Spring 2001 The Carmelite Order received its rule of life from the Patriarch of Jerusalem almost 800 years ago. It was a formulation of a lifestyle that carried original church sanction from the local bishop, St. Albert of Vercelli. The Order as it stands today traces its "roots" back to the land where Jesus was born, ministered, died and rose again. To reacquaint themselves with the place of their origins and with their rule, nine friars related to ICS Publications and the publications ministry of the Washington, D.C. Discalced Carmelite house went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land from Feb. 28 to March 12, 2001. Our main point of attraction was Mount Carmel. Aware that in this decade the Order will be celebrating a centenary of the Rule, we spent several days at the monastery of "Stella Maris" to both drink in the surroundings where the Rule was delivered and also to study its text. We spent a full day discussing articles about the Rule from a collection of essays published last year by the OCD Generalate in Rome. Afterwards we visited Carmelites serving the local church and assigned to welcoming pilgrims there: we had the chance to dialogue with Christian Arab religious born on or near Mount Carmel itself. Then it was time to tour the traditional places for pilgrimage in other parts of the country. Fortunately an expert Christian guide conducted our touring in a very spiritual way. Mrs. Karin Boyadgian made the discovery of biblical sites seem like a retreat. We were helped along by a new book devised by four OCD exegetes as a prayer guide to important locales in the Holy Land. It is called A Biblical Prayer Journey in the Holy Land--published in 1998, it can be ordered by using one of our links to the Carmelite Book Service, Oxford England. Moving around Israel was made all the easier and more leisurely for the minimal number of pilgrimages visiting the country. Not only the winter season, but the political situation too, had caused numerous groups to forego organized tours. Travel in Israel at the current time of high tension offered us insights into the complexities of living the Carmelite life in that part of the world under the inspiration of our Rule. Giving a witness of reconciliation and prayerful respect of other religions in the midst of so much distrust and open hostility is frequently difficult . We returned home with many memories that convince us we should take seriously the Psalmist's call to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." When greater harmony returns to the country this kind of two-week pilgrimage could very easily be offered to other Carmelites, religious and lay members alike. (John Sullivan, ocd)   August 2, 2001 marks the hundredth anniversary of entry into religious life of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. A century ago the prize-winning pianist left home for Dijon Carmel. To take note of this event ICS Publications plans to issue a new tape album and a printed biography. The album by Sr. Margaret Dorgan is titled "FINDING THE GOD WITHIN: The Message of Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity." Her talks offer answers to important questions like "what does the indwelling Trinity mean to you? how does the deepest mystery of your experience feed your hunger for God?" (Previous cassettes about Elizabeth are included elsewhere on this site--click on Tapes.) We are in the final stages of publishing a biography of Blessed Elizabeth by Jennifer Moorcroft. The book contains 200 pages of narrative and insights into Elizabeth's life (1880-1906); it also provides generous quotations from her works. Elizabeth is known for her teaching on interiority, summed up in the words "I have found heaven on earth, since heaven is God, and God is in my soul." She bases her appreciation for this on her keen interest in the biblical teaching of St. Paul. As Pope John Paul II said during the homily for her beatification (in 1984): "Elizabeth gives witness to perfect openness to the Word of God which she assimilated as nourishment for her reflection and prayer--she found in it her very raison d'être and the key to devoting herself to God as a 'praise of glory.'" The biography He is My Heaven: The Life of Elizabeth of the Trinity will be published later this year