The Divine Indwelling: Finding God Within

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity once wrote, “It seems to me that I have found my Heaven on earth, since Heaven is God, and God is in my soul. The day I understood that, everything became clear to me.”^[1]

These beautiful and profound words were not written by a theologian who had various degrees from prestigious universities. They were not written by someone who traveled extensively throughout the world or who had great apostolic experience in life. They were not written by someone who had “important” roles in society, the church, or her own religious community. Nor do they come from someone who lived a long and healthy life. Rather, these words were written by a soul who was for the most part completely unknown to the world and who entered a Carmelite monastery on August 2, 1901, in Dijon, France, at the age of 21. Five years later, this remarkable soul who conveyed truths about God and the spiritual life that has led many people towards greater intimacy with God, died at the age of 26 from Addison’s disease.

Yet this soul with relatively little life experience and with no real success or achievements in this world, discovered and lived something at an early age that many people will never discover or live their entire life. For many, if they do discover this truth, it is often only after years of suffering, heartache, and misery that is the result of sin, ignorance of God, or simply a vain and self-centered life. What then did St. Elizabeth of the Trinity discover? She discovered that God, the Holy Trinity, is not somewhere out there in a faraway galaxy totally removed from us. God, St. Elizabeth realized, is neither by our side, in front of us, or behind us. Rather, he is within us! Because of our Baptism, which we will discuss later, the Holy Trinity has taken up residence within us. Right now, regardless of the circumstances or situations of my life, regardless of my age, ethnicity, vocation, social status, my physical appearance, whether I am healthy or sick, happy or sad, a baptized soul can truly say they are living in the presence of God right now because He dwells within me.

Of course, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is not the first person to realize this, though her witness to this reality and her articulation of it is certainly unique, and we could safely add, anointed. What St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is doing is merely echoing the words of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles when he tells the Athenians regarding the living God, that “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

By realizing where God dwells, namely within us, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is teaching us something that is crucial for our spiritual life: namely, that the spiritual life is ultimately an inside job. She writes to a friend, “You must build a little cell in your soul as I do. Remember that God is there and enter it from time to time…when you feel nervous or unhappy, quickly seek refuge there and tell the Master all about it.”[2] St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s advice is a truth that she herself learned and lived, which is why when she realized that God lived within her, everything became clear to her. Because of God’s indwelling, she found her true center and her true foundation, and therefore she found true freedom.