CARMELITE SAINTS

The Mission of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

Recently it was announced by the Vatican that the Carmelite nun, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity will be canonized this year. Many people are just beginning to learn about this holy Carmelite.

Her spirituality is considered to be similar to that of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. These saints shared a zeal for the salvation of souls. While St. Therese proclaimed that her mission would be to, "Spend my heaven by doing good upon earth," Blessed Elizabeth wrote of a different mission:

I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.

Blessed Elizabeth's "call within a call" was her mystical experience of the Divine Indwelling of the Holy Trinity. This was a gift that was given to her from her Beloved, Jesus, the Spouse of her soul. She knew this favor was a gift of love, not only for herself but for the Church. That is why she was aware of being called to spread the good news of the Divine Indwelling while she lived and accepted this mission that would follow her into eternity. 

In Blessed Elizabeth's retreat, Heaven in Faith, she quotes John Ruysbroeck numerous times. On the seventh day of this retreat she uses this quote from his writings:

The immense riches that God possess by nature, we may possess by virtue of love, by His dwelling in us and by our dwelling in Him. It is by virtue of this immense love that we are drawn into the depths of the intimate sanctuary where God imprints on us a true image of His majesty.

She told us the same thing in her own words when describing her mission...and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.

Blessed Elizabeth was able to enter the "chapel of the heart" and find God there. This is the heart of the Carmelite vocation. It is the heart of the call of every Christian. Christ is the Bridegroom of each soul! We are called to intimate union with him. Carmelites, among other religious in the world, are called to be witnesses in the world of this intimate union. We witness to those around us by being merciful. We witness to those around us by sharing the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit that have been given to us. If we are not responding in love to those around ud, if we lose peace of heart over small matters, our prayer life is not totally authentic. We have not let the Holy Spirit totally transform us. However, we should not be discouraged. Blessed Elizabeth is here to help us. She knows the effort it takes for us to cooperate with God's grace. She prays for our transformation, but we must make the effort to meet God in solitude and silence. It is there that he speaks to us, heals us, strengthens us, and transforms us into His image. Let us be faithful to prayer!

In her final days, Blessed Elizabeth wanted to be known as " "Laudem Gloriae," "A Praise of Glory." In her writings she describes at length a Praise of Glory. Here is an excerpt:

A praise of Glory is a silent soul, a lyre beneath the mysterious touch of the Holy Spirit, from which He can draw divine harmonies. Knowing that suffering is a string which produces still more exquisite tones, this soul rejoices at having it on its instrument, that is may thus more sweetly move the heart of its God.

Some Catholics may be familiar with Blessed Elizabeth's famous prayer to the Holy Trinity that can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. On this great feast of the Most Holy Trinity, let us give thanks to God for her great witness and her great mission-her prayer and desire that we be one with the Most Holy Trinity.

Prayer to the Blessed Trinity

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in you, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from you, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of your mystery ! Pacify my soul! 

Make it your heaven, your beloved home and place of your repose; let me never leave you there alone, but may I be ever attentive, ever alert in my faith, ever adoring and all given up to your creative action.  

O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, would that I might be for you a spouse of your heart! I would anoint you with glory, I would love you - even unto death! Yet I sense my frailty and ask you to adorn me with yourself; identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, submerge me, overwhelm. me, substitute yourself in me that my life may become but a reflection of your life. Come into me as Adorer, Redeemer and Savior.  

O Eternal Word, Word of my God, would that I might spend my life listening to you, would that I might be fully receptive to learn all from you; in all darkness, all loneliness, all weakness, may I ever keep my eyes fixed on you and abide under your great light; O my Beloved Star, fascinate me so that I may never be able to leave your radiance.

O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, descend into my soul and make all in me as an incarnation of the Word, that I may be to him a super-added humanity wherein he renews his mystery; and you O Father, bestow yourself and bend down to your little creature, seeing in her only your beloved Son in whom you are well pleased.

O my `Three', my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose myself, I give myself to you as a prey to be consumed; enclose yourself in me that I may be absorbed in you so as to contemplate in your light the abyss of your Splendor !

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

Photo: R. Massaro Loyola Retreat House Clinton, Ohio

Here is an excerpt from one of my all time favorite books: Poustinia (desert) by Catherine de Hueck Doherty

Often people say that they have no time for prayer. Where is the place for prayer? Prayer is inside. I am a church. I am a temple of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They came to me. The Lord said that he and his Father would come and make their dwelling with me. I don't have to go anywhere. Neither does this mean that you shouldn't render glory to God in church where everybody else comes to pray, but it means that you should pray constantly. There should be no break in our prayer. There is a poustinia of the heart. Why should my heart be removed from God while I am talking to you? When you are in love with someone, it seems that the face of the beloved is before you when you drive, when you type, when you are taking out insurance, and so on. Somehow or other we can encompass these two realities, the faces of the beloved and whatever we happen to be doing. 

My friends, prayer is like that. If you fall in love then it's impossible to separate life and breath from prayer. Prayer is simply union with God. Prayer does not need words. When people are in love they look at each other, look into each other's eyes, or a wife simply lies in the arms of her husband. Neither of them talks. When love reaches its apex it cannot be expressed anymore. It reaches that immense realm of silence where it pulsates and reaches proportions unknown to those who haven't entered into it. Such is the life of prayer with God. You enter into God and God enters into you, and the union is constant.

The day I was baptized my little feet made the first step toward that union with God for which I was born. I can walk through my life and never remember. Such will be an arid life. It will be an unhappy life. But no matter what happens to me, if I remember that I exist to be united with God, and that I am united with God every minute, all I have to do is think about it. In fact, I don't even have to think. His face is always before me.




Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

Three Pillars of the Lenten Season

Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving

The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: efforts at reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity which covers a multitude of sins.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church #1434

For the Secular Carmelite the three pillars of Lent are not an annual observance that we try to fulfill. These sturdy pillars are what we cling to each day as we try to live out our vocation to live the Beatitudes.

The First Pillar: Prayer

Faithful to our Lord's invitation and to His example of praying without ceasing, and also to the Carmelite Rule's central command "to meditate on God's law day and night and to watch in prayer", the Secular Carmelites will prefer before all else to remain in the presence of God, continually fulfilling His holy will.

The Rule of Life, Article 4

Second Pillar: Fasting

The Secular Carmelite highly esteems the invitation of the Lord to deny himself and willingly to take up his cross daily and follow Him; he will therefore gladly mortify himself in union with the sacrifice of Christ, remembering too Our Holy Mother Teresa's remark that "prayer cannot be accompanied by self-indulgence" (Way of Perfection 4,2).
The Rule of Life, Article 6

The Third Pillar: Almsgiving

The Secular Order of The Discalced Carmelites sets before its members ideals, based upon the charism and teachings of the Order's Saintly founders, which constitute their particular way in Christian holiness. These are: a deep sense of faith in God's love; fidelity to contemplative prayer with the spirit of detachment it entails, and generosity in the practice of fraternal charity and the apostolate.
Rule of Life Article 2

We can read in the above excerpt from our Rule a summary of the three pillars of our call as Carmelites. Our main charism is contemplative prayer. The Lenten season brings this more into focus as we challenge ourselves to be more faithful to our commitment to seek the face of God in prayer.

Article 2 also mentions a spirit of detachment. This means not only to fast from exterior things but also from the sins we are attached to. This detachment will help us grow in union with God. Our Rule states, we must endeavor to practice fraternal charity at all times. Our love must be sincere. If our prayer life is authentic, the love we have for God will inspire us to perform acts of charity for our neighbor.

Another spiritual pillar we must cling to is almsgiving. Basically, almsgiving means charity. Let us give to our neighbor the love and respect they deserve as children of God.

Let us pray for each other; may our Lenten journey of prayer, detachment and love for one another help build up the holy body of Christ.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds

Spiritual Life Dictionary

Today's Term: LOCUTIONS
A voice from heaven was heard to say: "You are my beloved Son. On you my favor rests." Luke 3:22

This scripture passage concerning the baptism of Jesus describes an audible locution that was pronounced by the Father, about the Son, for all those present to hear.
Although we may pray earnestly many times for God to speak to us, to reveal his will to us, it usually does not take place in this grand manner. We, in the spiritual life, are seeking to listen to his still small voice in the quiet of our heats, to listen to the Father speak to us concerning his will for us.
St. John of the Cross teaches us that God communicates spiritual goods to us by way of the senses. He says:

When these senses are somewhat disposed, he is wont to perfect them more by granting some supernatural favors and gifts to confirm them further in good. These supernatural communications are, for example, corporeal visions of saints or holy things, very sweet odors, locutions, and extreme delight in the sense of touch. The senses are greatly confirmed in virtue through these communications and the appetites withdrawn from evil objects.1

St. Teresa says this about locutions and cautions us concerning these manifestations:

He does this by means of words addressed to the soul in many different ways; sometimes they appear to come from without;at other times from the inner depths of the soul;or again, from its superior part;while other speeches are so exterior as to be heard by the ears as a real voice.2

She warns us that false locutions may be caused by:
#1- Melancholy (depression, emotional problems)
#2- A lively imagination
#3-Satan

Here are her three signs of a divine locution:
#1-The words carry power and authority. The words immediately calm or encourage the soul.
#2-The soul experiences a calmness of spirit and quiet recollection, which produces great love and praise of God.
#3-The words of the locution are never forgotten. In fact, many years may pass and the memory of the words are still fresh in one's heart and mind.

St. Teresa continues her teaching and tells us to resist locutions. However, when one resists and they are true locutions they will sometimes increase, because the soul is not seeking the divine favor.
There is another type of locution that flows from the depths of the soul. St. Teresa calls this type of locution an intellectual vision, which will be the subject of a future post.

As secular Carmelites, we are called to a life of quiet prayer. This prayer gives us the gift of waiting and being attentive to the Lord at all times. Let us pray that we be ready to respond in charity to God and our neighbor. When the Lord wishes to speak, let us be ready to hear and obey his word as did our Blessed Mother who responded with her "yes" to the will of God.


Let us echo Samuel's reply:"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."I Samuel 3:9


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS

1Ascent of Mount Carmel,Chapter 17, #4. (collected works of St. John of the Cross, Kieran Kavanugh,O.C.D. 1979).
2Interior Castle, mans. 6,chap. 3, pp. 116-118 (Revised by Very Rev. Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D., 2006).

Distractions in Prayer

Did you ever have a bee or fly buzz around your head driving you nuts? That is what distractions during prayer remind me of--spiritual pests! Our Holy Mother St. Teresa gives great advice concerning these harmless distractions: laugh at them!




This response comes from her many years of toil and labor at prayer. She said for years she was anxious when the hour of prayer arrived: "Very often, for some years, I was more anxious that the hour I had determined to spend in prayer be over than I was to remain there, and more anxious to listen for the striking of the clock than to attend to other good things. And I don't know what heavy penance could have come to mind that frequently I would not have gladly undertaken rather than recollect myself in the practice of prayer."

She tells us not to pay attention to distractions, to, in effect, ignore them and go about our business praying. I believe this is good advice, because many, many people get anxious about this and spend more time worrying about their weakness during prayer than just letting go of the distraction and continuing in prayer. Some people give up praying entirely because of distractions, saying "what's the use?" In this response the devil has been victorious in preventing the soul from praying.

In St. Teresa's words:

When one of you finds herself in this sublime state of prayer, which, as I have already said is most markedly supernatural and the understanding (or, to put it more clearly, the thought) wanders off after the more ridiculous things in the world, she should laugh at it and treat it as the silly thing it is, and remain in her state of quiet.

Many people also make the mistake of trying to "empty" their mind during prayer. This is an impossible task as St. Teresa tells us, too. We live in the body and will always have these struggles. Her example of faithfulness in prayer-in being present to the Lord, available to him, even when she didn't feel like it, is the model of a true Carmelite. The Lord rewarded her faithfulness with many mystical favors. Let us thank him for any grace-filled moments he sends us: prayer free from distractions!

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds