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Blessed Elizabeth of the
Trinty
Blessed Elizabeth Catez was
born in France in July of 1880. After her father’s death in 1887, the family
moved to the second floor of a house that overlooked the Dijon Carmel. During
her first visit with the prioress of the Dijon Carmel, the prioress told her
that her name meant "house of God". This deeply affected Elizabeth. As her
spirituality deepened, she grew in awareness of the presence of God within her.
She accepted her mother's wishes to wait until she was twenty-one before she
entered the Carmelites. She died in 1906.
In her brief twenty-six years,
Elizabeth encapsulated the Carmelite attributes of reflective prayer, living in
the present moment, loving God wholeheartedly and serving others with
simplicity. Her life can be a witness for each one of us. With the help of
grace, we, too, can live in intimacy with God and in service to others. Isn’t
this connected to our baptismal call?
She envisioned each incident and
circumstance of life as a sacrament, which brought God to an individual and
assisted an individual to become more aware of God's indwelling presence. "Every
happening, every event, every suffering as also every joy, is a sacrament that
gives God to the soul," she tells us
Elizabeth had an
intense love for scripture. As she prayerfully and reflectively read the gospel,
she grew in God's love. She did not preach the gospel with words; she lived it
with her life. Elizabeth encourages us to live
our Christian vocation to the full, by living every aspect of our day generously
and with ardor. She challenges us to plunge deeper into our spiritual life, thus
broadening our understanding of other aspects of our lives and the workings of
the mysteries of God therein.
Blessed Elizabeth Weblinks
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