Jean-Thomas de Beauregard, I Will Soar Like a Little Rocket: A Path to God with Elisabeth of the Trinity, Éditions du Cerf, May 14, 2026, 232 pages, €18
Elisabeth de la Trinité was sometimes seen as a Carmelite saint who stood in the shadow of the “little Therese” of Lisieux and of Edith Stein. This is how Pope Francis’ canonization of Elisabeth of the Trinity on October 16, 2016 has occasionally been interpreted. It must be noted that, in the face of the radiant figure of Therese of Lisieux, whose Story of a Soul soon inspired broad popular devotion, and Edith Stein, a Jewish philosopher who converted to the Christian faith after reading Teresa of Avila and who perished at Auschwitz, the competition — so to speak — was substantial. This does not diminish at all the interest in her discovery, for Elisabeth de la Trinité remains a principal figure of holiness, both through the strength of her writings and through her example of contemplation and a life of prayer. This is precisely the mission of I Will Soar Like a Little Rocket, a work with an evocatively suggestive title, for this exceptional woman radiates intense spiritual fervor and opens the pathways to authentic mysticism.
Une longue filiation dominicaine
Theologian and director of the Bordeaux Studium of Philosophy, Jean-Thomas de Beauregard possesses all the expertise needed to sketch the portrait, even as he himself wonders, at the outset, about the legitimacy of his undertaking. Why would a Dominican concern himself with revealing a Carmelite? As he notes in his preface, belonging to a family of souls should rather incline him to study the saints of his own order. A surprising reservation that nonetheless finds its answer a few lines later. For, in many respects, Elisabeth is a very close cousin to the Order of Preachers. The Dominican convents, adjacent almost to those of the Carmelites at the turn of the twentieth century, were initially through the intervention of a member of the Order, Father Vallée, who came there to give retreats, that Elisabeth deepened her Trinity-centered dimension. She would then be encouraged by the teaching of another Dominican, Father Fages, before another representative of the Preachers contributed to making the future saint known to the Catholic public by praising her Spiritual Writings. It is these writings that will constitute the narrative matrix of the author. Not, as is often the case, by detailing the subject’s biography, but by highlighting the distinctiveness of her spiritual life, as he emphasizes from the outset.
“Unlike Teresa of Avila or John of the Cross, Elisabeth hardly analyzes, or analyzes very little, the subjective states into which her spiritual life plunges. Having few extraordinary interior graces — ecstasy, levitation, stigmata — she leads a contemplative life entirely rooted in Sacred Scripture. And it is because her life of prayer is objective, scriptural, and not spectacular that her writings are more accessible to us.”
Initiatrice mystique
It is therefore from these writings that the author builds his reflection, especially around the famous prayer “O my God, Trinity whom I adore,” which stands among the masterpieces of Christian spiritual literature. The first chapter, where the ascent toward the Trinity unfolds in a dialogue between supplication and praise, is particularly illuminating, as the author notes.
“By placing the praise of divine perfections before her own requests, Elisabeth enables us to enter into a selfless love of God. In doing so, she not only embodies the form of the psalms but also the preeminent prayer that is the Our Father.”
An explanation to which, in the following chapter, answers the “O” of adoration, the true hallmark of her writing. For if the letter “O” expresses Elisabeth’s expansive, enthusiastic temperament, it also reflects her musical side, since, at thirteen, she won the top piano prize at the Dijon Conservatory. These flashes of the future saint, the theologian goes on to clarify throughout his book. Thus, from The Beloved Christ, crucified by love to Keep vigil with God, to Through all nights and Bury yourselves in me, the successive chapters become as many major axes, offering touchstones to help each of us become a mystic-in-training for daily life.
The article Je m’élancerai comme une petite fusée explore la vie mystique est apparu en premier sur Lythrum Press.
The article “I Will Soar Like a Little Rocket: A Path to God with Elisabeth of the Trinity” first appeared on Lythrum Press.
