#religiousprofession — Public Fediverse posts

Quote of the day, 21 April: St. Edith Stein

J.M.+J.T.

Cologne-Lindenthal, 25 April 1935

Pax Christi!

Very Reverend and dear Mother Petra,

The Bridegroom sends you the little wreath of myrtle with which your love decorated him, him as well as the bridal candle, the candles on the table, the napkin, cutlery, etc. [from Edith’s temporary profession, 21 April 1935].

The Bride wore a wreath of white roses. I was very happy to hear where the adornments came from. Heartfelt thanks for them.

We have not yet finished discussing what else I am to receive from you. I thought of an emblem and lining for a vestment since the silk of the bridal dress has not yet been used and has been waiting for the necessary accessories since the Clothing Day. But perhaps our dear Mother [Mother Josepha, the prioress] will think of something more urgent.

When you visit us again—after all, we’ve been anticipating it with joy all winter—we will recount everything that happened from the first hours of the morning until night on this beautiful Easter Sunday. One cannot write about it in such detail.

The Veiling ceremony will come only three years from now, after perpetual profession. For us, the preparation consists primarily of a ten-day retreat made in total silence and solitude. During that time we are allowed to live like hermits. I will tell you about the daily schedule when I see you.

For my meditation, I had our Holy Father John’s Dark Night and the Gospel of John.

Usually, on the day before Profession, before dinner, one makes a public admission of one’s faults. I was allowed to do that at noon on the Wednesday of Holy Week so that it would not interrupt the silence of the Holy Triduum.

I found it especially good [to comply with that custom] before the first of the Tenebrae offices—once they begin one wants to leave off all occupation with oneself.

On Saturday evening I was called [to come for a few minutes to see the community] during recreation time; I received from each Sister the promise of a spiritual bouquet and a commendation of intentions.

Richly laden I then returned to the choir. Of course, out of the great riches of grace on this Easter day, I let all those have a share who have given me something of their heart to take along into Carmel.

Once more, sincere thanks for all your goodness and love. 

In caritate Christi, your Sister

Teresia Benedicta a Cruce, OCD

Saint Edith Stein

Letter 198 to Mother Petra Brüning, OSU

Notes:

• It was customary to place a small statue of the Infant Jesus on the head table in the refectory, where the newly-professed is seated next to the prioress. Myrtle is used to create a small wreath for the statue of the Infant, the “Bridegroom”, who faces his “Bride”, wearing a garland of white roses. Edith sent the myrtle wreath that had been used on the statue to Mother Petra, who had provided it and all the flowers and decorations for the celebration.
• Edith refers to the Chapter of Faults, where even to this day in many Discalced Carmelite monasteries, nuns will gather in the Chapter Room of the monastery to listen to the prioress give a brief spiritual reflection on an aspect of community life and how it applies to the Carmelite Rule and their Constitutions. The nuns then take a spiritual and moral inventory, reviewing their life together; each one admits her public faults and begs forgiveness of her sisters. On occasions like religious profession, a nun will individually and publicly admit her faults and ask for forgiveness outside of the community Chapter of Faults. Since her profession rite took place on Easter Sunday, Edith made her public admission on Holy Wednesday; she gives the reasons why.
• During the retreat days prior to her profession on Easter Sunday, Edith would have assisted at the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours in the nuns’ choir. However, she would have veiled her face with her great veil (grand Voile) when in the presence of the community so as to maintain the spirit of solitude where the Discalced Carmelites “are allowed to live like hermits,” as Edith describes above. In the photo below, the veil that you see extending over her shoulders is the great veil, while the small veil (petit Voile) tucks inside her scapular. In her hermit days while on retreat, we see that Edith preferred to spend extra hours of solitary prayer in the choir near Christ in the tabernacle while the rest of the community was occupied at recreation.

[Sources: Leuven, Stinissen & Gelber; Carmel of Haifa]

Stein, E 1993, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942, Koeppel, J (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: “The Bride wore a wreath of white roses.” Image credit: Todd Petit / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

Quote of the day, 11 January: Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

Profession of
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
Sunday, 11 January 1903

“My Mother, here is the Bridegroom!” (L 155).

After the 8 o’clock Mass, the community, in their white mantles and a large candle in their hands, go up the grand staircase to the chapter room, singing the O gloriosa Virginum (“O glorious Virgin”) to Mary. As a small cell of the Church, the community experiences the profession as a great moment of universal significance, an offering for the universal Church. United in intimacy, it’s also the family that’s going to grow. At the end of the procession, the prioress leads the novice by the hand. 

The account of Sister Mary of the Trinity, plainly taken up again in the Memoirs (S 107), introduces us to this supreme act:

“Her profession was still made entirely in faith, but already in peace since her visit with the priest. She tells us that she was taken up by the idea of sacrifice and immolation alone. Especially as she climbed the steps, going up to the chapter room, she was strongly taken, seized by this thought and then told us that she had found her whole state of mind in the day’s reading: ‘Offer your bodies to God as pure, holy and pleasing hosts to God’” (cf. Rom 12:1).

Climbing the stairs reminds Elizabeth of the symbol of the mountain, whether it be Tabor or Calvary—like Abraham going up to the top of the mountain indicated by Yahweh to sacrifice his son Isaac (cf. Gen 22:1-19), like Jesus Christ on his way to the Cross. Each stair-step is a decisive movement towards total self-giving to God, prayer, and sacrifice for the Church.

Upon arriving in the chapter room, the Prioress sits on the left side of the altar. Elizabeth kneels before her. Mother Germaine asks her the same questions as on the day she took the habit. The same answers resound—standard, formulated answers—but with great density, essential expressions of what one is seeking. After Elisabeth has thus sought “the mercy of God, the poverty of the Order and the company of her sisters,” the Prioress reminds her of the demands of the narrow path she is following forever.

Then, with her hands joined in those of the Prioress, Mother Germaine of Jesus, Elizabeth Catez repeated the formula of her profession three times: “I, Sister Mary Elizabeth of the Trinity, make my profession, and I promise chastity, poverty and obedience to God, Our Lord, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” in obedience to the superiors “according to the primitive, unmitigated Rule of the Order of Mount Carmel until death.”

Translator’s Note—In English-speaking Discalced Carmelite monasteries, the formula was:  I, Sister N. of N., make my solemn profession and I promise obedience, chastity, and poverty to God, to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, and to you, Rev. Mother Prioress, and to your successors, according to the primitive Rule of the Discalced Carmelites and our Constitutions, until death.

In this very sparse setting, the words resonate…

After the prayers offered by the Prioress, as on the day she took the habit, the newly professed is clothed in her Marian scapular and white mantle to symbolize the new life received from the Risen One. Now she lies on the floor in the form of a cross on the wool carpet decorated with flowers while the community sings the Te Deum. After she has been sprinkled with holy water, a reminder of the water of Baptism, Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity rises, kneels before the Prioress, kisses her hand, embraces her, and goes to kiss all the sisters as they sing Psalm 133, Ecce quam bonum: See how good it will be to live together as true sisters.

She receives her profession crucifix, on the back of which she has had St. Paul’s words engraved in Latin: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). She also receives her copy of the Constitutions of the Order and the Prioress places a crown of flowers on her head, which she wears all day long, she who is Christ’s bride.

During the day’s prayers, she is the one who presides. At meals and evening recreation, she sits between the Prioress and the Sub-Prioress, her place in the refectory being adorned with flowers. The community has “license” today to visit each other, but the newly professed remains in silence, in a prayer of gratitude and love, until the joyful and emotional gathering during the evening recreation.

After Compline, the Prioress removes the crown from Elizabeth who will place it in front of the statue of Our Lady of Grace in the cloister, the Queen of Heaven, of whom she wants to remain more than ever the daughter, the mystical Spouse of Jesus.

Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

Rien Moins Que Dieu: Sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité
Chap. 22: Chaque jour ma vie d’épouse (excerpt)

Note: We invite our readers to explore the official website of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Although the website has not yet been completely translated to in English, the most important information has been translated for English visitors.

https://youtu.be/XHFggZzlUGw

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 1984, Je te cherche dès l’aurore : évocation d’un visage et d’un coeur, produced by C. de Meester and the Carmel of Dijon, Carmel de Dijon, Flavignerot.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S, de Meester, C, Lonchampt, J, 1980, Oeuvres Complètes, Les Editions du Cerf, Paris.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, translated from the French by Nash, A, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Profession photo 63 from the photo album Je te cherche dès l’aurore published by the Carmel of Dijon. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#biography #ConradDeMeester #GregorianChant #history #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity

Her prayer to the Trinity was not only a pious elevation, but the expression of a gift of herself to God. We had prepared together for this renewal of our vows on 21 November 1904; when I asked her about it on the next day, she replied that she had received a great grace that was difficult for her to express.

Sister Marie of the Trinity, O.C.D.
Witness, Ordinary Process

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s famous prayer, O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, was discovered only after her death. Found among her private papers, the prayer was handwritten on a page torn from her personal notebook and dated November 21, 1904—a day that was deeply significant in her spiritual journey.

The day marked the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a celebration in Carmel where the sisters renewed their religious vows before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Elizabeth, the youngest of the community, fully embraced this annual act of consecration, offering herself entirely to “her Three,” as she lovingly called the Holy Trinity. This prayer, born in the silence of her cloister and from the depths of her heart, was not shared during her lifetime. Her companions only discovered it after her passing, tucked away in her writing desk.

According to her fellow Carmelite, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, the prayer was not just a spiritual meditation but an act of total self-giving. St. Elizabeth later confided that the day she composed it was one of profound grace, though she found it difficult to describe the experience in words. Her offering echoes the great spiritual traditions of the Church, drawing comparisons with St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love and St. Catherine of Siena’s prayer to the Eternal Trinity.

Yet, Elizabeth’s voice is uniquely her own, expressing her desire to be a “heaven” for God, a place where the Trinity could dwell and be adored without distraction. This prayer, considered one of the most beautiful expressions of Trinitarian spirituality, invites us to surrender ourselves entirely to God. In its profound simplicity, it captures the heart of St. Elizabeth’s message: to live continually in God’s presence, wholly adoring, wholly surrendered, and wholly at peace.

To reflect more deeply on this prayer and the life of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, listen to our podcast episode embedded below. Let her words inspire you to invite God to make your soul His dwelling place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvMvLpH6fo

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: A detail from one of four photos taken by her brother-in-law Georges Chevignard on 22 December 1902, the day of her canonical examination; the exam took place days before her religious profession on Epiphany Sunday, 11 January 1903. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/08/s2ep32sabeth/

#CarmelOfDijon #ConradDeMeester #monasticLife #Podcast #PrayerToTheHolyTrinity #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #Trinitarian

Her prayer to the Trinity was not only a pious elevation, but the expression of a gift of herself to God. We had prepared together for this renewal of our vows on 21 November 1904; when I asked her about it on the next day, she replied that she had received a great grace that was difficult for her to express.

Sister Marie of the Trinity, O.C.D.
Witness, Ordinary Process

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s famous prayer, O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, was discovered only after her death. Found among her private papers, the prayer was handwritten on a page torn from her personal notebook and dated November 21, 1904—a day that was deeply significant in her spiritual journey.

The day marked the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a celebration in Carmel where the sisters renewed their religious vows before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Elizabeth, the youngest of the community, fully embraced this annual act of consecration, offering herself entirely to “her Three,” as she lovingly called the Holy Trinity. This prayer, born in the silence of her cloister and from the depths of her heart, was not shared during her lifetime. Her companions only discovered it after her passing, tucked away in her writing desk.

According to her fellow Carmelite, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, the prayer was not just a spiritual meditation but an act of total self-giving. St. Elizabeth later confided that the day she composed it was one of profound grace, though she found it difficult to describe the experience in words. Her offering echoes the great spiritual traditions of the Church, drawing comparisons with St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love and St. Catherine of Siena’s prayer to the Eternal Trinity.

Yet, Elizabeth’s voice is uniquely her own, expressing her desire to be a “heaven” for God, a place where the Trinity could dwell and be adored without distraction. This prayer, considered one of the most beautiful expressions of Trinitarian spirituality, invites us to surrender ourselves entirely to God. In its profound simplicity, it captures the heart of St. Elizabeth’s message: to live continually in God’s presence, wholly adoring, wholly surrendered, and wholly at peace.

To reflect more deeply on this prayer and the life of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, listen to our podcast episode embedded below. Let her words inspire you to invite God to make your soul His dwelling place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvMvLpH6fo

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: A detail from one of four photos taken by her brother-in-law Georges Chevignard on 22 December 1902, the day of her canonical examination; the exam took place days before her religious profession on Epiphany Sunday, 11 January 1903. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/08/s2ep32sabeth/

#CarmelOfDijon #ConradDeMeester #monasticLife #Podcast #PrayerToTheHolyTrinity #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #Trinitarian

Her prayer to the Trinity was not only a pious elevation, but the expression of a gift of herself to God. We had prepared together for this renewal of our vows on 21 November 1904; when I asked her about it on the next day, she replied that she had received a great grace that was difficult for her to express.

Sister Marie of the Trinity, O.C.D.
Witness, Ordinary Process

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s famous prayer, O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, was discovered only after her death. Found among her private papers, the prayer was handwritten on a page torn from her personal notebook and dated November 21, 1904—a day that was deeply significant in her spiritual journey.

The day marked the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a celebration in Carmel where the sisters renewed their religious vows before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Elizabeth, the youngest of the community, fully embraced this annual act of consecration, offering herself entirely to “her Three,” as she lovingly called the Holy Trinity. This prayer, born in the silence of her cloister and from the depths of her heart, was not shared during her lifetime. Her companions only discovered it after her passing, tucked away in her writing desk.

According to her fellow Carmelite, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, the prayer was not just a spiritual meditation but an act of total self-giving. St. Elizabeth later confided that the day she composed it was one of profound grace, though she found it difficult to describe the experience in words. Her offering echoes the great spiritual traditions of the Church, drawing comparisons with St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love and St. Catherine of Siena’s prayer to the Eternal Trinity.

Yet, Elizabeth’s voice is uniquely her own, expressing her desire to be a “heaven” for God, a place where the Trinity could dwell and be adored without distraction. This prayer, considered one of the most beautiful expressions of Trinitarian spirituality, invites us to surrender ourselves entirely to God. In its profound simplicity, it captures the heart of St. Elizabeth’s message: to live continually in God’s presence, wholly adoring, wholly surrendered, and wholly at peace.

To reflect more deeply on this prayer and the life of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, listen to our podcast episode embedded below. Let her words inspire you to invite God to make your soul His dwelling place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvMvLpH6fo

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: A detail from one of four photos taken by her brother-in-law Georges Chevignard on 22 December 1902, the day of her canonical examination; the exam took place days before her religious profession on Epiphany Sunday, 11 January 1903. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/08/s2ep32sabeth/

#CarmelOfDijon #ConradDeMeester #monasticLife #Podcast #PrayerToTheHolyTrinity #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #Trinitarian

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity: Wholly Adoring, Wholly Surrendered

Her prayer to the Trinity was not only a pious elevation, but the expression of a gift of herself to God. We had prepared together for this renewal of our vows on 21 November 1904; when I asked her about it on the next day, she replied that she had received a great grace that was difficult for her to express.

Sister Marie of the Trinity, O.C.D.
Witness, Ordinary Process

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s famous prayer, O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, was discovered only after her death. Found among her private papers, the prayer was handwritten on a page torn from her personal notebook and dated November 21, 1904—a day that was deeply significant in her spiritual journey.

The day marked the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a celebration in Carmel where the sisters renewed their religious vows before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Elizabeth, the youngest of the community, fully embraced this annual act of consecration, offering herself entirely to “her Three,” as she lovingly called the Holy Trinity. This prayer, born in the silence of her cloister and from the depths of her heart, was not shared during her lifetime. Her companions only discovered it after her passing, tucked away in her writing desk.

According to her fellow Carmelite, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, the prayer was not just a spiritual meditation but an act of total self-giving. St. Elizabeth later confided that the day she composed it was one of profound grace, though she found it difficult to describe the experience in words. Her offering echoes the great spiritual traditions of the Church, drawing comparisons with St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love and St. Catherine of Siena’s prayer to the Eternal Trinity.

Yet, Elizabeth’s voice is uniquely her own, expressing her desire to be a “heaven” for God, a place where the Trinity could dwell and be adored without distraction. This prayer, considered one of the most beautiful expressions of Trinitarian spirituality, invites us to surrender ourselves entirely to God. In its profound simplicity, it captures the heart of St. Elizabeth’s message: to live continually in God’s presence, wholly adoring, wholly surrendered, and wholly at peace.

To reflect more deeply on this prayer and the life of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, listen to our podcast episode embedded below. Let her words inspire you to invite God to make your soul His dwelling place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvMvLpH6fo

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: A detail from one of four photos taken by her brother-in-law Georges Chevignard on 22 December 1902, the day of her canonical examination; the exam took place days before her religious profession on Epiphany Sunday, 11 January 1903. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#CarmelOfDijon #ConradDeMeester #monasticLife #Podcast #PrayerToTheHolyTrinity #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #Trinitarian

Her prayer to the Trinity was not only a pious elevation, but the expression of a gift of herself to God. We had prepared together for this renewal of our vows on 21 November 1904; when I asked her about it on the next day, she replied that she had received a great grace that was difficult for her to express.

Sister Marie of the Trinity, O.C.D.
Witness, Ordinary Process

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s famous prayer, O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, was discovered only after her death. Found among her private papers, the prayer was handwritten on a page torn from her personal notebook and dated November 21, 1904—a day that was deeply significant in her spiritual journey.

The day marked the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a celebration in Carmel where the sisters renewed their religious vows before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Elizabeth, the youngest of the community, fully embraced this annual act of consecration, offering herself entirely to “her Three,” as she lovingly called the Holy Trinity. This prayer, born in the silence of her cloister and from the depths of her heart, was not shared during her lifetime. Her companions only discovered it after her passing, tucked away in her writing desk.

According to her fellow Carmelite, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, the prayer was not just a spiritual meditation but an act of total self-giving. St. Elizabeth later confided that the day she composed it was one of profound grace, though she found it difficult to describe the experience in words. Her offering echoes the great spiritual traditions of the Church, drawing comparisons with St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love and St. Catherine of Siena’s prayer to the Eternal Trinity.

Yet, Elizabeth’s voice is uniquely her own, expressing her desire to be a “heaven” for God, a place where the Trinity could dwell and be adored without distraction. This prayer, considered one of the most beautiful expressions of Trinitarian spirituality, invites us to surrender ourselves entirely to God. In its profound simplicity, it captures the heart of St. Elizabeth’s message: to live continually in God’s presence, wholly adoring, wholly surrendered, and wholly at peace.

To reflect more deeply on this prayer and the life of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, listen to our podcast episode embedded below. Let her words inspire you to invite God to make your soul His dwelling place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvMvLpH6fo

de Meester, C 2017, Rien moins que Dieu: sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: A detail from one of four photos taken by her brother-in-law Georges Chevignard on 22 December 1902, the day of her canonical examination; the exam took place days before her religious profession on Epiphany Sunday, 11 January 1903. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/08/s2ep32sabeth/

#CarmelOfDijon #ConradDeMeester #monasticLife #Podcast #PrayerToTheHolyTrinity #religiousProfession #spirituality #StElizabethOfTheTrinity #Trinitarian