St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906)

July 18, 1880–Born

Elizabeth was born on a Sunday into a military family and baptized Marie Rolland Josephine Elizabeth Catez on July 22, the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene.

“A very beautiful, very lively child,” her mother wrote.

Later in Carmel Elizabeth would write, to a priest friend,

“Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene of whom the Truth declared, ‘She loved much’. It is the feast day of my soul also, for I shall keep the anniversary of my baptism … I beg you to consecrate me to Him at Holy Mass. Baptize me in the Blood of the Lamb, so that…I may love Him alone with a passion ever deepening until it attains that blessed union destined for us by God…” –The Praise of Glory

1882–Little “Sabeth”

Her mother relates.

“A (Christmas) mission was being preached…and a Sister came and asked me if the little one had a doll that could be used as the little Jesus in the crib; it was to be dressed in a robe covered with golden stars and would be unrecognizable to the child’s eyes. I brought the little one to the ceremony. The child was distracted at first by the people who were arriving, but when the priest announced the blessing from the pulpit, Elizabeth glanced at the creche, recognized her doll, and, in a fit of rage, her eyes furious, cried out: “Jeanette! Give me back my Jeanette!…her nurse was obliged to carry her out…” —Light, Love, Life

1887–Guite’s Childhood Rememberances of Her Sister “Sabeth”

“She was very lively, and even quick tempered! She went into rages that were terrible!…sometimes so violent that they threatened to send her as a boarder to the Good Shepherd, (a house of correction nearby).” –Elizabeth Still Speaks

1887–Early Vocation

Canon Isidore Angles, the family friend and Pastor of Saint-Hilaire:

“One evening the two little girls, tired of playing, had begun a childish conversation. By a clever and smart move Elizabeth managed to climb up on my knees. Quickly she leaned over and whispered into my ear; ‘Monsieur Angles, I will be a nun; I want to be a nun! She was, I believe seven…I will always recall her mother’s somewhat irritated exclamation: “What‘s the silly little thing saying?” Mme. Catez well knew where to find me the next day. Anxiously she asked me if I seriously believed in her vocation. And I answered, the words piercing her soul like a sword; ‘I believe in it!”. –Light Love, Life

October 2, 1887

Her father, a retired Captain, died unexpectedly of a heart attack after which the family moved into the town, very close to the Carmel of Dijon. Elizabeth could see the monastery from her window.

April 19, 1891–First Holy Communion and First Visit to Carmel of Dijon

Upon leaving the church, she said to a close friend, “I’m no longer hungry. Jesus has fed me.”

Her mother later testified, “From that day (of her First Communion) and afterwards, no more fits of anger.”

Later that day, in her communion dress, she met with the Prioress, Mother Marie of Jesus who explained to her that “Elizabeth”-means “house of God.” She later gave her a prayer card of the sayings of St. Teresa of Avila with a poem she wrote around the edges of the card:

Your Blessed name holds a mystery
Fulfilled this great day
Child, your heart, here on earth
Is the House of God of Love

–He is My Heaven

1893–Musically Gifted

She studied at the Conservatory in Dijon and won many prizes for her playing.

Sabeth wrote to a little girl nervous at playing in public.

“I shall pray for Madeleine that God may be even in her little fingertips…my secret. …to forget her audience and imagine she is alone with the Divine Master; then play for Him with all her heart and bring out of her instrument full, yet strong and sweet, sound. How I used to love doing this!” –Souvenirs

1893–Her Memorare to Saint Elizabeth

Remember, O Saint Elizabeth, my patroness and my heavenly guardian, that I am your little charge; help me in this desert land, and uphold me in my weakness. Give me your virtues, your humility, your sublime charity. Ask God to change my faults into virtues, as He changed the bread you held into roses. Grant me the wings of hope that I may mount to heaven, and receive me yourself at the gate of paradise when God call me to Him. Amen. –Elizabeth Catez, The Praise of Glory

1894–Vocation to Carmel

“When I was about fourteen, one day after receiving Communion, the word `Carmel’ was pronounced in the depth of my soul. From then on I thought only of hiding myself behind its grates.”

A school teacher, Irma Forey, relates her anxiety to obtain her mother’s consent:

“She often said to me weeping: ‘When shall I have the happiness of being in Carmel? But Mama is not willing; I will wait until my mother is resigned.’ ” –Elizabeth Still Speaks

December 8, 1897–Elizabeth‘s Poem #43

For my heart is always with Him
Day and Night it thinks unceasingly
Of its heavenly and divine Friend,
To whom it wants to prove its affection.

Also within it arises this desire:
Not to die, but to suffer long,
To suffer for God, to give Him its life
While praying for poor sinners.

–Light, Love, Life

February 1899–Reads ‘The Way of Perfection’ after a Jesuit Retreat

In her diary she writes,

“When she (Saint Teresa) speaks of contemplation, that stage of prayer when God does everything and we do nothing , when He unites us so intimately to Himself that it is no longer we who live, but God who lives in us, etc. Yes, I recognize in this description those moments of sublime rapture the Master often raised me to during that Retreat and even since then.” –He is My Heaven

March 26, 1899–Her Mother says she may enter Carmel at age 21

Her diary passage that day

“Truly, it must be Mary who has gained this grace for me, for I have never seen her like that before. When I saw the two of the (Mother and Guite) crying for me, I was in a flood of tears, too! Jesus, it must be you calling me, supporting me, it must have been you holding out your arms to those I love so much, otherwise my heart would break…In my tears I feel a calm and immense sweetness. Yes, soon I’ll be able to answer your call. During the next two years I’m going to redouble my efforts to be a bride less worthy of you.” –He is My Heaven

November 1899–Saint Therese’s Influence

After reading “The Story of a Soul,” Elizabeth composed her own offering.

“Make me a martyr of your love… Take from me the freedom to displease you…I want to always do your will, to respond always to your grace. My Master, I want to be a saint for your sake, be you my sanctity, for I know my weakness… May my every heartbeat be a cry of gratitude and love. “ –He is My Heaven

August 2, 1901–Elizabeth Enters Carmel

A Portion of her Postulant Questionnaire

What is your Ideal for sanctity?
To lIve from love.

What is the quickest way to attain it?
To make oneself as small as possible, to surrender oneself without reserve.

What saint do you love most?
The disciple Jesus loved, who rested his head on Jesus’ breast.

Which part of the Rule speaks most directly to you?
Silence

What is the dominant trait of your character?
Sensitiveness

Your Favorite Virtue?
Purity. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

The fault you most abhor?
Egoism in general.

Give a basic definition of prayer.
The union of one who is not with the One who Is.

What is your favorite book?
The soul of Christ—it reveals to me all the secrets of the heavenly Father.

–Two Sisters in the Spirit, Ignatius Press

December 8th, 1901–Receives the Habit ; is Given the Name “Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity”

June 19, 1902–Letter to Her Friend Francoise de Sourdon

“You must build a little cell in your soul as I do. Remember that God is there and enter it from time to time…when you feel nervous or unhappy, quickly seek refuge there and tell the Master all about it. Ah, if you got to know Him a little, prayer wouldn’t bore you anymore; to me it seems to be rest, relaxation. We come simply to the One we love, stay close to Him like a little child in the arms of its mother…It is the secret of the life in Carmel: the life of a Carmelite is a communion with God from morning to evening, and from evening to morning. If He did not fill our cells and our cloisters, ah, how empty they would be…”–Letters from Carmel, The Complete Works- Vol 2, Elizabeth of the Trinity

January 11, 1903–Her Profession on the Feast of the Epiphany

During the novitiate Elizabeth went through a long period of profound interior suffering.

She will write the night before her profession:

“I have just seen Our Mother who revealed to me her uneasiness in seeing me make my vows in such a state of soul. Pray for your little one who is full of anguish.“ –Elizabeth Still Speaks

July 1, 1903–First symptoms of Addisons’ Disease: a Rare Adrenal Gland Illness

“In the morning, after the recitation of the Little Hours, I already felt at the end of my strength and wondered how I would last until evening; after Compline my cowardice was extreme…after Matins I was as powerless as before and without being perceived, thanks to the darkness, I got back to our cell somehow or other, often leaning on the wall.” –Elizabeth Still Speaks

January 25, 1904–The Influence of Saint Paul…Her calling to be Laudem Gloriae…‘A Praise of Glory’

March, 1906–Moved to the Infirmary

The community found her disposed to offer everything for the church.

“O love! Love! You know how much I love You, how much I desire to contemplate You’ You know too how much I am suffering, nevertheless, thirty or forty years more if You wish it, I am ready. Spend all my substance for Your glory, let it distil drop by drop for Your Church.” –Poem Circular Letter of Mother Germaine Prioress

September, 1906–The Greatness of Our Vocation

A Spiritual Treatise sent to Francoise de Sourdon

“ I seem to feel myself being destroyed…faith tells me that it is love who is slowly consuming me; then I feel tremendous joy…” –The Complete Works- Vol. 1 Elizabeth of the Trinity

October 28, 1906–Her Mission

”In heaven it will be my task to attract souls by helping them to depart from themselves so they can cling to God in a completely simple and loving movement, to keep them in a great inner silence that permits God to impress Himself on them and to change them into Himself.” –Light, Love, Life

November 90, 1906–Death

She “longed to die as pure as angel but also transformed into Christ Crucified.”

Her last words:
“I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!”

–Circular Letter of Mother Germaine Prioress

1984–Her Beatification by John Paul ll, On the Feast of Christ the King

In his homily at the beatification, the Pope presented Elizabeth of the Trinity to the Church as one “who led a life ‘hidden with Christ in God’ (Col 3,3),” and as “a brilliant witness to the joy of being ‘rooted and grounded in love’ (Eph 3,17).”

There is a being who is love and who wants us to live in communion with Him.