Elizabeth Of The Trinity On Silence


 I have always been drawn to the Carmelite saints and Carmelite spirituality. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity's writings have spoken volumes to me. She wrote much about the importance of silence; not so much exterior silence, but interior silence.
This brief excerpt from her speaks of going to that place within to be with God in interior silence, even in the busyness of our everyday lives.
The world in which we live is full of noise and activity. Let us look to Elizabeth as an example of how to be still and know that God is God. Let us, as Mary of Bethany, choose the better part, even in the course of our busy and often hectic lives.

*You can read more from Bl. Elizabeth here.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, pray for us!

You must build a little cell within your soul as I do," she wrote to a friend. Remember that God is there and enter it from time to time; when you feel nervous or you're 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 any more; to me it seems to be rest, relaxation. We come quite simply to the One we love, stay close to Him like a little child in the arms of its mother, and we let our heart go.

 

Comments

Unknown said…
Thanks Colleen. Glad you liked the quotes.
Hugs &Prayers back :)
Mary N. said…
I like the quote about "letting our heart go". A simply worded but beautiful quote! Sometimes I get confused when reading some of the more difficult stuff saints write. Like St. Thomas Aquinas. Good stuff but I need someone to translate some of it.
Karinann,

You have this great gift of researching obscure Saints (sorry Blessed Elizabeth ... didn't mean to insult you ... I'll re-phrase!).

Karinann you have this gift of researching facts about various Saints, some not so well know (by me at least) and to present them to us in a lovely easy to read way for simple minds like mine to understand.

Have you ever thought of writing a book? "Karinann's Saints" ... There, I got the title for you. Now over to you.

God bless you Karinann, and thanx.
Unknown said…
Victor,
Perhaps God has given me that gift because He knows I need it simple as well. The saints (most of them anyway) were simple people who led ordinary lives as we do, so why complicate things. As for a book- never really thought about it, but maybe you are on to something~stay tuned and we'll see where God takes this idea you've given me.

Mary, I agree-saints like Aquinas and even Augustine at times can make my head spin- I need them watered down. There writings and teachings are so wonderfully deep though, I still try to take a crack at them.

Thank you both for you thoughts on this one. God bless!
Judy Dudich said…
Not sure if I ever told you; but God told me to read up on Elizabeth once.
I was on retreat and had some specific struggles in my heart...I wanted to truly listen for God's voice in silence of the weekend...I surrendered all to Him and went to the library run by the Sisters with whom we were staying, looking for just the right book...asking God to lead me to it...I must have spent an hour and NOTHING...NOTHING was reaching out to me on the shelves...I decided to leave. When I gathered with the others for our retreat master's talk (He was a priest from India) he set two books on the table before us and said, "By God's command, you are to read nothing else except Blessed Elizabeth of the Holy Trinity this weekend"

I mean...WOW!!!!!! My brother, who was also on this retreat...went back to his room and put all of his books back in his suitcase!

Anyway, that's how Elizabeth and I were introduced...and I love her!
Unknown said…
Judy,
That was quite an introduction you had to Elizabeth! Sometimes we need those "shouts" from God.
Thanks for sharing your story of how you met this saint.
Hugs & Blessings!