+ St. Elizabeth of Hungary – who lived in the early 13th
century – was
the patron of Franciscan tertiaries and of Catholic charities. She was born a
princess, the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary. She was the great-aunt of St.
Elizabeth of Portugal. As was promised when they were children, Elizabeth
married Prince Louis of Thuringa at age 13. Using her influence, a hospital was
built at the foot of the mountain on which her castle stood; she tended to the
sick herself. Her family and courtiers opposed this, but she insisted she could
only follow Christ’s teaching, and not theirs.
Once when she was taking food
to the poor and sick, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her mantle to
see what she was carrying: the food had been miraculously changed to roses.
Upon the death of Louis, Elizabeth sold all that she had, and worked to support
her four children. Her gifts of bread to the poor, and of a large gift of grain
to a famine stricken Germany, led to her patronage of bakers and related
fields. Elizabeth died in 1231 at Marburg, Germany of natural causes. Her
relics and a gold crown she had worn in life are preserved at the convent of
St. Elizabeth in Vienna, Austria.
The Letter of St. John, of the
first reading today, must have meant something special to Elizabeth where it
speaks of helping any who are in need, as
a way of experiencing the love of God. St. John encouraged the followers of
Jesus to love not in word or speech but
in deed and truth: this is what St. Elizabeth of Hungary did
wholeheartedly!
The passage from St. Luke’s Sermon on the Plain lists any number of
practices that must be adopted by the true follower of Christ – but they are
summarized by giving, forgiving and helpful actions towards the poor and the
needy. May we, along with St. Elizabeth, follow Jesus’ command to love as he loved us – and so experience
his joy and his peace – both in this life and in the next!
Taste
and see the goodness of the Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment