She died on November 9 1906, at the age of 26 of Addisons disease, for which at the time there was no cure. Pope John Paul II beatified her on November 25 1984.
Elizabeth is best known for her Trinitarian Prayer which she composed on the night of September 21 1904. On that day, the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, the nuns of Dijon renewed their vows as they did every year.
The Prayer not only sums up her experience and life in God, but is also a map of the spiritual journey of all of us.
"O my God, Trinity whom I adore; help me to forget myself entirely that I may be established in You as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One, but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your mystery. Give peace to my soul; make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling and Your resting place. May I never leave You there alone but be wholly present, my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring, and wholly surrendered to Your creative Action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I wish to be a bride for Your Heart; I wish to cover You with glory; I wish to love You...even unto death! But I feel my weakness, and I ask You to "clothe me with Yourself," to identify my soul with all the movements of Your Soul, to overwhelm me, to possess me, to substitute yourself for me that my life may be but a radiance of Your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Restorer, as Savior.
O Eternal Word, Utterance of my God, I want to spend my life in listening to You, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from You. Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplessness, I want to gaze on You always and remain in Your great light. O my beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may not withdraw from Your radiance.
O consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, "come upon me," and create in my soul a kind of incarnation of the Word: that I may be another humanity for Him in which He can renew His whole Mystery. And You, O Father, bend lovingly over Your poor little creature; "cover her with Your shadow," seeing in her only the "Beloved in whom 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. Bury Yourself in me that I may bury myself in You until I depart to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your greatness. Amen."
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, pray for us that we too may come to experience the presence of the Most Holy Trinity within us, and that we may come to love God with all our hearts, and minds, and souls.
Elizabeth of the Trinity is patron saint of the sick and of those who lose their parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment