Elizabeth of the Trinity

On November 8, we celebrate the Feast of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity who was a Carmelite nun at Dijon in France. Born Elizabeth Catez in 1880, she had one younger sister Marguerite, known as Guite. When the little girls were aged 4 and 7 their father died suddenly, as the result of a heart attack, and some time afterwards their mother enrolled them both in the Dijon Conservatoire to study music. Elizabeth began her studies there when she was 8. If God had not called her to Carmel she might well have been a celebrated concert pianist. When she was thirteen she won first prize f

or her playing, having already won first prize for theory of music. The following year she won the much coveted Prize of Excellence for piano, but already her heart was set on God.

Elizabeth had a natural capacity for contemplative prayer. Long before she entered Carmel she had an intense awareness that she was living in God’s presence. Elizabeth’s deep prayer animated her and she became actively involved in various works in her parish. She taught catechism and ran a club for the children of workers in a tobacco factory; she visited the sick and of course, as a musician, she sang in the parish choir.

Elizabeth took part in all the usual activities common to girls of her age at that time. She dressed in the latest fashions, enjoyed dances and loved walking in the country, where she deeply appreciated the beauty of creation. She had a great gift for friendship and was popular with her peers, but in everything God was at the centre. She said that when she played the piano she forgot all about the audience and played only for him.

On August 2nd 1901 Elizabeth entered Carmel she was full of joy; she found God everywhere, in her work as well as at prayer. She loved the silence of her cell where she liked to ponder the scriptures, discerning what God was saying to her. She gradually found her vocation to be a Praise of his Glory, a phrase she discovered when reading Ephesians. It was also from her study of scripture that Elizabeth’s gained deep insights into the mystery of the Trinity. She was extraordinarily aware of the indwelling of the Trinity in her soul and often referred to the Divine Persons as My Three.

Elizabeth died of Addison’s Disease on November 9th 1906 at the age of 26, saying, ‘I am going to Light, to Love, to Life’.