"MAY I BE WHOLLY PURE, WHOLLY TRANSPARENT, SO THAT THE TRINITY CAN BE REFLECTED IN ME AS IN A CRYSTAL."
(SAINT ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY)
(THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM: "A SPACIOUS PLACE: A 16 DAY RETREAT WITH ST ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY," Anna Rae-Kelly OCDS)
Day Three
"TO CONTEMPLATE HIMSELF IN HIS CREATURE AND SEE REFLECTED THERE ALL HIS PERFECTIONS." (SAINT ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY)
On November 8th, we celebrate the Feast Day of St Elizabeth of the Trinity. We sit together with her in a prayer time of silent awe, meditating on the spiritual depths of God which her words probe.
In these words, it is Spirit Lord alone who may open our minds to understand that St Elizabeth is revealing the astonishing humility of Father God, Jesus Savior, Spirit Lord, our Triune God.
He longs to pour Himself, like an ocean-sized waterfall of love, into every soul.
Questions to ponder...
1) What aspects of God do I reflect in my spiritual desires, my spiritual thoughts and words, my obedience, my sorrows, my physical pain, my loneliness, my 'mundane' daily actions?
If the Beloved Three are Present in every action / second of our lives, can anything we do ever be "mundane"?
2a) In my prayer life, do I seek a relationship with the Divine which would "lift you above the high places of earth"? (Ibid)
OR
2b) Do I use a light dimmer switch to limit God's brightness from flooding into my soul?
What limiting measures do I use? (My time? Do I silence His beckoning to prayer? Fatigue? Company?)
What causes me to silence the sound of God's Voice in my soul?
2c) What spiritual deprivation do I bring about in doing (b) ?
"O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself completely and to establish myself in you, as still and at peace as if my soul were already in eternity. Let nothing disturb my peace nor draw me away from you, O my unchangeable One, but let every minute carry me further into the depths of your mystery!
Give peace to my soul; make it your heaven, your beloved abode, and the place of your rest. Let me never leave you there alone; but keep me there totally present, completely vigilant in my faith, totally in adoration and wholly surrendered to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, I want to be the spouse of your heart. I long to cover you with glory, to love you... until I should die of love… Yet I feel helpless. I ask you to clothe me with yourself, to identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, to submerge me, to fill me, to substitute yourself for me, so that my life may be only a radiance of your life. Enter me as Adorer, as Redeemer, and as Savior.
O Eternal Word, utterance of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, I want to become totally teachable so that I might learn everything from you. Through all darkness, all emptiness, and all helplessness, I want to be centered on you always and remain in your great light; O my beloved Star, make me so captivated that I no longer move away from your radiance.
O consuming Fire, Spirit of love, let it be done that an incarnation of the Word may occur again in my soul. May I be for him another humanity in whom he may renew his whole mystery. And you, O Father, incline yourself toward your little creature, see 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 so that I may bury myself in you, until I go to contemplate in your light the abyss of your grandeur."