On a beautiful Thursday morning in Middletown, NY at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Fr. Raymond Maher, O.Carm. delivered to a group of spiritually hungry shrine-visitors a thought-provoking presentation on St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, whose life and teaching, he concluded, is an invitation to live as a "praise of glory" to God.
“praise of glory”
Some people tend to compare St. Elizabeth with her contemporary, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, given their similarities: both were young French Carmelite nuns who died early, both faced serious illnesses, and both left powerful spiritual writings. In fact, the theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote about them in his book "Sisters in the Spirit." However, Elizabeth left a distinctive mark on the spirituality of the Order through her experience of the interior journey. From his research, Fr. Raymond discovered that St. Elizabeth used the term “praise of glory” to describe the Christian vocation. She thus invites every baptized person live this vocation, not only through contemplation but also through acts of charity and service.
The presentation offered a detailed glimpse into her early life, which was marked by both musical talent and personal trauma—her father's death in particular when she was only seven years old acutely affected her. Elizabeth's devotion to God blossomed through challenges and family responsibilities. Fr. Raymond told the audience that “Elizabeth’s life was shaped by a ‘cross’ formed by her love for both God and her mother. Her path was one of balancing these two ‘lives,’ a challenging task requiring her to constantly choose between her dedication to God and the love for her family —a heavy cross she bore.”
seeing suffering as a ‘sacrament’ that unites the soul with Him
Another remarkable aspect of Elizabeth’s spirituality was that it is intensely rooted in an interior vision of the Trinity. Drawing inspiration from St. Paul, especially his letters to the Romans, Elizabeth saw every baptized person as predestined to reflect God’s glory through being “conformed to the image of his Son.” In addition, she described the interior journey as a descent into the “interior abyss” of the soul, echoing the Flemish mystic Jan van Russbroeck, where one encounters God most fully. “Rather than an ascent like the teaching of St. John of the Cross, her journey was one of entering deeper into God’s love within herself, seeing suffering as a ‘sacrament’ that unites the soul with Him,” Fr. Raymond recounted.
Elizabeth of the Trinity wrote extensively to laypeople, providing them with spiritual guidance. Fr. Raymond pointed out that upon her death, her community began collecting her letters, totaling around 360 from her five years in the convent, “even though nuns, at the time, typically weren’t permitted to write that much. It seems her prioress, Mother Germaine, relaxed this rule,” Fr. Raymond cleverly remarked. About two-thirds of her letters were written to laypeople, mostly women. In her correspondent, Elizabeth emphasized the inward journey to find that “The kingdom of God is within you” (Lk 17:21). She emphasỉzed a deep, interior union with God, urging souls to focus inward to encounter Him. The core of her advice can be distilled to “The more intense love is, the more deeply the soul enters into God, and the more it is centered in Him.”
She prayed to be unconcerned for the “self” so that she can be fully attentive to God’s will and unencumbered by earthly distractions.
More was spoken of Elizabeth’s understanding on intimacy with the Trinitarian God, faith, simplicity and predestination. And the talk concluded with an exploration of Elizabeth’s famous prayer, which begins “O My God, Trinity Whom I Adore.” This prayer expresses her ultimate desire to become “a praise of glory” to God. Through this prayer, she asked to be transformed into God’s “heaven,” a sanctuary for His presence. She prayed to be unconcerned for the “self” so that she can be fully attentive to God’s will and unencumbered by earthly distractions.
Fr. Raymond’s presentation illuminated St. Elizabeth's compelling message: that every baptized soul is called to become a vessel of God’s love radiating His glory. As an aspiring student of the Carmelite spirituality, I felt inspired by the speaker's reverent portrayal of the saint’s life and teaching. To those who feel drawn to a deeper understanding of the Trinitarian love, St. Elizabeth offers a profoundly beautiful point of contact. Through Fr. Raymond’s words, her call to become “a praise of glory” echoed, resonating as a timeless invitation to live in humble, continual adoration of the Triune God.
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