. Encerraos en mí para que yo me encierre en Vos, en espera de ir a contemplar en vuestra luz el abismo de vuestras grandezas.”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

NASA Johnson 29jun19 Flickr 48182120946_c6a1dbb0e2_o
nasa2explore / Flickr

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 8

Quite gently, with patience and God’s help, we get there in the end

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of gentleness

St. Paul speaks

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

Be at peace. I don’t believe you’re crazy yet, just nervous and overexcited, and when you’re like that, you make others suffer too. Ah, if I could teach you the secret of happiness as God has taught it to me. You say I don’t have any worries or sufferings; it’s true that I’m very happy, but if you only knew that a person can be just as happy even when she is crossed. We must always keep our eyes on God. In the beginning it’s necessary to make an effort when we’re just boiling inside, but quite gently, with patience and God’s help, we get there in the end. (Letter 123 to Françoise de Sourdon, 19 June 1902)

Meditation 

During the diocesan investigation process into Saint Elizabeth’s holiness, her sisters in the Carmel of Dijon consistently mentioned Elizabeth’s douceur, her spirit of gentleness. This is a quality that we have seen in her correspondence, such as today’s letter to young Françoise. When Elizabeth tells her friend ‘Framboise’ “I don’t believe you’re crazy yet, just nervous and overexcited”, there is a calm, gentle, maternal voice that seems to resound. Isn’t the fruit of gentleness seen not only in how we treat others but also in how we treat ourselves? How can we take Elizabeth’s advice and put it into practice today?

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elizabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

gentle 15mar18
David Bohnsack, mccj / Facebook (Used by permission)

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
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Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 8

Y vos, oh Padre, inclinaos hacia vuestra pobre pequeña criatura

San Pablo nos habla

Rogamos que ustedes sean fortalecidos con todo poder según la potencia de Su gloria, para obtener toda perseverancia y paciencia, con gozo dando gracias al Padre que nos ha capacitado para compartir la herencia de los santos en la Luz. Porque Él nos libró del dominio[m] de las tinieblas y nos trasladó al reino de Su Hijo amado, en quien tenemos redención: el perdón de los pecados. (Col 1,11-14)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Y vos, oh Padre, inclinaos hacia vuestra pobre pequeña criatura, ‘cubridla con vuestra sombra’, no veáis en ella más que al ‘Amado en el que habéis puesto todas vuestras complacencias’.”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

Pauv petite creature 21may18
David Bohnsack, mccj / Facebook (Used by permission)

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 7

I need also, Father, to ask for your prayer, that I may be wholly faithful

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of faithfulness

St. Paul speaks

We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers. And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them. (Romans 15:13-14)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

I really think that next year I will celebrate your feast with Saint Dominic in “the inheritance of the saints in light”; this year, I am recollecting myself once again in the heaven of my soul to celebrate a very private feast day with you, and I need to tell you that; I need also, Father, to ask for your prayer, that I may be wholly faithful, wholly attentive, and may ascend my Calvary as a bride of the Crucified. “Those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Divine Son.” (Letter 304 to Père Vallée, 2 August 1906) 

Meditation 

With all that we know of Saint Elizabeth by now—the testimonies to her holiness—is it any wonder that three months before her death she is begging a priest to pray for her faithfulness? She surely senses that there is a steep, uphill climb ahead of her when she writes about her ascent of “Calvary as a bride of the Crucified.” Our own crosses and our own Calvaries may not be so extreme as hers, but isn’t our need for prayer to grow in the fruit of faithfulness just as essential? Where are some specific points in our spiritual lives where we need to grow in faithfulness to God?

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elizabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Sue Cro / Flickr

 

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
0

Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 7

Oh, Fuego consumidor, Espíritu de amor, ‘venid sobre mí’

San Pablo nos habla

Según la gracia que Dios me ha dado, yo, como maestro constructor, eché los cimientos, y otro construye sobre ellos. Pero cada uno tenga cuidado de cómo construye, porque nadie puede poner un fundamento diferente del que ya está puesto, que es Jesucristo. Si alguien construye sobre este fundamento, ya sea con oro, plata y piedras preciosas, o con madera, heno y paja, su obra se mostrará tal cual es, pues el día del juicio la dejará al descubierto. El fuego la dará a conocer, y pondrá a prueba la calidad del trabajo de cada uno. Si lo que alguien ha construido permanece, recibirá su recompensa, pero, si su obra es consumida por las llamas, él sufrirá pérdida. Será salvo, pero como quien pasa por el fuego. (1 Cor 3,10-15)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Oh, Fuego consumidor, Espíritu de amor, ‘venid sobre mí’ para que se haga en mi alma como una encarnación del Verbo: que yo sea para Él una humanidad complementaria en la que renueve todo su Misterio. ”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

turning to ash LawrenceOP Flickr 33421533508_1828f78f09_o
Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP / Flickr

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 6

If you could see through the grilles the goodness lavished on me

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of goodness

St. Paul speaks

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. I myself am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. (Romans 15:13-14)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

If you knew how well cared for I am in my dear Carmel, what a Mother I have unceasingly near me… She is a true mama for her little patient. You would have tears in your eyes if you could see through the grilles the goodness lavished on me by this heart whom God has made so motherly.
(Letter 326 to Madame Farrat, around 18 October 1906) 

Meditation 

“It takes one to know one,” we often say. This holds true for St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and the many times that she wrote about the goodness of her community during her illness. In her letters to her own mother, Elizabeth repeatedly reassured her mother of the exquisite charity of her prioress: “our good Mother takes such good care of me.” That is just an example of Elizabeth’s own goodness, wherein she continually praises the goodness in those around her. Being filled with goodness is a fruit of our growing relationship with God, who, as Jesus told the rich young man, is the ultimate in goodness: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Mk 10:18). 

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elizabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

angel peasap Flickr 471837691_f0783ee559_o
peasap / Flickr

 

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
0

Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 6

Oh, mi Astro amado, fascinadme

San Pablo nos habla

Vivan como hijos de luz (el fruto de la luz consiste en toda bondad, justicia y verdad) y comprueben lo que agrada al Señor. No tengan nada que ver con las obras infructuosas de la oscuridad, sino más bien denúncienlas, porque da vergüenza aun mencionar lo que los desobedientes hacen en secreto. Pero todo lo que la luz pone al descubierto se hace visible, porque la luz es lo que hace que todo sea visible. Por eso se dice:

«Despiértate, tú que duermes,
levántate de entre los muertos,
y te alumbrará Cristo».
(Ef 5,8-14)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Luego, a través de todas las noches, de todos los vacíos, de todas las impotencias, quiero fijaros siempre y permanecer bajo vuestra gran luz. Oh, mi Astro amado, fascinadme para que no pueda ya salir de vuestra irradiación.”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

A Beautiful Whorl
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Flickr

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

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St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 5

Although I possess nothing, I nevertheless appoint as my sole heir…

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of kindness

St. Paul speaks

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

I the undersigned declare that although I possess nothing, since I have previously disposed of everything that belonged to me, I nevertheless appoint as my sole heir Madame la comtesse Georges de Sourdon, resident of Dijon.
Elizabeth Catez
30 October 1906
(Letter 338 to Madame de Sourdon, 30 October 1906)

Meditation 

St. Elizabeth’s biographer, the Discalced Carmelite scholar Fr. Conrad De Meester, O.C.D., notes that “what at first glance looks like an official will, in reality, constitutes a true message of friendship… an astounding gesture of kindness and even of gaiety in this totally exhausted young woman, who is going to collapse that every evening and die ten days later.” Elizabeth doesn’t write about kindness; she simply was kindness personified. If God, who is Love, dwells within us, then kindness dwells within us and overflows to those around us. Shouldn’t that be the model for our lives?

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elisabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

Spiti 2010 359 kanglapass Flickr 4908057875_b66a2c458c_o
kanglapass / Flickr

 

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
0

Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 5

Oh, Verbo eterno, Palabra de mi Dios, quiero pasar mi vida escuchándoos

San Pablo nos habla

Nosotros, por nuestra parte, no cesamos de dar gracias a Dios, porque cuando recibieron la Palabra que les predicamos, ustedes la aceptaron no como palabra humana, sino como lo que es realmente, como Palabra de Dios, que actúa en ustedes, los que creen.
(1 Tes 2,13)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Oh, Verbo eterno, Palabra de mi Dios, quiero pasar mi vida escuchándoos, quiero hacerme toda dócil a fin de aprenderlo todo de Vos.”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

listen alper tecer Flickr 4103986832_05c5e80997_o
Alper Tecer / Flickr

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

0

Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 4

Os pido que me “revistáis de Vos mismo”, que identifiquéis mi alma con todos los movimientos de vuestra alma

San Pablo nos habla

Ya que ustedes han resucitado con Cristo, busquen los bienes del cielo donde Cristo está sentado a la derecha de Dios. Tengan el pensamiento puesto en las cosas celestiales y no en las de la tierra. Porque ustedes están muertos, y su vida está desde ahora oculta con Cristo en Dios. Ustedes se despojaron del hombre viejo y de sus obras y se revistieron del hombre nuevo, aquel que avanza hacia el conocimiento perfecto, renovándose constantemente según la imagen de su Creador. (Col 3,1-3.9-10)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Os pido que me ‘revistáis de Vos mismo’, que identifiquéis mi alma con todos los movimientos de vuestra alma, que me sumerjáis, que me invadáis, que me reemplacéis, para que mi vida no sea más que una irradiación de vuestra Vida. Venid a mí como Adorador, como Reparador y como Salvador.”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

Pine Forest BLM Nevada Flickr 28895127720_0540923d3d_o
Bob Wick, BLM Nevada / Flickr

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

0

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 4

So, when you feel as if you are about to lose your patience… let go

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of patience

St. Paul speaks

God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love. (Ephesians 3:16-17)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

If you knew how I prayed for you on your fifteenth birthday! I offered Holy Communion for that intention, then I gave you to the Holy Trinity, and it seemed to me that this gift was even more true, more complete than it was last year. Yes, my little sister, you belong entirely to “Them,” you are God’s thing. Oh! Really surrender yourself to Him, to His Love!… Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus says that “one is consumed by Love to the extent that one is surrendered to Love.” Since we aspire to be victims of His Charity like our holy Mother Teresa, we must let ourselves be rooted in the Charity of Christ, as Saint Paul says in today’s beautiful epistle. And how? By always living, through all things, with Him who dwells within us and who is Charity. He so thirsts to associate us with all that He is, to transform us into Himself. My little sister, let us awaken our faith, let us recall that He is there, within, and that he wants us to be very faithful, So, when you feel as if you are about to lose your patience or say something against charity, bring yourself back to Him, let go of this natural inclination in order to please Him. (Letter 179 to Germaine de Gemeaux, 20 September 1903)

Meditation 

Faced with the difficult challenge of overcoming a grave character defect, a wise man once realized that surrendering his problems and his entire self to God who is Love might enable him to find the strength in his weakness to “let go and let God.” Years before this concept and phrase became popular, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity—and St. Thérèse of Lisieux before her—counsels a teenager to adopt the “let go and let God” way of life. Surrender. Love. Faith. It seems that the trick to growing more patient is: (1) pray for the willingness to become more patient; (2) ask the Holy Spirit to show us when we are losing patience; (3) when the Holy Spirit reminds us, to consciously “let go” at that moment by immediately turning to God. A simple prayer should suffice, such as, “I can’t do it, but you can, so please help me.” St. Elizabeth says this should work for the inclination to speak unkind and hurtful words, too—in person, face-to-face, of course—but should we work on our speech in social media, too? Can and should we turn to God dwelling within to help us to overcome the natural inclination to “say something against charity” whenever we’re online?

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elisabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

Let There Be Light tabor-roeder Flickr 5919402636_a7b2da96ed_o
Phil Roeder / Flickr

 

 

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
0

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 3

He wants to be my peace so that nothing can distract me or draw me out of “the invincible fortress of holy recollection.”

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of peace

St. Paul speaks

For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Eph 2:14-18)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

Here I am in the presence “of a mystery hidden from ages and generations,” the mystery “which is Christ”: “your hope of glory,” says St. Paul! And he adds that “the understanding of this mystery” was given to him. So it is from the great Apostle that I am going to learn how I may possess this knowledge which, in his expression, “surpasses all other knowledge: the knowledge of the love of Christ Jesus.”

First of all he tells me that He is “my peace,” that it is “through Him that I have access to the Father,” for it has pleased this “father of lights” that “in Him all fullness should dwell, and that through Him He should reconcile to Himself all things, whether on the earth or in the heavens, making peace through the Blood of His Cross….

He wants to be my peace so that nothing can distract me or draw me out of “the invincible fortress of holy recollection.” It is there that He will give me “access to the Father” and will keep me as still and as peaceful in His presence as if my soul were already in eternity. It is by the Blood of His Cross that He will make peace in my little heaven, so that it may truly be the repose of the Three. (Last Retreat, Twelfth Day)

Meditation 

Just imagine more than two weeks on retreat! From 14-31 August 1906, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity spends each day in prayer as if it is her “novitiate for Heaven.” Those days are not totally peaceful, though—there are doctors and infirmarians coming and going, trips to the monastery terrace to enjoy the good weather, another aged nun in the infirmary with her, and a visit with her mother in the parlor. So the peace that Elizabeth seeks is definitely the peace of which St. Paul writes: it surpasses all other knowledge. It is a peace rooted in the knowledge of Christ’s love. He is our peace! So even without two weeks on retreat, how can we seek him and know his love?

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elisabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

leaf peace Martin Gommel Flickr 403867182_562fe4a0ae_o
Martin Gommel / Flickr

 

 

of the Trinity, E 2014, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 1: General Introduction Major Spiritual Writings, translated from the French by Kane, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
2

Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 3

Oh Cristo mío amado, crucificado por amor, quisiera ser una esposa para vuestro Corazón

San Pablo nos habla

En esto me regocijo, sí, y me regocijaré. Porque sé que esto resultará en mi liberación mediante vuestras oraciones y la suministración del Espíritu de Jesucristo, conforme a mi anhelo y esperanza de que en nada seré avergonzado, sino que con toda confianza, aun ahora, como siempre, Cristo será exaltado en mi cuerpo, ya sea por vida o por muerte. Pues para mí, el vivir es Cristo y el morir es ganancia. Pero si el vivir en la carne, esto significa para mí una labor fructífera, entonces, no sé cuál escoger, pues de ambos lados me siento apremiado, teniendo el deseo de partir y estar con Cristo, pues eso es mucho mejor. (Fil 1,18-23)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Oh Cristo mío amado, crucificado por amor, quisiera ser una esposa para vuestro Corazón, quisiera cubriros de gloria, quisiera amaros… hasta morir de amor. Pero siento mi impotencia…”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

Mourir D'Amour
Morir de Amor | davdenic / Flickr

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

0

Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 2

Pacificad mi alma, haced de ella vuestro cielo, vuestra morada amada y el lugar de vuestro reposo

San Pablo nos habla

Que la paz de Cristo reine en vuestros corazones, a la cual en verdad fuisteis llamados en un solo cuerpo; y sed agradecidos. Que la palabra de Cristo habite en abundancia en vosotros, con toda sabiduría enseñándoos y amonestándoos unos a otros con salmos, himnos y canciones espirituales, cantando a Dios con acción de gracias en vuestros corazones. (Col 3,15-16)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Pacificad mi alma, haced de ella vuestro cielo, vuestra morada amada y el lugar de vuestro reposo. Que no os deje allí jamás solo, sino que esté allí toda entera, toda despierta en mi fe, toda en adoración, toda entregada a vuestra acción creadora.”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

 

Big Bubble Hartwig HKD Flickr
h-k-d / Flickr

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

0

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Novena – Day 2

What delightful peace we experience when we place our joy in suffering!

Intention

For an increase in the fruit of joy

St. Paul speaks

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. (Colossians 1:24-26)

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks

It seems to me that the happy ones of this world are those who have enough contempt and forgetfulness of self to choose the Cross as their lot! What delightful peace we experience when we place our joy in suffering!

“In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the passion of Christ for the sake of His body, which is the Church” (Col. 1:24). The apostle finds his happiness in this! The thought pursues me and I confess that I experience a profound inner joy in thinking that God has chosen to associate me in the passion of His Christ. This way of Calvary I climb each day seems to me more like the path of Beatitude! (The Greatness of Our Vocation, 6-7)

Meditation 

St. Elizabeth’s penned these lines to her young friend Françoise de Sourdon around the 9th of September, 1906. It is a testament to her Carmelite ascetic spirit, knowing that, as St. John of the Cross taught, “in suffering, strength is given to the soul by God” (Dark Night II, 16:9). St. Elizabeth of the Trinity makes this 12-page letter—she called it a “journal”—a precious piece of spiritual direction for a nineteen-year-old aspiring to holiness. If this is St. Elizabeth’s advice to a young adult Catholic, what can we learn from her words of wisdom? Is joy in suffering a thing of the past?

NOVENA PRAYER 

O Saint Elisabeth!
In your great love of God,
You were always so close
to your friends’ needs.
Now, in Heaven,
Face to face with the Lord,
Do intervene near Him
for the needs we recommend to you.

(Make your request)

Teach us how to abide,
in Love and Faith,
with the Holy Trinity
in the utmost of our heart.
Teach us how to radiate God’s Love
amongst men, in our everyday life
just as you did yourself,
so that we may be a praise of God’s glory.

Our Father… (pray slowly, contemplating the meaning of the prayer)

Glory be… (three times, in praise of the indwelling Trinity)

 

find ecstasy in life 5aug2016
From the Facebook album ‘Portraits of Chad’ by Comboni Missionary Father David Bohnsack, mccj (Used by permission)

 

 

of the Trinity, E 2014, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 1: General Introduction Major Spiritual Writings, translated from the French by Kane, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC
0

Novena a Santa Isabel de la Trinidad — Día 1

Oh, Dios mío, Trinidad a quien adoro, ayudadme a olvidarme enteramente

San Pablo nos habla

El amor es comprensivo y servicial;
el amor nada sabe de envidias,
de jactancias, ni de orgullos.
No es grosero, no es egoísta,
no pierde los estribos, no es rencoroso.
(1 Cor 13,4-5)

La Elevación de Santa Isabel

“Oh, Dios mío, Trinidad a quien adoro, ayudadme a olvidarme enteramente para establecerme en Vos, inmóvil y apacible, como si ya mi alma estuviera en la eternidad. Que nada pueda turbar mi paz, ni hacerme salir de Vos, oh mi Inmutable, sino que cada minuto me haga penetrar más en la profundidad de vuestro misterio.”

Oración Final

¡Oh! Santa Isabel,
en tu gran amor a Dios,
estabas siempre tan próxima
de las necesidades de tus amigos.
Ahora, ya que estás en el Cielo
delante de la faz del Señor,
intercede cerca de El
en favor de las intenciones que te recomendamos.

Formular aquí su deseo

Enséñanos, en la fe y en el amor,
a vivir con la Santísima Trinidad,
en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón.
Enséñanos, como tú,
a irradiar el amor de Dios a los hombres,
en nuestra vida de cada día,
para ser una alabanza de su Gloria.

Rezar lentamente: Padre Nuestro…

y tres veces Gloria al Padre, al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo…

 

Follow the Light Home smilla4 Flickr 27367953294_e53b158ba9_o
smilla4 / Flickr

 

 

Para conocer más sobre Santa Isabel de la Trinidad haga clic aquí

 

 

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