'The Heaven of Glory and the Heaven of Faith' : A poem by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
Week Five:
Voice of Heaven
As sharers, now, in God's own Essence, you Possess all we possess in Heaven ... See! - You have not yet the joy we have, that's true: But as for giving - you give more than we.
In this fifth stanza of Elizabeth's poem we identify her connection to the Carmelite sisters in the community at Dijon, and in particular to Mother Germaine to whom this poem is directed.
There is the story recalled in Marian Murphy's book 'Always Believe In Love' about the poem in fact being sang in the garden at recreation time at Dijon Carmel, and one can well imagine Elizabeth devising and directing the melody and tempo to accompany it!
The sisters are 'sharers' in the ways and the intrinsic qualities of the Divine, informed by the 'voice of heaven' as they go about their daily observance, worship and service to one another. They are 'in possession' of a loving dialogue between God and humanity that strengthens and sustains.
It is often said that 'in giving we receive', and she is observing that principle among those around her, a community committed to seeing God in the everyday and to holding to the 'gift of Christ' in their daily lives.
Question: Can we draw nearer to 'God's own Essence' in our prayer life, and through a renewed commitment to the simplicity of faith in loving and giving? How might we 'share' in the ways of God? Is this a responsibility we can shoulder by looking again to the example of Mary, Mother of Carmel, and to the saints throughout the ages?
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