“I Will Exalt You”
Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

“O Lord, what is it to me whether I feel or do not feel, whether I am in darkness or in light, whether I have joy or suffering, when I can be recollected in the light created in me by Your words? I feel a kind of shame in differentiating between such matters, and while I feel that I am still affected by them, I heartily despise myself for my want of love, but I quickly turn my gaze upon You, my divine Master, to be delivered by You… I will exalt You above Your sweetness and sensible consolations, for I am resolved to pass by all else in order to be united with You.”

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity*

* Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity was a discalced Carmelite nun who was born in France on July 18, 1880. She is the only 20th Century mystic quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): Click here to see her prayer in paragraph 260 of the Catechism. She is a patron saint against illness, patron saint of sick people and of those who have lost their parents. She died at the age of 26 on November 9, 1906, in Dijon, France from Addison’s disease, an illness which, at the time, had no known cure. She wrote much correspondence, personal notes, poems and a diary. But, her most famous writings are her four spiritual treatises: Heaven in Faith, The Greatness of our Vocation, Last Retreat, and Let Yourself Be Loved. Saint John Paul II beatified her in 1984, and she was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016.

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Art for this post on St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s prayer “I Will Exalt You”: Portrait visage d’Elisabeth de la Trinité portant son habit de carmélite (Face portrait of Elisabeth of the Trinity in Carmelite habit), Willuconquer, undated, CCA-SA 3.0 Unported, Wikimedia Commons.

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Dan Burke

Dan Burke is the past President and C.O.O. of EWTN's worldwide news
network. He is presently the founder and President of the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation, which offers graduate and personal enrichment studies in spiritual theology to priests, deacons, religious, and laity in 90 countries and prepares men for seminary in over 40 dioceses.

Dan is the author and editor of numerous books on authentic Catholic spirituality and hosts the Divine Intimacy Radio show with his wife, Stephanie, which is broadcast weekly on EWTN Radio. Past episodes can be found, along with thousands of articles on the interior life, at SpiritualDirection.com.

In his deep commitment to the advancement of faithful Catholic spirituality, he is also the founder of Apostoli Viae, a world-wide, private association of the faithful dedicated to living and advancing the authentic spiritual patrimony of the Church.

Most importantly, Dan is a blessed husband, father of four, grandfather of one—and grateful to be Catholic.