January 14, 2012

Elisabeth of the Trinity - Heaven in Faith Series

In the effort to begin to pray, I have found the writings of Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity to be an invaluable resource.  She loved the contemplative life, a way of life lived by love, for love and in love with God.  This is the life of heaven, the life we are meant to live for all eternity and which we have access to even now by faith.   Her mission is to help souls get out of their self-occupation and enter into a loving silence to meet the Lord. Her writings are filled with the fruits of her own intense search for God especially carried out in the painful places of her heart and her overwhelming gratitude for what Christ crucified was accomplishing in her life. Her short life ended at the threshold of the 20th Century but the spiritual message of the Mystic of Dijon continues to shine like a beacon in these dark times.   

In the final months of her life, she wrote her sister Marguerite, a mother of two young children encouraging her to live a contemplative life right in the midst of her busy household.  These writings include a ten-day retreat for her sister now entitled Heaven in Faith.  Each day of the retreat offers two prayerful reflections - one to be read in the morning and the other in the evening.   Each meditation is filled with beautiful theological truths arranged to encourage  mental prayer, that contemplative silence in which we lift up our hearts to the Lord so that He can envelope us in his love and establish us in his peace.

Kris McGregor of Discerning Hearts Radio contacted me to see whether we might be able help others experience Heaven in Faith through offering theological reflections on each of the prayers of the retreat. She skillfully guides the conversation with thoughtful questions while actress Miriam Gutierrez recites the texts providing the voice of Blessed Elisabeth.  The first of these shows is now available here on Discerning Hearts.

Image of Discerning Hearts website with mountains

1 comment:

  1. Well thanks Dr. Lillie - I am swamped with projects, and here I am wanting to re-read Elizabeth! Wonderful post. One of my dearest friends and I read Elizabeth a few years back; it has clearly been too long. Look forward to your broadcasts. - Shane

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