What do you think?
Rate this book
The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity, vol. 1
Translated by Aletheia Kane, OCD. Includes major spiritual writings and General Introduction, plus 5 pages of photos.
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity - Elizabeth Catez, who died in 1906 at the age of 26 in the Carmel of Dijon, is a mystic for our times, with a profound spirituality rooted not in visions and voices but in attention to the indwelling Trinity and in the call to become a praise of glory for God. This first volume of her Complete Works contains her major spiritual writings, including two sets of retreat notes (Heaven in Faith and Last Retreat) and her famous prayer - O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore. A comprehensive introduction to Elizabeth's life and spirituality by the editor, Conrad De Meester, is also included, along with detailed notes and 5 pages of photos.
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity - Elizabeth Catez, who died in 1906 at the age of 26 in the Carmel of Dijon, is a mystic for our times, with a profound spirituality rooted not in visions and voices but in attention to the indwelling Trinity and in the call to become a praise of glory for God. This first volume of her Complete Works contains her major spiritual writings, including two sets of retreat notes (Heaven in Faith and Last Retreat) and her famous prayer - O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore. A comprehensive introduction to Elizabeth's life and spirituality by the editor, Conrad De Meester, is also included, along with detailed notes and 5 pages of photos.
191 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1984
75 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth of the Trinity
25 books14 followersElizabeth of the Trinity, O.C.D. was a French Discalced Carmelite nun, mystic and spiritual writer. She has been beatified by the Catholic Church.
Catez had a terrible temper as a child. After receiving her First Holy Communion in 1891 she became more controlled and had a deeper understanding of God and the world. She also gained a profound understanding of the Trinity. Elizabeth visited the sick and sang in the church choir. She taught religion to children who worked in factories.
Catez began to be interested in entering the Discalced Carmelites, although her mother was against the idea. Men had asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage, but she declined, because her dream was to enter the Carmelite monastery that was located 200 meters from her home.
Elizabeth entered the Dijon Carmel on August 2, 1901. She said, "I find Him everywhere; while doing the wash as well as while praying."
At the end of her life, she began to call herself Laudem Gloriæ. Elizabeth had wanted to be called that in Heaven because it means "praise of glory". She said, "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."
Elizabeth died at the age of 26 from Addison's disease, which in the early 20th century had no treatment. Even though her death was painful, Elizabeth still accepted that God gave her that gift and was grateful. Her last words were, "I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!"
Elizabeth was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 25, 1984. Her feast day is celebrated on November 8. Her best-known prayer is "Holy Trinity Whom I Adore"[1] which she wrote out of her love of the Trinity. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity is a patron of illness, sick people and loss of parents.
----
[1]
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 Saviour.
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 Splendour!
Catez had a terrible temper as a child. After receiving her First Holy Communion in 1891 she became more controlled and had a deeper understanding of God and the world. She also gained a profound understanding of the Trinity. Elizabeth visited the sick and sang in the church choir. She taught religion to children who worked in factories.
Catez began to be interested in entering the Discalced Carmelites, although her mother was against the idea. Men had asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage, but she declined, because her dream was to enter the Carmelite monastery that was located 200 meters from her home.
Elizabeth entered the Dijon Carmel on August 2, 1901. She said, "I find Him everywhere; while doing the wash as well as while praying."
At the end of her life, she began to call herself Laudem Gloriæ. Elizabeth had wanted to be called that in Heaven because it means "praise of glory". She said, "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."
Elizabeth died at the age of 26 from Addison's disease, which in the early 20th century had no treatment. Even though her death was painful, Elizabeth still accepted that God gave her that gift and was grateful. Her last words were, "I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!"
Elizabeth was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 25, 1984. Her feast day is celebrated on November 8. Her best-known prayer is "Holy Trinity Whom I Adore"[1] which she wrote out of her love of the Trinity. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity is a patron of illness, sick people and loss of parents.
----
[1]
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 Saviour.
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 Splendour!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 9, 2022
Such a great collection of spiritual writings from St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. If I re-read this book I would prefer to have a hard copy. There were many footnotes and annotations which was hard in the ebook to scroll back and forth because they were at the end of each spiritual writing. I would also recommend reading St. Elizabeth's retreats day by day how they are written and use them for meditation in prayer. So much wisdom in these pages!
January 14, 2017
Wish I could give a split star rating on this; for the actual works of St. Elizabeth of The Trinity I'd give a 5 star rating; only gave the book a 4 star rating because of the way it was written & my perception of a kind of negative tone in this translation. I did read the book in its entirety, and probably would have liked it more if I hadn't read the abundant notes and chapter introductions, which to me, seemed to cast a negative view on the writings of St. Elizabeth of The Trinity. The reason for this was the translation referred almost every paragraph (sometimes multiple sentences and words in a paragraph) to something written by someone else, giving the impression that nothing was written by St. Elizabeth of The Trinity. Obviously, in a spiritual writing it is easy to refer word/sentences/paragraphs to scripture and to other spiritual writers who possess the same charism. That does not mean the writing wasn't done in accord with the thoughts and heart of the writer, instead of some sort of "copying" as presented by this translation. Again, this is my perception and not necessarily what was meant to be implied. Whatever the intent, it distracted me from her writing. That said, these spiritual writings were from the last three months of St. Elizabeth's life. She was a Carmelite, cloistered nun who died from Addison's Disease in 1906, in the convent in Dijon, France at the age of 26. She was canonized by Pope Francis on October 16, 2016. St. Elizabeth is the patron saint for the sick and for the loss of parents. This is a really good book and one that offers important and helpful spiritual direction to anyone looking to bring peace and hope to their lives, especially those going through suffering and sickness.
July 1, 2017
The only reason I gave this book four instead of five stars was the introduction. It was a very detailed and long introduction which contained important information but was just too much for me. The actual major spiritual writings by St. Elizabeth were amazingly beautiful, and I could read these a hundred times and still not be able to plumb the depths of this beautiful saint's spirituality and union with God. That part of the book was a five star rating, for sure. An amazing young Carmelite saint who should be made known to all who desire to know the path to union with our Lord.
September 11, 2019
A saint's prayers and lessons
Volume I is a collection of Elizabeth of the Trinity's prayers, retreats and teachings. It contains her well-known Prayer To The Trinity. I was amazed to learn that St. Elizabeth of the Trinity was such a prolific writer during her short life. I plan to read Volume 2. Excellent book!
Volume I is a collection of Elizabeth of the Trinity's prayers, retreats and teachings. It contains her well-known Prayer To The Trinity. I was amazed to learn that St. Elizabeth of the Trinity was such a prolific writer during her short life. I plan to read Volume 2. Excellent book!
March 15, 2022
St Elizabeth's written work is that of a Spiritual Master. A most helpful guide.
January 23, 2017
The research of part one is best read after the essay-letters in part three. Ruysbrook figures large in her mind. OCDS and the Trinity, like coffee and cream. Interesting to note how Elizabeth prefigured the world-wide charismatic movement.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews