Thursday, November 10, 2011

The First Time I Met Her

It was August 1984. I just began to be acquainted with the Sisters in a Carmelite Monastery and was cleaning the chapel that afternoon. I noticed a bulletin board at the vestibule of the Chapel with a newspaper clipping tacked to it. The article was about a Carmelite nun who was to be beatified by Pope John Paul II in November of that year. I noticed a black and white photo of a young lady seated at the piano seemingly looking straight at me. She had a penetrating gaze and long beautiful black hair.

From that moment onward, I was curious to know more about Elizabeth of the Trinity. When I entered Carmel, I saw more of her pictures in the cloister and heard more of her life and works. She became one of my favorite Carmelite Saints. I identify with her longings, struggles and her love of Carmel. I also love to meditate on her words about silence, solitude, love of God and the perpetual struggle of acquiring humility. I'm glad to know her and to continue learning about the spiritual life from her. Her name "Elizabeth" means "House of God." An appropriate name for someone who made the mystery of the Trinity her mission in heaven and earth.

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