Quote of the day, 22 November: Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

On December 28, for the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the novitiate staged a play for the community: the martyrdom of Saint Cecilia. (At the time, the Church in France was enduring a period of harsh persecution…) For the performance, they needed “heavenly melodies.” But—

“We have no instrument,” one of the nuns said.

So the gifted musician thought up a clever solution and wrote to her dear little Framboise (Françoise de Sourdon, by then 18 years old):

“I would be very grateful to you if you could lend me your little Swiss music box; I think it would do perfectly” (Letter 251).

Dear Elizabeth… always content.

Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

Rien Moins Que Dieu, Chap. 28

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 1984, Je te cherche dès l’aurore : évocation d’un visage et d’un coeur, produced by C. de Meester and the Carmel of Dijon, Carmel de Dijon, Flavignerot.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Meester, Conrad de 2017, Rien moins que Dieu : sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Profession photo 63 from the photo album Je te cherche dès l’aurore published by the Carmel of Dijon. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#conradDeMeester #holyInnocents #piousRecreation #saintCecilia #stElizabethOfTheTrinity

Quote of the day, 20 October: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Your Kalougas are excellent, that is a nice little change for me, for now, I have continual nausea; I am losing my sense of smell a little… I’m sorry about all these sweets for my wretched palate* which doesn’t even taste them anymore…

There is a Being who is Love and who wishes us to live in communion with Him (cf. 1 Jn 1:3). Oh, Mama, it is delightful, for He is there keeping me company, helping me to suffer, urging me to go beyond my suffering to rest in Him; do as I do, you will see how that transforms everything.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

Letter 327 to her mother
Around 20 October 1906

Note: Biographer and editor Father Conrad de Meester, O.C.D., offers the following insights concerning Elizabeth’s remark about her “wretched palate”:

After having recounted the [rite of clothing of the new novice on] October 22, Madame Catez testifies:

“Her tongue and her palate were on fire, speaking was excruciating for her, but she still addressed affectionate words to friends, [who were weeping when they left her]…” (Récit Biographique, 2). “At this time (October 22), a great interior inflammation increased her sufferings even more; she was literally burning to death and could speak only with difficulty, but the greatest joy shone on her face.”

And a priest who took her Communion “three weeks before her death”: “Even though I had been warned, when I saw that tongue, red as fire, I was so affected that my hand trembled” (Souvenirs, 241).

That condition kept on getting worse: “Toward the end of October, her stomach, which was nearly consumed, would accept only a few pieces of barley sugar; after All Saints’ Day, it was a complete fast; Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity could not even take a drop of water without experiencing acute pains; her mouth, already on fire for three weeks, continued to dry up. The scorching thirst, the torment of which we could not relieve, was particularly painful for her” (Souvenirs, 249–50).

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This last photo was taken of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity in mid-October, 1906, shortly before she died in the Carmel of Dijon, France. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission).

#adrenalInsufficiency #ConradDeMeester #dying #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #suffering

Quote of the day, 30 September: Conrad de Meester, ocd

“In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands.”

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Prayer 6

Empty hands, yes… but hands open to God. “When I appear before my Beloved Spouse, I shall have only my desires to offer him” (Letter 218 to Brother Simeon).

Thérèse’s last breath came with her last words: ‘My God, I love you.’

This was the supreme moment. Now she was to meet the Lord face-to-face. Now love had taken full possession of her being.

This was love as deep as the ocean and more radiant than the sun. This was life and joy immeasurable: unending life with Mary and with all the saints in Heaven; eternal life with God who is all in all.

Hope had finally done its work.

Conrad de Meester, o.c.d.

Chapter 8, My God, I Love You

Note: Saint Thérèse died shortly after 7:00 p.m. on the evening of 30 September 1897.

de Meester, C 2002, With Empty Hands: The Message of St. Therese of Lisieux, translated from the French by Seymour, M, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Detail from Photo 9: Saint Thérèse of Lisieux with her sisters and Mother Marie de Gonzague in the Court of Lourdes at Carmel, photographed by Céline on 20 November 1894. This photograph served as the model for Céline’s famous oval portrait of Thérèse. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (By permission).

#ConradDeMeester #death #hope #love #StThereseOfLisieux

Quote of the day, 28 June: St. Thérèse

“On the mountain of Carmel a soul is praying unceasingly to the divine Prisoner of Love for the success of your glorious conquest.”

St. Thérèse of Lisieux to Abbé Adolphe Roulland
LT 189, 23 June 1896

Five days after Thérèse expressed her unworthiness to support this missionary brother, the story continued.

On 28 June 1896, Abbé Roulland was ordained to the priesthood and learned of his assignment to China’s Sichuan province.

The new priest came to celebrate one of his first Masses at the Lisieux Carmel on 3 July. His sister gave him an altar pall which she had painted for him. They spoke together in the parlour. The missionary was soon to set sail for China and join the eastern Su-Chuen [Sichuan] province. In the place where she worked Thérèse pinned up a map of the region to follow her new brother’s journey. — Bishop Guy Gaucher, OCD, The Story of a Life, chap. 10

Remarkably, Bishop Gaucher himself died on 3 July 2014, exactly 118 years to the day after this pivotal meeting between Thérèse and Fr. Roulland.

Three weeks later, writing from Paris before his departure, Fr. Roulland captured the essence of their spiritual partnership:

I am leaving with the intention of not having more self-will in the hands of my bishop than a corpse would have; I leave happy because I know our apostolate, that is, yours and mine, will be blessed by God. On the mountain of Carmel, a soul will be praying for the success of the weapons of him who will be fighting in the field. Each day, at the Holy Sacrifice, I will pronounce the name of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. If as you hope you go to heaven before me, I will continue to pray for you. I will say: “I offer this Sacrifice for the repose of the soul of my sister in Jesus,” begging the Blessed Virgin to do what she wills with the merits you will no longer need. — Fr. Adolphe Roulland to St. Thérèse LC 165, 23 July 1896

A photograph taken after their 3 July encounter preserves this moment:

Thérèse in the cloister, at the age of twenty-three and a half. She holds in her hand, like a program, a scroll with the words of her patron and spiritual mother Saint Teresa of Jesus: ‘I would give a thousand lives to save one soul.’ Her right hand rests on the book that was given to her by her spiritual brother Father Adolphe Roulland, La mission de Su-Tchuen au XVIIIe siècle. Vie et apostolat de Mgr Pottier, Téqui 1892, written by L. Guiot. — Conrad de Meester, OCD Teresa di Lisieux: Vita, Dottrina, Ambiente, Plate 170

De Meester, C & Salvatico, G 1996, Teresa di Lisieux: Vita, Dottrina, Ambiente, San Paolo & Il Messaggero del S. Bambino Gesù di Praga, Cinisello Balsamo & Arenzano.

Gaucher, G 1993, The story of a life: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco, CA.

Thérèse of Lisieux, S & Clarke, J 1988, General Correspondence: Letters of Saint Therese of Lisieux: Volume 2 1890-1897. Centenary ed., Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington DC.

Translation from the Italian text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Have you ever made a commitment to pray for a specific missionary or intention, keeping a photograph or image nearby as a reminder of your promise?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#AdolpheRoulland #BishopGuyGaucher #China #ConradDeMeester #StThereseOfLisieux

Quote of the day, 11 January: Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

Profession of
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
Sunday, 11 January 1903

“My Mother, here is the Bridegroom!” (L 155).

After the 8 o’clock Mass, the community, in their white mantles and a large candle in their hands, go up the grand staircase to the chapter room, singing the O gloriosa Virginum (“O glorious Virgin”) to Mary. As a small cell of the Church, the community experiences the profession as a great moment of universal significance, an offering for the universal Church. United in intimacy, it’s also the family that’s going to grow. At the end of the procession, the prioress leads the novice by the hand. 

The account of Sister Mary of the Trinity, plainly taken up again in the Memoirs (S 107), introduces us to this supreme act:

“Her profession was still made entirely in faith, but already in peace since her visit with the priest. She tells us that she was taken up by the idea of sacrifice and immolation alone. Especially as she climbed the steps, going up to the chapter room, she was strongly taken, seized by this thought and then told us that she had found her whole state of mind in the day’s reading: ‘Offer your bodies to God as pure, holy and pleasing hosts to God’” (cf. Rom 12:1).

Climbing the stairs reminds Elizabeth of the symbol of the mountain, whether it be Tabor or Calvary—like Abraham going up to the top of the mountain indicated by Yahweh to sacrifice his son Isaac (cf. Gen 22:1-19), like Jesus Christ on his way to the Cross. Each stair-step is a decisive movement towards total self-giving to God, prayer, and sacrifice for the Church.

Upon arriving in the chapter room, the Prioress sits on the left side of the altar. Elizabeth kneels before her. Mother Germaine asks her the same questions as on the day she took the habit. The same answers resound—standard, formulated answers—but with great density, essential expressions of what one is seeking. After Elisabeth has thus sought “the mercy of God, the poverty of the Order and the company of her sisters,” the Prioress reminds her of the demands of the narrow path she is following forever.

Then, with her hands joined in those of the Prioress, Mother Germaine of Jesus, Elizabeth Catez repeated the formula of her profession three times: “I, Sister Mary Elizabeth of the Trinity, make my profession, and I promise chastity, poverty and obedience to God, Our Lord, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” in obedience to the superiors “according to the primitive, unmitigated Rule of the Order of Mount Carmel until death.”

Translator’s Note—In English-speaking Discalced Carmelite monasteries, the formula was:  I, Sister N. of N., make my solemn profession and I promise obedience, chastity, and poverty to God, to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, and to you, Rev. Mother Prioress, and to your successors, according to the primitive Rule of the Discalced Carmelites and our Constitutions, until death.

In this very sparse setting, the words resonate…

After the prayers offered by the Prioress, as on the day she took the habit, the newly professed is clothed in her Marian scapular and white mantle to symbolize the new life received from the Risen One. Now she lies on the floor in the form of a cross on the wool carpet decorated with flowers while the community sings the Te Deum. After she has been sprinkled with holy water, a reminder of the water of Baptism, Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity rises, kneels before the Prioress, kisses her hand, embraces her, and goes to kiss all the sisters as they sing Psalm 133, Ecce quam bonum: See how good it will be to live together as true sisters.

She receives her profession crucifix, on the back of which she has had St. Paul’s words engraved in Latin: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). She also receives her copy of the Constitutions of the Order and the Prioress places a crown of flowers on her head, which she wears all day long, she who is Christ’s bride.

During the day’s prayers, she is the one who presides. At meals and evening recreation, she sits between the Prioress and the Sub-Prioress, her place in the refectory being adorned with flowers. The community has “license” today to visit each other, but the newly professed remains in silence, in a prayer of gratitude and love, until the joyful and emotional gathering during the evening recreation.

After Compline, the Prioress removes the crown from Elizabeth who will place it in front of the statue of Our Lady of Grace in the cloister, the Queen of Heaven, of whom she wants to remain more than ever the daughter, the mystical Spouse of Jesus.

Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

Rien Moins Que Dieu: Sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité
Chap. 22: Chaque jour ma vie d’épouse (excerpt)

Note: We invite our readers to explore the official website of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Although the website has not yet been completely translated to in English, the most important information has been translated for English visitors.

https://youtu.be/XHFggZzlUGw

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 1984, Je te cherche dès l’aurore : évocation d’un visage et d’un coeur, produced by C. de Meester and the Carmel of Dijon, Carmel de Dijon, Flavignerot.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S, de Meester, C, Lonchampt, J, 1980, Oeuvres Complètes, Les Editions du Cerf, Paris.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Profession photo 63 from the photo album Je te cherche dès l’aurore published by the Carmel of Dijon. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#biography #ConradDeMeester #GregorianChant #history #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity: Wholly Adoring, Wholly Surrendered

Her prayer to the Trinity was not only a pious elevation, but the expression of a gift of herself to God. We had prepared together for this renewal of our vows on 21 November 1904; when I asked her about it on the next day, she replied that she had received a great grace that was difficult for her to express.

Sister Marie of the Trinity, O.C.D.
Witness, Ordinary Process

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s famous prayer, O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, was discovered only after her death. Found among her private papers, the prayer was handwritten on a page torn from her personal notebook and dated November 21, 1904—a day that was deeply significant in her spiritual journey.

The day marked the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a celebration in Carmel where the sisters renewed their religious vows before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Elizabeth, the youngest of the community, fully embraced this annual act of consecration, offering herself entirely to “her Three,” as she lovingly called the Holy Trinity. This prayer, born in the silence of her cloister and from the depths of her heart, was not shared during her lifetime. Her companions only discovered it after her passing, tucked away in her writing desk.

According to her fellow Carmelite, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, the prayer was not just a spiritual meditation but an act of total self-giving. St. Elizabeth later confided that the day she composed it was one of profound grace, though she found it difficult to describe the experience in words. Her offering echoes the great spiritual traditions of the Church, drawing comparisons with St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love and St. Catherine of Siena’s prayer to the Eternal Trinity.

Yet, Elizabeth’s voice is uniquely her own, expressing her desire to be a “heaven” for God, a place where the Trinity could dwell and be adored without distraction. This prayer, considered one of the most beautiful expressions of Trinitarian spirituality, invites us to surrender ourselves entirely to God. In its profound simplicity, it captures the heart of St. Elizabeth’s message: to live continually in God’s presence, wholly adoring, wholly surrendered, and wholly at peace.

To reflect more deeply on this prayer and the life of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, listen to our podcast episode embedded below. Let her words inspire you to invite God to make your soul His dwelling place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvMvLpH6fo

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: A detail from one of four photos taken by her brother-in-law Georges Chevignard on 22 December 1902, the day of her canonical examination; the exam took place days before her religious profession on Epiphany Sunday, 11 January 1903. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#CarmelOfDijon #ConradDeMeester #monasticLife #Podcast #PrayerToTheHolyTrinity #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #Trinitarian

St. Thérèse was clothed in the Discalced Carmelite habit in the Carmel of Lisieux #onthisday in 1889. Visit our blog and read her reflection on the Carmelite vocation and a brief commentary by Conrad de Meester, OCD

🌹 http://carmelitequotes.blog

#StThereseOfLisieux #vocation #investiture #clothing #Carmelite #habit #novice #novitiate #monastery #Lisieux #Catholic #quotes #ConradDeMeester #DiscalcedCarmelites