Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

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Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity (Elizabeth Catez) was a Camelite Nun who had a deep love for the Indwelled Holy Trinity, well expressed in a prayer she wrote:

Blessed Elizabeth’s Prayer to The Most Holy Trinity

"O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, help me to become utterly forgetful of self, that I may establish myself in You, as changeless and as calm as though my soul were already in eternity. May nothing disturb my peace nor draw me forth from You, O my immutable Lord, may I penetrate more deeply every moment into the depths of Your Mystery. Give peace to my soul: make it Your heaven, Your cherished dwelling place. Your home of rest. Let me never leave You there alone, but keep me there all absorbed in You in living faith, adoring You, wholly yielded up to Your creative action.

"O my Christ Whom I love, crucified by love, would that I might be the bride of Your Heart; would that I might cover You with glory, and love You- until I die of very love! Yet I realize my weakness, and beg You to help me. Immerse me in Yourself: possess me wholly: substitute Yourself for me, that my life may be but a radiance of Your life. Enter my soul as Restorer and as Savior. O Eternal Word, Utterance of my God, I long to pass my life listening to You, to become docile, that I may learn all from You. Through all darkness, all privations, all powerlessness, I yearn to keep my eyes ever fixed on You and to dwell beneath Your great light. O my beloved Star, so fascinate me that I can no longer withdraw from Your radiance.

“O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, come down upon me, and reproduce in me, as it were, an incarnation of the Word, that I may be to Him another humanity in which He renews all His Mystery. And You, O Father, bend toward Your poor little creature, cover her with Your shadow, behold in her none other than the ‘Well beloved in Whom You are well pleased.”

O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I yield myself to You as Your child. Immerse Yourself in me, that I may be immersed in You until I depart to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your greatness. Amen."

Copied from here: monksofadoration.org/bleseliz.html This site also has a bio.

Here’s a short biography. (The site has music. Just press the stop button on the player and it will cease). helpfellowship.org/Blessed_Elizabeth_of_the_Trinity.htm

And another bio:ettinger.net/carmelcov/elizabethlife.html

This site has three of her letters:
ourgardenofcarmel.org/e3.html

You can buy books about her here, and some of her own writings, here:
icspublications.org/bookstore/trinity/index.html

I also found a a TON of books on her by searching Amazon.com.
amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-4607503-2017545?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dstripbooks%3Arelevance-above&keywords=Elizabeth+of+the+Trinity&Go.x=13&Go.y=12&Go=Go
The book on St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and St. Therese of Lisieux by Urs Von Balthazar and Dennis Martin got a rating of 5 stars!

God Bless!
 
You’re welcome.

I’ve only read Volume One of her spiritual works. My only criticism of that particular book is that the editor spent 2/3 of the book introducing us to Elizabeth’s major spiritual works, essays, found near the end of the book. The intro was good, but I admit I skipped parts of it—too long.

Elizabeth’s essays are rather short — but WOW! They are powerful! Her writings will blow you away. I also plan on reading the book comparing her to St. Therese the Little Flower — for Elizabeth had a GREAT devotion to the “Little Way.” Elizabeth also had devotion to the Flemish mystic, Blessed John of Rusybroeck, whom she often quotes.

God Bless!
 
GoldenArrow said:
Elizabeth’s essays are rather short — but WOW! They are powerful! Her writings will blow you away. I also plan on reading the book comparing her to St. Therese the Little Flower — for Elizabeth had a GREAT devotion to the “Little Way.” Elizabeth also had devotion to the Flemish mystic, Blessed John of Rusybroeck, whom she often quotes.
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Elizabeth is wonderful and it’s eerie to think of the external similarities of her life and that of Therese. Here’s just a few examples that come to mind:
  • Both were born and lived their entire lives in France
  • Both were cloistered Carmelite nuns living in convents just a few hours apart - - - seperated by just a few short years
  • Both died of terrible illnesses while in their 20’s - had they lived it’s conceived thay might have even had the opportunity to meet each other at some point
  • Both were mystics in the sense that each was a contemplative who left written records of her interior life to aid us on our spiritual journey
  • Both had a strong sense of a posthumous mission. Elizabeth was very aware of Therese’s desire to serve mankind in an “active” way while she herself wanted to intercede on our behalf to teach prayer and recollection.
The impact of Therese on Elizabeth is clear . . . almost like she looked to Therese as a big sister she never knew. This is a real testament to how quickly the fame of Therese spread. I’m going from memory here but I think it was less than 10 years from the death of Therese and Elizabeth’s brief time in Carmel. But despite the noticeable impact of Therese on Elizabeth, I do think their interior lives differed. Do you know the name of the book comparing Elizabeth and Therese? I think that would be a very interesting read.

Also, I too noticed how many times Elizabeth cites Rusybroeck . . . so much so that I even bought his book. I have to admit, though, I had to set it down about 1/2 way through . . . to analytical for me :o

Elizabeth seems to capture the essence of what he has to say but in a much more understandable way. More important to me, her words seem to simply “soar” off the page . . . giving a wonderful sense of the union with God that all Carmelites seek. For that matter, the union all of us seek.

Dave
 
The book comparing Elizabeth and Therese is called:
Two Sisters in the Spirit: Therese of Lisieux and Elizabeth of the Trinity by Urs Von Balthazar and Dennis Martin. You can buy it here:

amazon.com/Two-Sisters-Spirit-Lisieux-Elizabeth/dp/0898701481/sr=1-10/qid=1158963025/ref=sr_1_10/104-4607503-2017545?ie=UTF8&s=books

Here’s a review written by a reader named kscat:
“These combined works of von Balthasar on two Carmelite nuns, St. Therese of Lisieux and Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, offers exceptional insights to their particular spiritualities and their role in the Church. The part focusing on Therese is perhaps best read with an already established knowlege of the saint. Be prepared to totally change the way you think of the “Little Flower”! This is probably not a good book for those just becoming familiar with Therese, but for those who have read nearly all she has written (Story of a Soul, Letters, Poems, etc.) von Balthasar’s thoughts will be a fascinating read. This book sheds some very interesting light on other works of Therese when you go back to read them a second time! This is the best book I’ve read on Therese. The section on Bl. Elizabeth is considerably shorter, but the book is worth buying for it alone. Her simple “way,” the praise of the glory of God’s grace, is eloquently illuminated by von Balthasar. In a word, beautiful … I highly recommend this book for all lovers of Carmel, and for anyone who has stumbled upon the greatness of these two women.”

Also, I bought a book on Blessed John of Rusybroeck. Haven’t gotten to it yet. You can read his book on the Spiritual Marriage FREE here: catholictreasury.info/library.htm

God Bless!
 
“Funny”, but I’m currently re-reading Fr. M.M. Philipon, O.P.'s, superb book on Bl. Elizabeth: The Spiritual Doctrine of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity, published in 1947. This is an out-of-print classic, but perhaps with some online detective work it could be located. Fr. Philipon has an interesting observation regarding St. Therese and (now) Bl. Elizabeth:
There have been frequent attempts to compare or contrast St. Teresa of the Child Jesus and Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity. Their ways are essentially different. The Carmelite of Lisieux radiantly covers the whole Catholic world with rose petals scattered for love. She has taught the modern world how it can once more become “a child with the Good God.” The Carmelite of Dijon fulfills her mission in interior souls. Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity was the saint of silence and recollection.
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