Be Always With Him
by Fr. Dominic Borg, OCD
Dear brothers and sisters in Carmel,
It was summer of 2003, when the OCD
General
Chapter put forward the idea that the
Celebrations
for the centenary of Blessed Elizabeth
of
the Trinity should be celebrated from
Trinity
Sunday June 11, 2006 until Trinity
Sunday
June 7, 2007. Since then three years
have
passed; years that have seen a great
amount
of literature on Blessed Elizabeth
of the
Trinity, especially on the internet.
One
of the best books that have captured
my attention
is entitled: "Two Sisters in the
Spirit"
by the renowned great theologian and
spiritual
writer Hans Urs von Balthasar. Balthasar's
love and interest in Carmelite spirituality
is very well known. In his comparison
between
St. Therese and Blessed Elizabeth (Two
Sisters)
Von Balthasar states: "Therese
wants
to let Scripture and dogma become flesh
and
blood in her life, which carries the
risk
of causing objective truth to become
the
'little way'. Elizabeth does the opposite:
she so allows her whole existence to
be taken
up in the truth of the Gospel that
the overwhelming
objectivity of God's truth threatens
to obliterate
her subjectivity."
There is no doubt about the great love
that
Blessed Elizabeth had for the Scriptures.
In her writings (which are mentioned
in Paul
Buis' article in this issue) she quotes
the
Gospel of John 224 times, and the Letters
of Paul (including Hebrews, even though
the
Church's teaching is that Paul is not
the
author of this letter) 425 times. These
649
scriptural references (and there are
many
more from other books of the Old Testament
and the New Testament) are a clear
and powerful
proof of Elizabeth's great love of
the Scriptures,
the word that transforms, especially
when
it is heard in "silence".
The Rule of St. Albert does not shun
placing
in front of us the importance of God's
Word
in our daily life: "This book
of the
Law shall not depart out of your mouth,
but
should meditate upon it day and night
…"
(Joshua 1.7-9); Rule 10, 19, 21). In
the
following excerpt from Letter 169,
July 15,
1903, Bl. Elizabeth demonstrates clearly
what a profound insight she possessed
both
on the Rule and also on the Sacred
Text,
which as Jesus told us, if we keep
it, He
and the Father will come and abide
in us:
How I love This Rule ...
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 in which He wants me to become
holy.
I do not know if I will have the happiness
of giving to my Spouse the witness
of my
blood by martyrdom, but at least, if
I fully
live my Carmelite life, I have the
consolation
of spending myself for Him, for Him
alone.
What difference does the work which
He wills
for me make. Since He is always with
me,
prayer, the heart-to-heart exchange,
should
never end! I feel Him so alive in my
soul.
I have only to recollect myself to
find Him
within me, and that is all my happiness.
He has placed within my heart a thirst
for
the infinite, and such a great need
to love,
that He alone can satisfy it.
I go to Him, like a little child to
its mother,
so He may fill, may possess everything,
and
may take me and carry me away in His
arms.
I think that we must be so simple with
God!
(July 15, 1903 (L 169)
In this issue of Carmel Lights, which
contains
Paul Buis' article on the Essential
Teaching
of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity,
we are
placing at your disposal very interesting
information about Blessed Elizabeth.
In such
a short space, Paul Buis places
in
front of us a few essential points
from the
profound teachings of Blessed Elizabeth
of
the Trinity. For more information one
can
browse the Internet to discover a mine
of
information on Blessed Elizabeth. Her
notion
and teachings on the importance of
suffering,
the Cross, and Silence cannot be exaggerated.
The Indwelling of the Trinity (God's
presence),
The Transformation that takes place
within
us, and The Praise of Glory; these
three
topics are very well dealt with in
the writings
of Blessed Elizabeth. More literature
will
follow on Blessed Elizabeth in the
upcoming
issues of Carmel Lights.
The article of Rev. Brian Mason, ocds,
on
St. Joseph is a treasure that every
Carmelite
should benefit from. Indeed, this article
is something which our Holy Mother
Teresa
would have been very proud. Our devotion
to "the Saint of the Impossible"
is to be encouraged in our communities,
and
from St. Joseph we learn how to put
into
action what our Rule states in paragraph
21 about silence. In reading Paul Buis'
article,
you will discover the importance of
silence
in the doctrine of Bl. Elizabeth.
I am very proud of the great work and
service
that the Secretariat is rendering.
The amount
of work behind the scenes is something
incredible.
Your prayers are very much appreciated,
especially
when we unite to pray for someone in
the
Order or relatives of OCDS members
who need
our support. I have only words of praise
in the way this service is handled
with great
speed and efficiency!
The second revised and enhanced edition
of
the Canadian OCDS Manual of Formation
is
now in its final stages of preparation
to
be printed. A lot of writing, typing,
editing,
etc. has been done. Excellent job!
You will
love it … I do.
Please do continue to keep us in your
prayers,
and your support is very much appreciated
so that we will be in a situation to
continue
to minister to all of you. In the near
future,
Teresa will be visiting some communities
in the West, and I will be visiting
others
in the East and the West. Your prayers
are
very much valued. Join me in thanking
the
Lord for the quick recover of Teresa
Martinez.
May the Spirit of Pentecost continue
to guide
us and teach us to do God's will. May
Mary
our Mother continue to point for us
the direction
to Jesus and help us to learn how to
be ready
to say "Here I am" and mean
it!
The month of July brings with it three
great
Carmelite Feasts: the Feast of St.
Teresa
of Jesus of the Andes, July 13th, the
Feast
of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, July 16th,
and
the Feast of the Prophet Elijah, July
20th.
Please join us at St. Andrew the Apostle
Church in London to celebrate together
(English,
French, Portuguese, Italian and Chinese)
the Feast of Our Lady. Mass begins
at 11:30
a.m. The invitation is extended to
anyone
who wishes to join us.
Wishing you all God's blessings of
Peace.
In Carmel,
Fr. Dominic Borg, ocd