User:MOTHER ELISWA VAKAYIL T.O.C.D.
Mother Eliswa – Personification of Teresian Way ==
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(Dr.) Sr. Sucy, St.Joseph Vidyabhavan
1 Introduction
Carmelites scattered throughout the world are united in Mary with a commitment to serve Christ and his Church. Thus they imitate the Virgin Handmaid of the Lord, who silently walked in the footsteps of her Son and cooperated with him for the salvation of the world, by prayer and a life surrendered to the mystery of salvation. Servant of God Mother Eliswa Vakayil, from her childhood to the end of her age, offered herself at the feet of our Lady and adorned her with white flowers as a symbol of her offering. She was a person who immersed in contemplation for many years and offered fully to the Lord as victim of the divine flame of love. The Lord taught her what is truth and what is eternal. She opted for eternal and sought means to possess the eternal. In the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, she practised detachment, humility and poverty and she became more docile to the Spirit. She was a true visionary of Teresian way. Without a human instructor, she grasped the essentials of
Carmelite Way of Life. 2 Mother Eliswa and Prophetic Similarity
The patristic tradition presents Prophet Elijah as the model of monastic religious life. He lived in God’s presence and contemplated His passing by in silence. He interceded for the people and boldly announced God’s will. He defended God’s sovereignty and came to the defence of the poor against the powerful of the world (1Kings 18: 19).
Like the Prophet Elijah, Mother Eliswa contemplated the presence of God and recognized His mysterious plans in her life. She experienced the presence of Our Lady which refreshed her life like a rainfall. Her prayer and contemplative life was a rain of grace for the women of Kerala. Like Prophet Elijah, she went ahead even in emptiness and darkness by experiencing the providence of God. Her painful experiences strengthened her like the cake baked on hot stones which was provided by God to the Prophet Elijah, who went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the Mount of God. Mother Eliswa never turned back or was discouraged in the path through which God led her as the pioneer of Consecrated life for women in Kerala. The perseverance of Mother Eliswa amidst the conflicts is an important aspect of her personality. She grasped the meaning of the admonition of Jesus, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God”(Lk: 9, 62). Besides the similarity of her name with Prophets Elijah and Elisha, her courageousness and total dedication also was similar to that of Prophets Elijah and Elisha.
Prophet Elijah replied to God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts” (1 Kings 19: 10). In the stillness of her heart, Mother Eliswa also felt such a divine restlessness and she said to her own brother Fr. Louis TOCD that she was experiencing an internal stirring of heart in which she felt that something was being asked of her.
3 TOCD for Women and St. Teresa of Avila
The TOCD Congregation for women is a tributary of the reformed Order of St. Teresa of Avila. The connection between St. Teresa of Avila and the TOCD Congregation is spontaneous; it is not human but divine. The rich Landlady Eliswa identified herself with ‘poor and beggar’ and she changed her residence from the comfortable two storied building to a nearby shed and again to the granary house, seeking more silence, more prayer and more detachment.
St. Teresa of Avila was the one who wished to keep this Primitive Rule and with this intention, she founded the convents of the Reformed Order. With no human instruction Mother Eliswa separated the room into cells and practised contemplation in that cell by turning to the side of the Tabernacle of the Koonammau Church. She nurtured in herself the Carmelite custom of silent prayer and meditation in cells. Mother Eliswa exhorts that the chapel and the room are to be the favourite places for a sister for prayer and meditation. She quoted St. Bernard and said that the path to heaven from the room of a monastery is easier.
The first convent of the TOCD Congregation was named St. Teresa’s Convent. On June 13, When Fr. Leopold laid the foundation stone, he kept some medals of St. Teresa, Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph and a piece of paper on which he wrote that this convent was dedicated to St. Teresa of Avila. This convent was built by Fr. Leopold Beccaro OCD, according to the design of St. Teresa of Avila, with 13 rooms. Fr. Leopold affirmed that it is not he who built this convent but Mother Teresa of Avila. He emphasized the virtues of St. Teresa and said that this convent is the fulfilment of the desire of St. Teresa, who in her life time, wished to build a convent in India, but she could not actualize it and now, in heaven, she interceded and accomplished it. In the account of the construction of the new convent, it is mentioned that it is a thing beyond the human capacity and it is happened through the intercession of St. Teresa, the beloved bride of Christ. On August 14, 1867, Fr. Leopold brought a big piece of born of St. Teresa of Avila to the convent and entrusted it to Mother Eliswa and he exclaimed that he got such a great relic and he affirmed that it is the symbol of the special love of St. Teresa of Avila towards her dear daughters. So, this first convent of the TOCD Congregation is very much related to St. Teresa of Avila.
In 1890, like refugees, Mother Eliswa and sisters went to Ernakulam and stayed in the outhouse of CSST. On October 28, the Secretary of the Delegate Apostolic of India visited the sisters with Fr. Camillus OCD and Fr. Candidus OCD. He discussed the affairs of the Latin Rite sisters with Fr. Candidus and Fr. Camillus, and understood the humble state of the sisters, and he said:
“The Lord loves you much and His immense graces are upon you. He will bring greater joy for these present sufferings. Sometimes, the just also have to suffer, but those sufferings are very fruitful for souls. St. Teresa of Avila suffered much to found her monasteries of the reformed Order. So you, her daughters, also have to suffer this. Please pray for me also, I will remember you all, in my prayers and Holy Mass.
This is a proof that the contemporary ecclesiastical authorities also admitted the truth that Mother Eliswa was a true follower of St. Teresa and received the charism and courage to found the TOCD Congregation for women. Thus, she represents a new stream flowing from the river that began to flow from Mount Carmel. The relationship with TOCD Congregation for women and St. Teresa of Avila is spontaneous and it is the divine plan of God. Mother Eliswa was not only a simple widow, but was also one among the great founders of Carmel.
4 God Alone Suffices
The motto of Holy Mother Teresa of Avila is very clearly stated in her own poem. It goes like this:
“Let nothing trouble you Let nothing scare you, All is fleeting, God alone is unchanging. Patience Everything obtains, Who possesses God Nothing wants. God alone suffices”.
The whole life of Mother Eliswa was centred on this motto ‘God alone suffices’. She gave priority to God and His affairs. Mother Eliswa repeated these words and she asked her sisters to repeat them, “My Lord Jesus, You alone are sufficient to me, nothing other”. Mother Elliswa was a person who concentrated her eyes on God and she said that the only subject of her desire is, three alphabets: ‘tha mpu ran’. When we go through the pages of her teachings we can see many ideas which are based on this central idea. She lived this motto of St. Teresa in its fullness. She gave priority to God and his affairs and submitted fully to the will of God. She says, Brides of the world seek the world, but Brides of the Lord seek God alone. So the only aim of those who live poverty and humility in the convent is God. She says, “Do everything to please God and pray before each action, “All for you O’ my God”.
5 The Admonitions of St. Teresa of Avila and Mother Eliswa
Mother Eliswa was a true follower of St. Teresa of Avila and she grasped the inner sense of the teachings of the Saint. St. Teresa of Avila, who says: “Be determined sisters that you came to die for Christ, not to live comfortably for Christ”. Mother Eliswa in her teachings advices her daughters, the means to become saints: “It is necessary to say to ourselves that I came to this convent not to live a comfortable life but to live a life with difficulty. Not to live with everything but to live in poverty, not to be respected but to be criticized, not to fulfil my own will always, but to be submissive to the will of all. We need to repeat it again and again to ourselves”.
In the beginning of the Way of Perfection Mother Teresa gives us a warning about the tricks of Satan that everything can be harmful to those as weak as we women are. The wiles of the devil are many for women who live a very cloistered life. Mother Eliswa a true daughter of Holy Mother Teresa was vigilant about the tricks of Satan and she was prudent to avoid such occasions. When a snake entered in that little panambumadam, she killed it by herself and avoided the occasion of violating the law of enclosure.
St. Teresa of Avila explains that three things are very important for spiritual life. She says: “I shall enlarge on only three things, which are from our constitutions, for it is very important that we understand that how much the practise of three things help us to possess inwardly and outwardly the peace of our Lord recommended so highly to us. They are: fraternal Love, detachment and real humility. When we evaluate the life of Mother Eliswa, we can see that she was a great model for these virtues. In the pages of the first Volume of the Chronicles of the Koonammau convent, these three things are very often mentioned as the key to prayer life.
5.1 Fraternal Love
As we analyze the three things upheld by Holy Mother St. Teresa it is for the fraternal love that she gives the first place. It is important that we have this virtue, for there is nothing annoying for those who love each other. In the life of Mother Eliswa we can see a good model of fraternal love. Mother Eliswa was a person who lived beyond the prejudices of Rites and he received all worthy candidates irrespective of Rites. She had no worldly calculations to keep the newly founded congregation for Latin sisters only. Since 1889, she suffered much in the Koonammav Convent, but she kept no hatred or ill feeling towards the sisters who behaved differently, instead of that when she left the convent she greeted them with sisterly love and bid farewell to them. The Syrian sisters who lived with her for 21 years praised her love and addressed her, ‘vazhthappetta’. She never talked about the sufferings which she underwent in Koonammau and she also discouraged her sisters to speak those things in the community or to the outsiders. She knew the dignity of religious life and she respected the dignity of others and worked for the edification of sisters. She knew very well the special grace and special responsibility of the consecrated life and presented a model of life to her followers.
5.2 Detachment
Mother Teresa of Avila says that if detachment is practised with perfection, includes everything. If we embrace the Creator and care not at all for the whole of creation, God will infuse the virtues. Mother Teresa also says about the necessity of the detachment from our relatives: “Oh, if we religious could understand the great harm that comes from having too much to do with relatives! How we could flee from them! Surely if they give the body some comfort, the spirit pays well for it”. Mother shows astonishment at the harm that is caused by dealing with relatives.
As Mother Eliswa, grew in her special charism, she abandoned the comfortable and luxurious Vakayil house and changed her residence to a neighbouring shed and then to a granary house. She was convinced of the necessity of the virtue of detachment and she practised it in a perfect way. Since 1852, her life was identification with Jesus and His self emptying. She left all her properties as the capital of the convent and never spoke about these properties and never argued for her rights. The contemporary people testified that she was a person of perfect detachment. For example, Bro. Leopold OCD addressed her ‘Prapanchaviraktha’ which shows her total detachment from all that of earth: name fame, position, possession, etc. Nothing could distract her from the path of fulfilling the will of God and she went ahead with full trust even in darkness and emptiness.
5.3 Humility
True humility and detachment always go together. They are two inseparable sisters. Mother explains these virtues as sovereign virtues, rulers over all creation, deliverers from all snares and entanglements laid by the devil and virtues so loved by our Divine Master. The characteristic mark of Mother Eliswa was humility. On the second day of the entrance to panambumadam, she said. “We are poor and beggars”. She never sought for name, fame, position or possession, but her life was a complete submission to the plan of God in humility and detachment. God is the only aim of those who live in poverty and humility. Mother says that we have to be patient in humility as the gold is tested in fire.
Mother Eliswa says, “To practise humility, love those least considered and choose for oneself the least. Be submissive even to the youngest sister. Do not say anything good or bad about oneself. Do not say any excuse when others point out your weakness or drawbacks, rather remain silent, but if it causes any offence to others reveal the reality. (No. 34)”.
6 Other Teachings of St. Teresa Poverty
An important characteristic of the teachings of both St. Teresa of Avila and Servant of God Mother Eliswa is the life of poverty. According to St. Teresa, poverty of spirit embraces many virtues. In it lies great dominion. She says that the greatest honour of a poor person lies in the fact of his being truly poor. In her opinion, honour and money always go together. Poverty that is chosen for God alone has no need of pleasing anyone but Him. She asked us to keep in mind that holy poverty is our insignia and a virtue which at the beginning when our Order was founded, was so esteemed and well kept by our holy fathers. These are the insignia that must be on our coat of Arms, for we must desire to observe poverty in every way, in houses, clothing, words and most of all in thought. She asked her daughters that never seek sustenance through human schemes. As St. Clare said, great walls are those of poverty. She said that it was with walls like these, and those of humility that she wanted to enclose her monasteries.
Meditation
St. Teresa of Avila is the patroness and Teacher of Prayer. The primacy of prayer in the spiritual life means as Teresa understands it, that you can quite identify one’s spiritual life by the level of prayer that the person is living. Growth is conditioned by effort determined by grace and Prayer is the normative of spiritual progress. The whole life of Mother Eliswa was immersed in meditation. From the day of the first Holy Communion, we see her strong devotion to the Eucharistic Lord. Since 1852, she practiced meditation in one of the rooms of the Vakayil ancestral house and then she continued in granary house by turning towards the Tabernacle of the Koonammau Church. In her teachings, she advises the sisters to practice two hours of meditation or at least one hour. She suggests meditation as an important means to keep the vow of chastity. A sister has to practise necessary ways in life to protect the Lilly flower of virginity without any damage. If she has to be a faithful religious person, she has to love the Bridegroom continuously through the means of meditation, receiving Holy Communion, mortification and solitude. Meditation is the first means to love Jesus. The soul is the blessed furnace to burn with the love of God. Never delay to attain God’s help by way of prayer in times of trial against purity. Mother Eliswa’s soul was energized with light and love which she acquired through meditation and she was gifted with the virtue of prudence and thus she never failed in her option at times of challenges and conflicts.
Devotion to BVM
In her early childhood we see her as a pious girl who strictly and regularly practised Marian devotion. In her childhood, she collected flowers and decorated the Statue of Our Lady and she continued this practise until she was able to walk by herself. When she was not able to go to collect flowers, she expressed that it was like starving the whole day. On her death bed, we see a zealous devotee of Our Lady, she was continuously calling the name of Mary and Jesus. She used to address others ‘Hail Mary’ when they approached her. She was immersed in Marian devotion. The spiritual director, Fr. Leopold in his letter to Superior General testified that Mother Eliswa was a true daughter of Blessed Virgin Mary and in the congregation she was known as Sister Eliswa of BVM. Mother advices us, “Place all your hope in the passion of Jesus Christ, then seek the protection of our Blessed Virgin Mary and pray daily to attain faith and hope (No.22).
Conclusion
Servant of God Mother Eliswa pioneered in the Kerala Church as consecrated woman. Internally and externally this TOCD Congregation was deeply related to Holy Mother Teresa of Avila. They were following the Reformed Constitution of St. Teresa of Avila and all customs and traditions of the Reformed Order of Discalced Carmelites. Her life and spirituality is rooted in Carmel. Her life is dedicated to Contemplation and she identified herself with Jesus and took part the paschal mysteries of Christ. Her life was a true witness to the Gospel and her evangelical life is the best fruits which she could offer for the Kerala Church. Her eyes were fixed on Lord who said to her what is temporal and what is eternal. She opted for the eternal and gave up everything to possess the eternal treasure. She loved everybody without any prejudices of Rites and shared everything with others and lived a life centred on the Beatitudes of the Gospel.
--117.199.14.209 (talk) 02:44, 17 January 2013 (UTC)Italic text
Posted by ctcgeneralate at 03:14 Bold text--MOTHER ELISWA VAKAYIL T.O.C.D. (talk) 05:55, 7 January 2013 (UTC)--MOTHER ELISWA VAKAYIL T.O.C.D. (talk) 05:55, 7 January 2013 (UTC)
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