UNDERSTANDING PAUL the Insights of Dom Columba Marmion and Elisabeth of the Trinity

CELIA KOURIE

UNDERSTANDING PAUL

The Insights of Dom Columba Marmion and Elisabeth of the Trinity

Joseph Columba Marmion (1858-1923) and Elisabeth Catez (1880-1906) – both great lovers of the apostle Paul, and both devoted to the Trinity – what do they have to teach us in today’s secular society? What message can they impart to many who may never have experienced the richness of scripture or the won- der of the divine life in the depths of the human person?1 It is interesting to note that apart from sharing a deep spirituality, based on the ‘gospel’ of Paul, particularly the mystery of living ‘in Christ’ and sharing his divine life, there are one or two incidents in the lives of both Marmion and Elisabeth that bear a certain resemblance. Firstly, both had a mystical experience in their young adulthood which, while it was not dramatic, remained with them for the remainder of their lives, and supported them throughout the var- ious trials of the Christian, and particularly the religious, life.2 Secondly, both experienced a time of distress and doubt just before their commitment to their chosen path.3 Elisabeth died at a very young age, but left behind a spiritual legacy in the form of some occasional writings, one or two treatises, some poetry and a large correspondence – 346 letters written to people in all walks of life. In fact, of the 57 people that Elisabeth wrote to, 50 were lay persons. Dom

1 One of the more recent works on Dom Marmion is by Mark Tierney, Dom Columba Marmion: A biography, Dublin 1994. I was unable to obtain this book in time for the present article. 2 The spirituality of Dom Marmion and Elisabeth is ordinary – not characterised by visions, etc. Dom Marmion states clearly that he has no attraction for any extraordinary graces (M.M. Philipon, The Spiritual Doctrine of Dom Marmion, London 1956, 84). However, an event took place when, as a student on the way to the study-hall, Dom Marmion experienced a ‘light on God’s infinity’ – an experience that was to be of enduring significance throughout his life. Likewise, Elisabeth, during a visit to Père Vallée, her spiritual director, in 1900, became aware of the presence of the indwelling Trinity – an experience which was to ground her spirituality within this great mystery for the remainder of her short life. 3 On the eve of Dom Marmion’s entry into the seminary, he was almost overcome with doubt and struggled within himself whether he should enter. His doubts were overcome, and his chosen path was undertaken. In similar fashion, Elisabeth went through a similar crisis of faith on the eve of her profession in Carmel. We can be grateful that these two heroic people persevered in their faith, and as a result bequeathed such riches by way of their teaching. 38 CELIA KOURIE

Marmion was aquainted with the writings of Elisabeth. In a letter written in August, 1919 to Mother Agnes of the Dijon Carmel, Marmion writes, ‘Je con- nais déjà Elisabeth de la Sainte Trinité. […] Cette sainte âme, Sr Elisabeth, avait compris le mystère de Notre Seigneur. Elle l’avait appris a l’école du grand saint Paul, et le Saint-Esprit a rempli son âme d’admirable clartés pour pénétrer dans l’obscurité divine du Sainte des Saints’.4 It is most likely that Elisabeth was a source of spiritual strength for Dom Marmion, and many of his ideas resonate with those expressed in her mystical writings.

A central characteristic of the spirituality of Elisabeth and Dom Marmion is its deeply scriptural character. The Bible provided sustenance and inspiration, and the words of Paul formed a deep impression on these two saintly persons. The aim of this short study is to examine a few of the salient aspects of their reading of Paul, namely, conformity to Christ, suffering, and also very briefly their understanding of the Trinity.

CONFORMITY TO CHRIST

For both Dom Marmion and Elisabeth of the Trinity, Jesus is the paradigm, examplar and enabler for his followers, and shows them what it means to be the image and likeness of God. To be conformed to the image of Christ is the high- est aspiration and attainment in the life of the Christian. Jesus shows us what it means to know the Father in mystical simplicity and to live life in a divine way. It is noteworthy that Elisabeth had inscribed on the back of her profession cru- cifix, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal 2:20b) – a clear indication of her desire to be transformed into the image of Christ. Both Elisabeth and Dom Marmion took seriously the words of Paul in Philippians 4:13, and both drew immense comfort from the fact that only in Christ could the process of sanctification take place. Dom Marmion is at pains to illustrate the fundamental fact that Christ is not so much a model to be imitated, but rather sanctity ‘consists in becoming by grace what Jesus Christ is by nature, the child of God. […] If I were asked in what the spiritual life consisted, I would answer: Christ’.5 Thus, for Dom Marmion, life ‘in Christ’ is the Leitmotif of his entire corpus of teaching. Faithfully following Paul, Dom Marmion’s understanding of what it means to live and move and have one’s being ‘in-Christ’ effects a new awareness of life, the constituent element of which is freedom

4 R. Thibaut, L’union à Dieu dans le Christ d’après les lettres de direction de Dom Marmion, Denée 1957, 299-300. 5 Philipon, The Spiritual Doctrine, 99. UNDERSTANDING PAUL 39 from the old life of law and sin; and a new sense of belonging to an utterly dif- ferent locale of existence (cf Col 3:3). The believer is a member of a new race of redeemed women and men, whose life is characterised by the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23); faith (Eph 1:12); wisdom, strength (1 Cor 4:10); and truthfulness (Rom 9:1). Above all, it is ‘in Christ’ that total and perfect praise can be offered to the Father.

For Elisabeth, the powerful Pauline expression ‘in Christ’ or ‘in Christ Jesus’ determined her life as a Christian and as a Carmelite. This formula ‘is a syn- thesis of her entire doctrine and can be understood as the existential response of the young Carmelite to the salvific vocation received from God. Hence her life […] becomes a mystical existence in Jesus Christ, who leads her […] beyond the finite and into the realms of the eternal and infinite God’.6 Trans- formation in Christ is therefore the foundation of Elisabeth’s scriptural mysticism, in the very mundane activities of everyday life. It does not presuppose extraordinary states of consciousness, although there may well be ‘mystical touches’ at times, when the window of eternity is opened, and the fresh breeze of the Spirit allows a glimpse into Reality. However, as Dunn speaking of Christ-mysticism states, ‘… union with Christ for Paul is not characterised by lofty peaks of spiritual excitment and ecstasy, experiences of visions, revelations […] or high inspiration but more typically by self-giving love, by the cross – union with Christ is nothing if it is not union with Christ in his death’.7 For Elisabeth such union with Christ is closely allied to her understanding of baptism: ‘Par le baptême dit saint Paul, nous avons été entés en Jésus-Christ. Et encore, “Dieu nous a fait asseoir dans les Cieux en Jesus-Christ afin de montrer aux siècles à venir les richesses de sa grâce” […] c’est le baptême qui t’a faite enfant d’adoption, qui t’a marquée du sceau de la Trinité Sainte!’.8 Elisabeth’s mystical insight explicates and illuminates the doctrine of baptism as that which seals and marks the believer in the Trinity. Grounded in Christ, the disciple becomes a new creation, and a sharer in the divine nature. Baptism estab- lishes a fundamentally new direction in life. There is what is called a liminal dimension to baptism: there is a threshold to be crossed in moving from one state of being or social status to another; an abyss to be bridged, a re-condi- tioning of consciousness and a new allegiance, a declaration of the acceptance of Christ’s Lordship.

6 L. Borriello, Spiritual Doctrine of Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity: Apostolic Contemplative, New York 1986, 49. 7 J. Dunn, Unity and Diversity in the New Testament, London 1997, 195. 8 C. De Meester, Elisabeth de la Trinité: J’ai trouvé Dieu. Oeuvres Complètes, Tome 1a, Paris 1985, 97, 137. 40 CELIA KOURIE

Dom Marmion, commenting on Paul’s description of the baptised as a ‘new man’ – one who has ‘… put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness’ (Eph 4:24) – speaks of our being ‘plunged into the sacred waters’ and being ‘born to the Divine life’.9 Baptism effects a reconditioning of consciousness and a change in allegiance – all the more apparent in the early church, when Baptism was conferred on adults after a long period of preparation, and the newly baptised was given a white garment symbolising the purity of their new lives. Believers are now dead to sin and alive in Christ Jesus. Marmion is at pains to point out that this new life of the baptised is yet ‘only in a state of germ’.10 It has to develop. This happens by a process of ‘Christification’ – an inner transformation of mind and heart. In Marmion’s words, ‘Christ’s life becomes our life; that initial act by which we were made children of God, made us the brothers and sisters of Christ, incor- porated us with Him, made us members of His Church, animated us with His Spirit’.11 It is the Spirit who impresses upon the soul the image and likeness of Christ. The Spirit is thus the agent and the power which effects the incarnation of Christ in the believer. The baptised form a new community, one in which there is no longer Jew, Greek, slave, or free, male or female. By breaking bread together, and drinking wine in the fellowship of the Spirit – a proleptic of the heavenly banquet – believers now experience the power of the Kingdom breaking through into everyday life. Such baptismal grace should, in Dom Marmion’s view, elicit gratitude, joy and confidence, as we now have engraved on our souls ‘the very features of Christ’.12 Following the example of his great mentor, Paul, who would often break forth into declarations of joy and exhortation, Dom Marmion then poetically exclaims: ‘O Christian, when wilt thou understand thy greatness and dignity? […] When wilt thou proclaim, by thy works, that thou art of a divine race? […] When wilt thou live as a worthy disciple of Christ?’.13

Baptism into Christ means incorporation into the death and resurrection of Christ. The transformation of ego-centricity and the process of Christification is a result of identification with the crucified and risen Lord. The concrete and specific historical events of Jesus’ death and resurrection are transmuted into meta-historical realities in the lives of his followers. In particular, suffering plays an important role in this transformational process

9 C.J. Marmion, Christ the Life of the Soul, London 1925, 155. 10 Marmion, Christ the Life of the Soul, 163. 11 Marmion, Christ the Life of the Soul, 165. 12 Marmion, Christ the Life of the Soul, 167-168. 13 Marmion, Christ the Life of the Soul, 168. UNDERSTANDING PAUL 41

SUFFERING

Following Paul, Elisabeth is aware that human weakness is not an obstacle. On the contrary, it provides the ambience for divine activity. This was Paul’s experience in Corinth (2 Cor 11:23-33) and led to his doctrine of power in weakness (2 Cor 4:7-11), namely that all spiritual strength comes from God alone. Paul’s own afflictions are presented as a didactic model in several instances: he carries death in his body so that the life of Jesus can be manifested (2 Cor 4:10); he suf- fers to bring comfort to the Corinthians in order that they in turn might suffer and share Christ’s suffering (2 Cor 1:5); he commends the Philippians for suffering as an example to their opponents (Phil 1:29-30) and the Thessalonians for following his example in suffering (1 Thess 1:5-6). By urging his readers to follow the example of Jesus in his suffering, Paul is calling them into the power of the gospel. Therefore, the power/weakness paradox was not thought out in an aca- demic, philosophical and detached manner, but resulted from the trials of Paul’s ministry and the consequent realization of his own utter nothingness and the ‘all- ness’ of God. In similar fashion Elisabeth’s intuitive grasp accrues from her own painful illness. For Elisabeth, therefore, it is not a question of mere reflection on the words of Paul, or speculation regarding the mystery of of suffering. On the contrary with Paul, Elisabeth longed to share in the sufferings of Christ. Elisabeth was particularly struck by Paul’s words in Colossians 1:24b: ‘Je vois que le Maître vous tient toujours clouée sur la croix. […] Saint Paul disait: “Je souffre dans mon corps ce qui manque à la passion du Christ”’.14 By becoming a Carmelite, Elisa- beth of the Trinity chose the path of the cross. In addition, the intensification of suffering due to her illness made the last three years of her life in particular ‘… une véritable montée au calvaire’.15 Paul’s message, accepted and implemented by by Elisabeth, is that by virtue of Christ’s cross and resurrection, sickness and suffering do not necessarily lead to debilitation. Paul’s ‘… connection of an extremely negative symbol, execution on the cross, with the most positive symbols of salvation and redemption, makes it possible to reduce avoidance reactions with respect to suffering – a presupposition of help for the weak, the ill and those in need of aid and the constructive handling of suffering in themselves’.16

Dom Marmion’s understanding of Paul’s teaching on suffering and rising with Christ is clearly expressed in the following: commenting on the passage quoted

14 C. De Meester, Elisabeth de la Trinité, Carmelite: J’ai trouvé Dieu. (Oeuvres completes – Tome 1b), Paris 1980, 332. 15 Joseph de Sainte-Marie, ‘La croix du Christ et la gloire de Dieu: Soeur Elisabeth de la Trinité’, in: La Pensée Catholique 213 (1984), 55. 16 G. Theissen, Psychological Aspects of Paul’s Theology, Philadelphia 1987, 395 (fn91). 42 CELIA KOURIE above (Col 1:24b) he states, ‘Is there something wanting to the sufferings of Christ? Certainly not. […] they were, so to speak, measureless…’. Yet, and here Dom Marmion draws upon the teaching of St Augustine, ‘… we have, […] as Christ’s members, to join in His sufferings; Christ has reserved for us a share in His Passion; but in doing so, He has placed by the side of the Cross, the strength necessary to carry it’.17 Thus, although Christ’s victory is complete, it still has to be manifested in the lives of his disciples. The disciple participates in the death and resurrection of Christ derivately, not in a supplementary fashion. Furthermore, Dom Marmion is quick to point out that suffering is not an end in itself – the passion and resurrection are ‘… linked together in the thought of Paul, whether he speaks of Christ alone, or whether he alludes to his Mystical Body’.18 Commenting on 2 Cor 4:10, he writes. ‘It must be our aim – there is no other – that the life of Christ has its principle in grace and its perfection in love, may shine forth in us: that is the end; there is none other’.19 Both Elisabeth and Dom Marmion, in line with mystics of all ages, realised that the road of the cross is at the same time the way of beatitude. This does not mean that the Christian is lulled into a kind of Platonic detachment with respect to pain; Christian faith does not sweep us up and out of the struggle and misery of life into some non-involved spiritual or intellectual relationship with God. In stark contrast, the gospel shows God as totally and passionately involved in the brokenness of life. The metaphorphicized logion of Jesus that a disciple takes up his or her cross ‘daily’ points to the fact that whatever the nature of individual suffering, it is in fact a personalization of the cross of Christ.20 Just as Elisabeth experienced in her own body and soul debilitating suffering, so too the life of Marmion was not without pain, anguish, and his own physical exhaustion. As he writes to a nun of Tyburn Convent, February 11, 1911, ‘… I am subject to such exhaustion that often at the Conventual Mass, I have to make a great effort not to fall asleep on the floor. […] Some- times I am troubled by the thought that I ought to resign on account of these fits of exhaustion and sleepiness which make me incapable of prayer or work’.21 Once again, it is to Paul that Marmion turns to find strength and solace. Refer- ring to 2 Cor 12:10, ‘when I am weak, then I am strong’, Marmion writes, ‘That is the one thought which has remained with me […] it is graven so deeply on my soul that it has become part of my very self […] I can do nothing of myself, […] I must have unlimited confidence in this strength of Christ

17 C.J. Marmion, Christ in His Mysteries, London 1925, 263. 18 Marmion, Christ in His Mysteries, 264. 19 Marmion, Christ the Life of the Soul, 200. 20 R. Healy, ‘Suffering: The Cross and the Dark Night’, in: Carmelus 33 (1986), 5. 21 Philipon, The Spiritual Doctrine, 83. UNDERSTANDING PAUL 43 which dwells in me’.22 This powerful doctrine of strength in weakness is sum- marised a year before Marmion died as follows: ‘The poorer we are, the more Christ’s ineffable riches find their place in us. Our misery, known and avowed, draws down His liberality’.23 As mentioned earlier, sharing in the suffering of Christ is likewise sharing in his resurrection. By virtue of the indwelling Spirit, the Risen Christ enables us to rise to a new life, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Crises of mind and body help effect maturation, propelling us for- ward to a higher stage of consciousness, one in which the reality of the risen life shines forth. This new life of grace is appropriated by living, while on earth, the mystery of the Trinity.

TRINITY

The deep scriptural insights that came from their reading of Paul’s letters lead Dom Marmion and Elisabeth to the depths of the great foundational mystery of the Christian life, namely the mystery of the Trinity.24 The Trinitarian life, in all its mystery and simplicity plays a central role in Dom Marmion’s thought. Life ‘in Christ’ leads to consummation in sinu Patris in the Spirit. It is Christ who has revealed to us the existence of this mystery, and He made this revelation in His last discourse with His disciples on the eve of His death, that our ‘joy may be filled’. He Himself tells us that if we are His friends, it is because He has made known to us these secrets of God’s innermost life, while we await the enjoyment of them in eternal happiness.25 God is ‘the plenitude of being, the shoreless ocean of perfection and of all life’ and the wonderful fellowship of the Three Persons in the Unity of God causes Dom Marmion to cry out, ‘Come! Let us adore this marvellous fellowship in the Unity, this wonderful equality of perfection in the distinction of Persons’.26

Human beatitude is to be found in the loving knowledge of the inner life of the Trinity. This Reality is to be found within the depths of the human soul.

22 Philipon, The Spiritual Doctrine, 120. 23 R. Thibaut, Union with God according to the Letters of Direction of Dom Marmion, London 1949, 148. 24 See in this connection, Dom Marmion’s act of consecration to the Holy Trinity (Philipon, The Spiritual Doctrine, 67). Elisabeth’s prayer to the Trinity is well known, especially since her beatification in 1984. 25 Marmion, Christ in His Mysteries, 327. 26 Marmion, Christ in His Mysteries, 37, 39. 44 CELIA KOURIE

As Elisabeth exclaims: ‘Dieu en moi, moi en Lui. […] Là, nous le trouvons toujours […] perdons-nous en cette Trinité Sainte, en ce Dieu tout Amour, laissons-nous emporter en ces regions où il n’y a plus que Lui, Lui seul!’.27 God, who is ‘tout Amour’ desires that we should live in communion with the three Persons of the Trinity. God is not a monad, a self-enclosed unity, but rather a community of Persons, offering a release from ego-centricity and entrance into the heart of the trinitarian love which is constantly ebbing and flowing in the divinity itself. According to the great Flemish mystic Jan van Ruusbroec (1294-1381) the final end, the telos, of humanity is to return to the Triune God, the Source of all being. This takes place in the Spirit, who as Love is the very energy of God’s being, and according to Ruusbroec is like a great ‘flood’ or storm’ which draws the individual to return to the Source in an eternal now.28 Love is the cynosure which draws, captivates and encloses within it all of creation. Love is the immeasurable truth about God, far transcending any attempt at description. As Richard of St Victor reminds us, Love is gift and exchange, and therefore needs to be mutual. It can only exist in its fulness when there is a plurality of Persons. The Trinity is the ultimate paradigm of human relationships, given the relational nature of the human person, in that the Trinity is exocentric, not egocentric. God is exchange and mutual gift. The indwelling Trinity is not a static actuality, but a dynamic process of sanctification, reflecting the inner life of God within the individual. The mutual love of the three persons of the Trinity is, in the words of Isaac the Syrian, the ‘place’ of fulfilment, ‘… when we have reached love, we have reached God and our journey is complete. We have crossed over to the island that lies beyond the world, where are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’.29 Therefore, for both Dom Marmion and Elisabeth the Trinity is a salvific mystery, effecting transformation and deification.

This great mystery of our faith, which was the driving force behind all the apostolic endeavours of the apostle Paul, was also the raison d’être for the two great followers of Paul, Dom Marmion and the Carmelite nun, Elisabeth of the Trinity. We owe a debt of gratitude to these two great pioneers of the mystical life for their insight into Paul’s ‘gospel’ – the Mystery of Christ, and Christ in his Mysteries in the depths of the human person, leading us into the silence and beauty of Ultimate Reality, the divine Trinity.

27 C. De Meester, Elisabeth de la Trinité: J’ai trouvé Dieu. Oeuvres Complètes, Tome 11, Paris 1985, 221-227. 28 Cf P. Mommaers & J. Van Bragt, Mysticism: Buddhist and Christian. Encounters with Jan van Ruusbroec, New York 1995, 134-135. 29 K. Ware, ‘The Human Person as an Icon of the Trinity’, in: Sobornost 8 (1986) no.2, 21. UNDERSTANDING PAUL 45

CONCLUSION

Both Elisabeth and Dom Marmion understand the reality of the Christian life as it is expounded in the letters of Paul in particular. Their scriptural mysticism entinctures the entirety of their lives. They penetrate to the essence of the biblical message, Christ himself. While Elisabeth would not have had the same aca- demic, exegetical and scriptural formation as Dom Marmion, nevertheless there is a strength and a sense of purpose that pervades her scriptural hermeneutic, giving her a clear apprehension of eternal reality. In her writings, Elisabeth quotes Paul 395 times, largely quoting texts that deal with one’s relationship with God. For both Dom Marmion and Elisabeth the existential meaning of the text and its illuminatory function is of prime importance. By virtue of their reading of Paul, the mystical insight of both matures and becomes progressively more lucid, leading to an intense desire to become an icon of the agapaeic love manifested in Jesus. Such a biblical hermeneutic accords with the thought of Garrigou-Lagrange, when he says: The summit of truth, as it is expressed in Scripture […] surpasses in richness the finest systematic formulas. St John and St Paul, in their inspired language, surpass the precision of theology, which tries to give rational versions of their supernatu- ral contemplation, rather like trying to describe a polygon inside a perfect circle. […] The Church declares divine faith far superior to any theological stystem, however perfect; let us not confuse this exalted faith with […] mediocre doctri- nal residue […].30 Thus, the spiritual doctrine of these two deeply mystical persons is sublime in its simplicity, and is portrayed in a manner that is acceptable and within reach of the ordinary Christian. Dom Marmion and Elisabeth of the Trinity illumi- nate the writings of Paul and teach his ‘gospel’ in a manner that strongly counteracts a purely external, dissipated and alienated existence. In contrast, their teaching brings their readers to the heart of Truth, to the ‘one thing necessary’ and to an increased zeal to spread the good news of this doctrine; for Dom Marmion this was exemplified in a more apostolic life, whereas the apostolate of Elisabeth emanated from behind the walls of Carmel. Dom Marmion and Elisabeth of the Trinity are truly scriptural pioneers, leading those who follow to experience something of the intoxicating beauty and boundless love of God.

30 Cf M. Day, ‘Elisabeth of the Trinity and the Creative Presence of God’, in: Mount Carmel 9 (1961-62), 17. 46 CELIA KOURIE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dom Columba Marmion

Becker, B., ‘Centenary of Priestly Ordination of Dom Columba Joseph Marmion’, in: Osservatore Romano 26 (1981), 690-699. Earl of Wicklow, More about Dom Marmion, Dublin 1950. Marmion, C.J., Christ the Life of the Soul, London 1925a. Marmion, C.J., Christ in His Mysteries, London 1925b. Marmion, C.J., Suffering with Christ, London 1952. Ohligslager, M., ‘Attention at Prayer according to Abbot Marmion’, in: Review for Reli- gious 43 (1984), 454-458. Philipon, M.M., The Spiritual Doctrine of Dom Marmion, London 1956. Thibaut, R., L’union à Dieu dans le Christ d’après les lettres de direction de Dom Marmion, Denée 1957 (72nd ed.). Thibaut, R., Union with God according to the Letters of Direction of Dom Marmion, Lon- don 1949. Thibaut, R., Abbot Columba Marmion, London 1949. Willke, J.C., ‘Marmion, Joseph Columba’, in: New Catholic Enyclopedia, Vol. IX, San Francisco-London 1967, 243-244.

Elisabeth of the Trinity (and related bibliography)

Borriello, L., Spiritual Doctrine of Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity: Apostolic Contempla- tive, New York 1986. Day, M., ‘Elisabeth of the Trinity and the Creative Presence of God’, in: Mount Carmel 9 (1961-62), 12-17. De Meester, C., Elisabeth de la Trinité: J’ai trouvé Dieu. Oeuvres Complètes, Tome 1b, Paris 1980. De Meester, C., Elisabeth de la Trinité: J’ai trouvé Dieu. Oeuvres Complètes, Tome 1a, Paris 1985. De Meester, C., Elisabeth de la Trinité: J’ai trouvé Dieu. Oeuvres Complètes, Tome 11, Paris 1985. Dunn, J., Unity and Diversity in the New Testament, London 1997. Healy, R., ‘Suffering: The Cross and the Dark Night’, in: Carmelus 33 (1986), 3-16. Joseph de Sainte-Marie, ‘La croix du Christ et la gloire de Dieu: Soeur Elisabeth de la Trinité’, in: La Pensée Catholique 213 (1984), 53-73. Kourie, C., Elizabeth Catez of the Trinity, 1880-1906: An interpretation of her mysticism (Unpublished D.Th. Unisa Pretoria 1990). Mommaers, P. & J. Van Bragt, Mysticism: Buddhist and Christian. Encounters with Jan van Ruusbroec, New York 1995. Theissen, G., Psychological Aspects of Paul’s Theology, Philadelphia 1987. Ware, K., ‘The Human Person as an Icon of the Trinity’, in: Sobornost 8 (1986) no.2, 6-23. UNDERSTANDING PAUL 47

SUMMARY

Elisabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906) and Joseph Columba Marmion (1858-1923) dis- play a deeply scriptural spirituality. In particular, they were both profoundly influenced by the writings of Paul: his mystical doctrine of life in Christ provided sustenance and inspiration for their lives, especially in times of suffering. In addition, a deep love of the Trinity, one of the foundational mysteries of the Christian life, characterised the life and teaching of both. Interestingly, Dom Marmion was himself influenced by the mystical insights of Elisabeth, as seen in his correspondence. Within the framework of the present paper, the themes of conformity to Christ, suffering and the mystery of the Trinity are brought to the fore. For both Elisabeth and Dom Marmion, conformity to Christ and life ‘in-Christ’ comprise the essence of their thought and teaching. Transformation into Christ, effecting new life – the constituent element of which is freedom from the old life of law and sin and entrance into a new mode of existence – is the bedrock of their spirituality. Furthermore, life ‘in-Christ’ draws the believer to the inner life of the Trinity, ‘the shoreless ocean of perfection and of all life’ – the telos of humanity, where in a community of love, the ultimate mystery of deification takes place.

Celia Kourie (1946, London, England) is Professor in the field of Christian Spirituality and Convenor of the newly established Doctoral/Master’s and Honours degrees in Christian Spir- ituality at the School of Religion and Theology, College of Human Sciences (Unisa-Pretoria). Address: School of Religion and Theology, College of Human Sciences, Unisa, PO Box 392, Pretoria 0003, South Africa (E-mail: [email protected])