BTP-L7 – Letter 169 pt. 2 – The Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Letter 169, Part Two – The Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor continue the discussion on a letter by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity dated July 15, 1903. The letter reflects Elizabeth’s deep spiritual joy and sense of fulfillment in her vocation as a Carmelite nun. She expresses her profound connection with God, the joy of living by the Carmelite rule, and the intimacy of her prayer life. Elizabeth writes about her desire to love God intensely and her understanding that her heaven has begun on earth through her faith and suffering for Christ. She conveys how prayer and a heart-to-heart relationship with God bring her immense happiness and fulfillment.

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor highlight key themes from Elizabeth’s letter,: the importance of trusting God’s plan for one’s vocation, whether it be religious life, marriage, or another path. Elizabeth’s life and writings can inspire individuals to embrace their own vocations with faith and love, trusting that God has a purpose for every experience and hardship; and the universal call to holiness and the joy that comes from a deep, prayerful relationship with God, which Elizabeth exemplifies.

The true fulfillment of one’s vocation involves a continuous act of trust and self-gift to God. No matter the state of life, each person can become a “prey of love” and find deep satisfaction in living out their unique call from God. Elizabeth’s joy, born out of her contemplative prayer and love for God, serves as a powerful witness to the transformative power of a life devoted to God.

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Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

1. Trusting in God’s Plan for Your Vocation How can you deepen your trust in God’s plan for your vocation, especially during times of doubt or difficulty?
2. Embracing Your Unique Call In what ways can you fully embrace and live out your unique call from God, whether it be in religious life, marriage, or another vocation?
3. Finding Joy in Prayer How can you cultivate a heart-to-heart prayer life with God that brings you deep joy and fulfillment?
4. Surrendering to God’s Will What steps can you take to surrender more fully to God’s will in your daily life, following the example of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity?
5. Supporting Others in Their Vocations How can you support and encourage others in discerning and living out their vocations?
6. Overcoming Spiritual Dryness What practices can help you persevere in prayer during times of spiritual dryness and aridity?
7. Recognizing the Presence of God How can you become more aware of God’s loving presence in your daily life and let this awareness guide your actions and decisions?
8. Joyful Witness to Christ In what ways can you share the joy of your relationship with Christ with others, becoming a source of living water for those around you?
9. Understanding the Church’s Heart How can you better appreciate and contribute to the Church as a mystery of love, beyond its organizational aspects?
10. Developing a Simple Relationship with God What can you do to simplify your relationship with God and approach Him with the trust and simplicity of a child?

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Letter 169

To Canon Angles
[ July 15, 1903]
Dijon Carmel,

J. M. + J. T.

“Monsieur le Chanoine,

My dear Mama, whom I saw last week, brought me your good letter, and I assure you that I can indeed sympathize with the suffering your eyes are causing you, and I am praying fervently for you. I was wondering a little what had become of you, but you find your little Carmelite close to God, don’t you? And that is where she finds you too; then no more distance, no more separation, but already, as in Heaven, the fusion of hearts and souls! . . . How many things have happened since my last letter! I heard the Church say “Veni sponsa Christi” [Come, bride of Christ]; she consecrated me, and now all is “consummated.” Rather, everything is beginning, for profession is only a dawn; and each day my “life as a bride”3 seems to me more beautiful, more luminous, more enveloped in peace and love. During the night that preceded the great day, while I was in choir awaiting the Bridegroom, I understood that my Heaven was beginning on earth; Heaven in faith, with suffering and immolation for Him whom I love! . . . I so wish to love Him, to love Him as my seraphic Mother did, even to dying of it. We sing “O charitatis Victima” on her feast day, and that is my whole ambition: to be the prey of love! I think that in Carmel it is so simple to live by love; from morning to evening the Rule is there to express the will of God, moment by moment. If you knew how I love this Rule, which is the way He wants me to become holy. I do not know if I will have the happiness of giving my Bridegroom the witness of my blood [by martyrdom], but at least, if I fully live my Carmelite life, I have the consolation of wearing myself out for Him, for Him alone. Then what difference does the work He wills for me make? Since He is always with me, prayer, the heart-to-heart, must never end! I feel Him so alive in my soul. I have only to recollect myself to find Him within me, and that is my whole happiness. He has placed in my heart a thirst for the infinite and such a great need for love that He alone can satisfy it. I go to Him like a little child to its mother so He may fill, invade, everything, and then take me and carry me away in His arms. I think we must be so simple with God!

I am longing to send you my good Mama; you will see how God is working in this beloved soul. Sometimes I cry for happiness and gratitude; it is so good to be devoted to your mother, to feel that she, too, is completely His, to be able to tell her about your soul and to be completely understood! . . . You really are the great attraction of the trip, I assure you; I love to remember those vacations at Saint-Hilaire, then at Carcassonne and Labastide, they were the best ones I had. With what fatherly goodness you received the confidences I so loved to make to you; I would be happy if one day they could be made once again through my dear grilles. Won’t you come to bless your little Carmelite and, quite close to her, thank Him who “has loved her exceedingly,” for, you see, my happiness can no longer be expressed. Listen to what is being sung in my soul and all that is rising from the heart of the bride to the Heart of the Bridegroom for you whose little child she will always be. Send her your best blessing; at Holy Mass, bathe her in the Blood of the Bridegroom; it is the purity of the bride, and she is so thirsting for it! A Dieu, monsieur le Chanoine, affectionately and respectfully yours,

Sr. Elizabeth of the Trinity r.c.i.”

Catez, Elizabeth of the Trinity. The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel (pp. 110-111). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.

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We would like to thank Miriam Gutierrez for providing “the voice” of St. Elizabeth for this series

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles

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Anthony Lilles, S.T.D., has served the Church and assisted in the formation of clergy and seminarians since 1994. Before coming to St. Patrick’s, he served at seminaries and houses of formation in the Archdiocese of Denver and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The son of a California farmer, married with young adult children, holds a B.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville with both the ecclesiastical licentiate and doctorate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the Angelicum). An expert in the writings of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and the Carmelite Doctors of the Church, he co-founded the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation and the High Calling Program for priestly vocations. He also founded the John Paul II Center for Contemplative Culture, which hosts symposiums, retreats, and conferences. In addition to his publications, he blogs at www.beginningtopray.com .

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