November 9--St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, Religious and Mystic

Face portrait of Elisabeth of the Trinity by Willuconquer licensed under CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

O my God, Trinity whom I adore,

help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you,

unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity.

May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you,

O my unchanging God,

but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery!

Grant my soul peace.

Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest.

May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire,

completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring,

and wholly given over to your creative action (CCC 260).

This prayer was composed by today’s saint, Elizabeth Catez, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a Carmelite nun who lived a short, but holy life (1880-1906) in France. Her life sounds much like St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Temper as a child; one parent died when young; wrote great spiritual and mystical works; and died young after intense suffering. Where they differed was that St. Thérèse wrote about living the “Little Way,” doing small things with love, and St. Elizabeth wrote about the “Indwelling of the Trinity” in the soul, the profound awareness that the Holy Trinity lives within the soul of every baptized person!

St. Elizabeth called herself Laudem Gloriae, which means “Praise of Glory.” She wanted that to be her heavenly name: "I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself." Thus, she was dedicated to the salvation of souls. St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, pray for us.

October 25--St. Tabitha, Holy Woman

"Peter raising Tabitha (aka Dorcas) from the dead" by Nick Thompson licensed under CC Attribution 2.0.

There are many saints mentioned in Scriptures who may get only a verse or two, or a mention by name. One of those is today’s saint, St. Tabitha. We only know the little bit about her from Acts of the Apostles:

“Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated means Dorcas). She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving. Now during those days she fell sick and died, so after washing her, they laid [her] out in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to her body and said, ‘Tabitha, rise up.’ She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord” (Acts 9:36-42).

What an impact she made! The community in Joppa loved her so much that they wanted Peter to raise her up! And Peter did! This is a source of joy and faith to everyone, so much that we read about her today! We also know of people like St. Tabitha, “completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.” We should be thankful and praise God for all the good people he sends into our lives. St. Tabitha, pray for us.