Rozwój duchowy osoby w nauczaniu św. Elżbiety od Trójcy Świętej

Abstract

This study entitled “Spiritual Development of the Person in the Teaching of St. Elizabeth of the Holy Trinity” presents the path described by the Carmelite nun of Dijon (living in 1880–1906) to the sanctity of the justified man in whom the Holy Trinity resides. This issue, which in worldly life is an extraordinary Mystery, has been the subject of lively theological discussions since the first centuries of Christianity. Speculative considerations are complemented by mysticism. The process of human personalization is closely connected with spiritual life, understood as “life according to the Spirit” (see Rom. 8:9; Gal. 5:25), as participation in the life of God, as a common existence with Jesus Christ (suffering with Him, co-dying, co-resurrection). The limit of this development is the attainment of the likeness to God intended by the Creator ‒ being fully imago Trinitatis. The theological analysis contained in this work focuses not so much on the chronological presentation of the development of the doctrine of the Saint Carmelite nun, but on the dogmatic and theological-spiritual content of its message. It is based on a methodological triad – description, explanation and understanding ‒ leading to an exposition of the dynamics of human development, to its final fulfillment in the Communion of God’s Persons. In Elizabeth’s doctrine, one can see peculiar “symmetries” referring to the spiritual life of man: – the pre-existence of Christ ‒ and the vocation for all persons created “to exist in Him”; – the redemptive dimension of Christ’s Passover ‒ and the Christian’s Paschal life; – Christ’s indwelling with the entire Holy Trinity in the justified man ‒ and man’s indwelling in God; – the “incarnation” of man in Christ (the creation of his mystical body, or incorporation into the Church) ‒ and the “incarnation” of Christ in man; – Jesus Christ as a Communion being food for man ‒ and man becoming “food” for Christ. In all these theological and spiritual truths, Elizabeth would point out God’s love as the cause, purpose, principle and meaning. The picture of the relationship between man and God outlined by the Carmelite nun is dynamic. The Savior is not a static person, someone who has done the work of redemption, and merely expects the right answer from man. The Carmelite nun shows continuous salvific actions of Christ. Thanks to Him, the created person achieves their proper and full shape. Elizabeth describes Jesus Christ with many “names”, and shows that the Son of God ‒ together with the entire Holy Trinity ‒ leads man to the fullness of existence; He models in man the “world” that is: – mental ‒ self-conscious, rational one; – voluntary ‒ one of creative work, striving for full freedom, right decisions; – affectionate ‒ one of shaping loving communion with God, with other creatures, with the whole world and the cosmos; – moral ‒ one of righteousness; – admiration of the beauty of the other person ‒ the beauty of God. One cannot think of anything more beautiful than God-human-Jesus Christ. He is the way to the Eternal Glory of the Father, to Infinity. The human, having life from the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:25) and being with Him who is the “Beginning and the End” (Rev. 21:6), is ultimately fulfilled in the Father’s eternal Love ‒ the Love that leads to the Resurrection and the New Beauty of Reality.