Hans Urs von Balthasar's unique volume on Therese of Lisieux and Elizabeth of the Trinity presents a theological biography of each of these holy Carmelite sisters. In this book he gives profound insights into their spirituality, showing that their differences actually complement one another as two aspects of the life of contemplation.

Von Balthasar probes the depths of the contemplative mission and spirituality of each of these young Carmelites, who both died in their twenties, and shows how their lives give powerful witness to the critical importance of contemplation as a means to holiness. Each woman is clearly shown as a daughter of her Carmelite heritage with her own emphasis: Therese's discovery of the "little way of love" and Elizabeth's focus on the indwelling of God in the soul. With so much confusion today about the meaning of the contemplative life, the lives of Therese and Elizabeth are a strong re-affirmation of the primacy and importance of the contemplative vocation in the life of the Church.

"Therese and Elizabeth, at one in their foundational knowledge, stand in a strange, fruitful opposition within the framework of their mission. Their common aim is to dedicate their entire lives to the reality of faith; they want to have a 'theological existence.' But Therese wants to let Scripture and dogma become flesh and blood in her life, which carries the risk of causing objective truth to become the 'little way.' Elizabeth does the opposite: she so allows her whole existence to be taken up in the truth of the Gospel that the overwhelming objectivity of God's truth threatens to obliterate her subjectivity. Both attempt to obey their calling completely, but in fact each one remains dependent on the complementary calling of the other. They point to each other; they form the two complementary hemispheres that round out the spiritual world of the Carmelites."
-Hans Urs von Balthasar

"This book is an important event for every serious student of the spiritual life. Everyone interested in the contemplative dimension of the Christian life needs to drink deeply of the wisdom from these pages."
-Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.
Author, The Reform of Renewal

"Balthasar knows the written works of Therese and Elizabeth thoroughly. This valuable study helps the reader to understand these two mystics and savor their spiritualities. This is a volume that gives voice to our desires."
-Colette Ackerman, O.C.D.
Review for Religious