Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

Elizabeth Catez was born on July 18th 1880, her family on both sides had military backgrounds, being that her father at her time of birth was serving in the French Military and her mother's family had also served in the military. So Elizabeth was raised in an atmosphere of service, duty, honour, courage and integrity, which suited her robust nature. For one could never describe the infant Elizabeth as a placid child, she was more of a holy terror than an angel.

Elizabeth would be quite the handful for her mother, Marie, who tried her best to instill all the virtues of meekness, humility and obedience. All these qualities did not come easy to the infant Elizabeth, much to her mothers embarrassment! For Elizabeth was born with an iron will and an exuberant nature, which could also be volatile. When she felt thwarted in anyway, she would often burst out in fits of rage. Elizabeth was indeed a handful for her mother to raise.

But Elizabeth was also raised in a devout Catholic family, and in a contradiction contrary to her nature, she came to embrace prayer, which helped to temper her more erratic emotional tantrums. This allowed her Mother a rest from having to deal with her very strong willed child.

The years 1883 to 1887 were to be marked with great joy and also great sorrow, for in 1883 Marie gave birth to her second daughter whom the parents named Marguerite. She was to become a beloved sister to the temperamental Elizabeth. But the family were also to be marked with tragedies when in January 1887 Elizabeth’s Maternal Grandfather died, which was soon followed by the death of her beloved Papa Joseph, in October of the same year, from a heart attack at the young age of only fifty five years.

Accordingly Marie Catez was distraught at having lost both her Father and husband, whilst being left to raise two daughters on her own. Marie, due to some financial difficulties, then moved from their loved home into an apartment in Dijon, not far from the Carmelite Convent which was close in proximity, and was to later play an important part in all their lives.

Due to the deaths of her beloved Grandfather and Papa, Elizabeth temper tantrums grew worse, leaving her Mother at her wits end as to how to cope with this most rumbustious child. So Marie turned to their Faith for help and it was during the preparation for Elizabeth’s first Communion, that a change was to occur within the inner life of this most exceptional child, which was Elizabeth.

It was upon experiencing the Sacrament of Penance which drove home to Elizabeth the importance of self control, and also a longing to please God. It was then that Elizabeth started to strive to do better, though it would take still more years before she fully conquered her volatile temper.

But it was in receiving her first Holy Communion that Elizabeth finally conquered her strong will and also that God touched this child with a deep and abiding love for the Triune Spirit, which was to change Elizabeth forever. Marie was at first delighted with the change that was occurring within her daughter, as the family of three were devoted to each other, and Elizabeth finally became the dutiful and loving daughter that Marie had prayed for, these many years.

But God was to touch Elizabeth’s heart in a way that her Mother did not welcome, for she loved both her daughters, Elizabeth and Marguerite with intensity due to having sole responsibility for raising them on her own. Marie was a devoted and also possessive Mother of her two devoted and loving daughters, therefore when Elizabeth first confided her longing to join Carmel at only 14 years of age her mother was very much opposed!

But the longing that was in Elizabeth’s heart could not be thwarted, and at the age of 19 Elizabeth once again approached her mother, and Marie with a very real sorrow agreed with her daughter that she could enter Carmel upon her 21st Birthday. During this intermediary time of waiting, Elizabeth read 'The Story of a Soul', the autobiography of Therese of Lisieux, which was to have a profound affect upon the young Elizabeth, who also wished to embrace this 'Little Way'.

During this time, God was also working within the soul of this extraordinary young girl with a profound love and desire for the Holy Trinity, and her awareness of the Presence of the Triune Spirit indwelling within Elizabeth. So though Elizabeth waited with great patience to enter her Beloved Carmel, she also took an active part in her local Catholic community alongside her beloved sister Marguerite, who helped instruct the poorer children their area.

But Elizabeth would not be thwarted again and so in the year 1901 she was to finally enter her beloved Convent of Carmel, upon which she was given the name Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity. During this time Sister Elizabeth was also to embrace the teachings of John of the Cross and she developed a love for the Letters of Paul, which echoed what she was feeling within the depth of her innermost being most especially this Scripture, when Paul expands on his love for Christ, "loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Sister Elizabeth’s love and also her crystal clear vision of the Holy Trinity would consume her soul and the touch of the Mystical entered her heart in a most profound and exceptional way, for she was to love the Holy Trinity with a passion reserved for the pure in heart. It was whilst she pondered the Letters of Paul that Sister Elizabeth developed the theme to her life, which was to live as a ' Praise of Glory' to her Beloved Spouse.

But even as Sister Elizabeth was growing in Holiness, the shadow of the 'dark night' would enter her soul, and cloud the vision of The Triune Spirit, from within her. But this did not deter Elizabeth who loved what she could not see nor glimpse, so while her soul was immersed in the abyss of complete darkness and aridity of soul, still Elizabeth chose love, not to seek consolation for herself but to console her Beloved and Divine Spouse.

But ill health was also to shadow Elizabeth’s joy and also her agony of finding herself in this impenetrable darkness, which engulfed her whole being and her very soul. Elizabeth loved God not for herself but because God is totally Lovable, she sought to give to God rather than to receive, for her heart was God's alone.

But the shadow of death did not elude Elizabeth for long and she as a loving spouse embraced her coming death as her dearest wish to be one united with her Beloved Triune Spirit for eternity. Elizabeth was diagnosed with Addison’s disease which ravaged this young girl’s body with a ferociousness that defies description; suffice to say her own 'passion' echoed that of her Divine Spouse. As her body withered under the onslaught of this dreaded illness, her suffering was immense.

Sister Elizabeth lived the meaning of her name 'house of God' as her body was ravaged and her spirit grew strong in Holiness, in the last hours of her life, her fellow sisters surrounded her bed, the last words Elizabeth uttered were..."I am going to Light, to Love, to Life." Elizabeth died on November 9, 1906.

Pope John Paul II beatified Elizabeth of the Trinity on November 25, 1984.

Quotes from Blessed Elizabeth

"The soul that wants to serve God day and night must be resolved to share fully in its Master's passion. It is one of the redeemed who in its turn must redeem other souls."

"All three persons dwell in the soul that loves them in truth."

"The contemplative is constantly covering the world with her co-redeeming prayer. This is what Our Lady did."

Peace of Christ to you ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

St Teresa of the Andes

Patronage: bodily ills, illness, sick people, sickness, young people in general

Before entering Carmel in 1918, a young eighteen year old Chilean girl, attracted by Christ, explained thus to her hurt and scandalized brother the reasons for her vocation: "There is, in the soul, an unquenchable thirst for happiness. I want to love something infinite, and I do not want the one I love to change or be a plaything of its passions, circumstances of time and life. Love, yes, but love the immutable Being, God, who has loved me infinitely from all eternity." The natural desire for happiness is of divine origin; God put it in man's heart in order to draw him to Himself who alone can fulfill it.

On March 21, 1993, at the canonization of Saint Teresa of the Andes, Pope John Paul II declared: "To a secularized society which lives with its back turned to God, I have the joy to present, as a model of the everlasting youth of the Gospel, this Chilean Carmelite. She brings to men of today the limpid witness of a life which proclaims that it is in the love, adoration and service of God that grandeur and joy, freedom and the full realization of the human creature are found. The life of Blessed Teresa cries out softly from the cloister: God alone suffices!"
Juana Fernandez Solar was born on July 13, 1900 in a well-to-do family of Santiago, Chile (Latin America). From her childhood she manifested an ardent personality, full of heart and intelligence and animated with a great desire for God.

In spite of these good dispositions, Juana did not lack defects. She was stubborn, vain and egoistic, given to pouting and whims. "I sometimes went into a ferocious rage," she would later say. With the help of her family (she had five brothers and sisters) and especially by the grace of her Baptism, she led a tough battle against her inclinations, especially against her hot and emotional temper, which was influenced by her fragile health. One day, her sister Rebecca was so taken away with Juana that she hit her with all her strength. Juana wanted to strike back with the same vigor but instead she kissed her. Victorious over her anger, Juana went meekly away.

Since then, my Jesus speaks to me. I did everything with Jesus and for Jesus."
On December 8, 1915, with the permission of her confessor, Juana consecrated herself to God by the vow of chastity. In 1916, Juana made her first retreat according to the method of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. After meditating on the "Call of Christ the King," she wrote: "Be disposed to follow Jesus wherever He wants. He chose poverty, humiliations, the cross. In spite of her trials and illnesses, Juana remained a joyful and friendly young girl.

Juana heard God's call: "How happy I am, my dear little sister!" she wrote Rebecca on April 15, 1916. "Each day I long to go to Carmel to be occupied with Jesus alone, to be merged into Him and no longer live but on His life: to love and suffer to save souls. Yes, I thirst for souls because I know that is what my Jesus loves most. The demands of conversion concern all the children of the Church. By the vow of poverty, they forsake the personal possession of earthly goods; by the vow of chastity, they renounce marriage; by the vow of obedience, they surrender legitimate autonomy in the direction of their life. This absolute love is a valuable example for all Christians.

In September 1917, Juana wrote to the Prioress of the Carmelite Convent of Los Andes, situated at the foot of the mountain range of the same name, 70 km from Santiago, and expressed her desire to enter the convent. "The life of a Carmelite is suffering, love and prayer, and such is my ideal. My Reverend Mother, my Jesus has taught me these three things ever since my childhood."

In the spring of 1918, she offered herself as a victim of love and expiation, in answer to an inspiration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Shortly afterwards, her soul was shrouded in darkness. She confided to a priest her state of interior suffering, adding: "I am not surprised, my Reverend Father, because I have asked Christ to deprive me of all consolation, so that other souls whom I love may find peace and joy in the sacraments and prayer."

The redemptive Passion of Christ has conferred a new meaning upon suffering which is a consequence of original sin: it can now be a share in the salvific work of Jesus. There is a constant bond of love and an abundant exchange of all goods among the faithful-those in Heaven, in Purgatory and on the earth-which is called the communion of saints. On January 11, 1919, Juana and her mother visited the Carmelite Convent of Los Andes, chosen because it was the poorest in Chile.

Mrs. Fernandez had been observing the action of grace in her daughter's soul. In the spring of 1919, Juana, wrote to her father in order to obtain his consent. Going against the natural instincts of his heart, he answered, "My child, if such is the will of God, I am not opposed." Filled with joy, Juana exclaimed: "Saint Joseph has done the miracle!"

On May 7, 1919, the doors of the Carmel of Los Andes closed behind the postulant who would be called Sister Teresa of Jesus, Teresa of the Andes. "Blessed be God," she wrote to her mother the following day. "I am in my little convent. I am taking great care to walk in wooden shoes. In every religious community, poverty is in honor. Without denying the worth of created goods, voluntary poverty places them in their true, contingent perspective. Its first meaning is to bear witness to God who is the true wealth of the human heart, out of imitation of Christ in poverty: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (Mt 5: 3). In a materialistic world so often eager to possess, oblivious to the needs and sufferings of the weakest, evangelical poverty forcefully exposes the idolatry of money.

On October 14, 1919, Sister Teresa received the Carmelite habit, in the presence of her family and a number of friends. At the beginning of March 1920, Sister Teresa affirmed that she would die in a month. On the 12th, after just eleven months of Carmelite life, Sister Teresa of Jesus entered into the joy of Heaven.

The influence of Saint Teresa of the Andes is surprising for a young girl who died at the age of twenty. Her life, inconspicuous for a society impressed with temporal success, is nevertheless proposed by the Church as an example of human achievement. The secret of Chile's saint is found in her deep union with Christ and in the practice of true love, poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us (Rm 5: 5). This Love, unlike the false love which seeks egoistic pleasure, is identified with the gift of self without counting; it procures true happiness for man.

When I love, it’s forever. A Carmelite never forgets. From her small cell, she accompanies the souls she has loved in the world' (August 1919). Teresa's burning love moved her to long to suffer with Jesus and like Jesus. `We are co-redeemers of the world, and the redemption of souls is not accomplished without the cross'

Pope John Paul II declared at her canonization: "God made the light of His Son Jesus Christ shine in her in a wonderful fashion, so that she might be a beacon and a guide for a blind world which is incapable of discerning divine splendor To youths who are continually being attracted by the messages and suggestions of an erotic culture, to a society which confuses authentic love which is the gift of self, with the hedonistic use (for one's own pleasure) of others, this young virgin of the Andes proclaims the beauty and the happiness which flows from pure hearts.

Some thoughts of St Teresa of Los Andes

"Who can make me happier than God? I find all things in Him.

"Always look for God. In Him is the source of all bliss. Apart from Him, happiness is impossible. God alone suffices... Men's hearts love one day and on the next they are indifferent. God alone never changes.

I shall take great pains to work for the happiness of others... My resolution: to sacrifice myself for others.... I must strive to be more loving.

A believing soul possesses all things because it possesses God... Everything changes when you look at this divine Sun... With faith, sufferings are transformed.

When you are in love, everything is a joy; the cross is no burden and you are unaffected by martyrdom; you live in heaven rather than on earth.

How your life would be transformed if you went to Jesus often as to your intimate friend!

Let us take notice of our neighbour and serve him, even though we find it repugnant to do so. In this way we will find that the throne of our heart will be occupied by its Owner, by God.

In the shadow of the Cross, all bitterness vanishes... Souls are shaped on the anvil of sorrows.

To lovingly offer ourselves to the Father in order to accomplish his adorable will. This I reckon is the plan of holiness.

God is thirsting for the love of His creatures. The same God is our beggar. Let us give ourselves to Him. Let us not be mean... Let us not look at what we are doing, but at the extent of our failure to correspond to His love.

Always take the Most Blessed Virgin as your model. Speak to her, heart to heart... Ask her to be your guide, to be your star, the lighthouse which shines in the midst of the darkness of your life.

Blessed Titus Brandsma-Martyr

Blessed Titus Brandsma

Not too many people have heard of the heroic Priest Titus Brandsma; let us take a more intimate look at this great man of Faith and courage, who lived the true meaning of living and dying for love of God and his fellow man.

Anno Brandsma was born in a little hamlet area of Friesland, Holland in the year 1881 on February 23; he was born into a very tight knit but loving family. His Mother was of an anxious nature and so was very protective of her family, as was his Father, Titus, who was also very proud of their Friesland heritage. Catholicism was not well embraced where the Brandsma family lived and so Titus as head of their home became involved in local politics as he tried hard to preserve their culture from modern intrusion.

But also apart from politics Titus, Anno's father made his living as a dairy farmer in that region of Holland, where he focused on producing milk and cheese to be sold. It was hard living with very few modern conviences, so all the children from early on were raised with a great work ethic as well as a strong Catholic Faith.

Anno attended the Franciscan school or 'gymnasium' at Megen, Holland, many of the students from this school like Anno would later enter the Priesthood. But Anno told others that he didn’t particularly like this school and preferred a more communal approach in living and studying their Faith and the schools other curricular activities.

Upon completion of his studies with the Franciscans, Anno Brandsma felt a calling to embrace the Carmelite Order; he entered the Carmelite Monastery in Boxmeer Holland in the year 1898, where he took his fathers name Titus as his religious name. From the beginning of entering the Carmelite Monastery, Titus showed an extraordinary gift for journalism and writing. Titus was ordained a Catholic Priest on June 17, 1905, and after further studies at the Roman Gregorian University, graduated on October 25, 1909 with a doctorate in philosophy.

Father Titus Brandsma spent his early Ministry in education where he joined the faculty of the newly founded Catholic University of Nijmegen in 1923. Because of Fr. Titus journalistic interests and gift of writing the Archbishop De Jong of Utrecht appointed Fr. Titus as spiritual advisor to the staff members of the more than thirty Catholic newspapers in Holland; this coincided with the more virulent and tyrannical presence of the Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler! It didn’t take long for Fr. Titus to begin criticizing the new German Leadership.

When the Germans invaded Holland in the year 1940 then began the persecution of the Jewish people, upon this the Dutch resistance rose up to counteract the Nazi oppression. Also the Catholic Hierarchy announced that the Sacraments would be refused to Catholics who supported the Nazi occupation and it’s Regime!

During this difficult and most dangerous of times Fr. Titus Brandsma also became more involved in the Dutch resistance, making little effort to conceal his activities from the Nazi's. And it was his refusal and the Church's refusal to print National Socialist propaganda which infuriated the Nazi's. Especially as Fr. Titus also felt compelled to personally deliver to each Catholic editor a letter from the bishops ordering them not to comply with a new law requiring them to print official Nazi publications.

This proved to be too much provocation for the Nazi's and they arrested Father Titus on January 19, 1942; he was interned at Scheveningen and Amersfoort in Holland before being sent to Dachau, where he arrived on June 19, 1942.

Father Titus Brandsma's health was always a little fragile and he suffered periodically with kidney infections throughout the 1930's. So the brutal conditions at Dachau quickly saw his health decline rapidly. Fr. Titus had many times to visit the camp 'hospital' due to his health problems, which then enabled the Nazi's to use this Holy Priest for biological experiments!

But even though Father Titus was imprisoned at Dachau, these were not empty years, as Fr. Titus kept up his prolific abilities to write with deep and mystical meaning upon suffering, and also other holy works.

But unfortunately this Holy Priest health could not stand up to the brutal beatings, forced labour and the vile experiments upon his emaciated figure. Father Titus Brandsma a man and a Priest of Holy and Courageous countenance was killed by the Nazi's with a lethal injection on July 26th in 1942!

This was a Priest who lived a joy filled life even amidst the greatest evil; he is a testament to the Spirit of Love for God and his fellow man. He is a modern mystic, though many of his writings were lost during the years of the war what remained is Mystical Theology based on his own sufferings and that of the Church. Though he did not seek martyrdom yet he bowed with humility when it embraced him as one who is called to atone for the many. With a Christ like love he forgave his enemies and is a shining example of love conquering evil!

Titus Brandsma, 0. Carm. was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul, II on November 1985.

Peace of Christ to you ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.