Deep in the heart of every soul is a desire and longing for God. This is so evident in the today’s lonely world that seeks to fill the emptiness – but in all the wrong places. We long for friendship, love, peace and meaning in life; and this longing can only be filled by God.
St Elizabeth of the Trinity is an important witness for our community and the world. Her life was one of prayer, and she made it her mission to draw souls to God. As a Carmelite witness, St Elizabeth teaches us how to live in God’s presence through silence and prayer. Her vocation was simply prayer, silence and suffering; ‘because our Lord lives in our soul, His prayer dwells within us and it is there I want to abide without ceasing.”
“…Abide in Me — pray in Me, adore in Me, love in Me, suffer in Me, work and act in Me. Abide in Me so that in Me you may go out to all persons and all things, entering ever more deeply into Me…”
St Elizabeth died at age 26, only six years after becoming a Discalced Carmelite Nun. She was Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1984 and Canonized by Pope France in 2016.
St Elizabeth summed up her apostolate in two words: union and love!
Trinitarian Prayer – by St Elizabeth of the Trinity
O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to become utterly forgetful of myself so that I may establish myself in you, as changeless and calm as though my soul were already in eternity. Let nothing disturb my peace nor draw me forth f from you, O my unchanging God, but at every moment may I penetrate more deeply into the depths of your mystery. Give peace to my soul; make it your heaven, your cherished dwelling-place and the place of your repose. Let me never leave you there alone, but keep me there, wholly attentive, wholly alert in my faith, wholly adoring and fully given up to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, I long to be the bride of your heart. I long to cover you with glory, to love you even unto death! Yet I sense my powerlessness and beg you to clothe me with yourself. Identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, submerge me, overwhelm me, substitute yourself for me, so that my life may become a reflection of your life. Come into me as Adorer, as Redeemer and as Saviour.
O Eternal Word, utterance of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, to become totally teachable so that I might learn all from you. Through all darkness, all emptiness, all powerlessness, I want to keep my eyes fixed on you and to remain under your great light. O my Beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may never be able to leave your radiance.
O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, overshadow me so that the Word may be, as it were incarnate again in my soul. May I be for him a new humanity in which he can renew all his mystery.
And you, O Father, bend down towards your poor little creature. Cover her with your shadow, see in her only your beloved son in who 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. Immerse yourself in me so that I may be immersed in you until I go to contemplate in your light the abyss of your splendour!
O.C.D.S. Community of The Holy Spirit, Denver 