• =?UTF-8?Q?17_November_'_St_Elizabeth_of_Hungary?=

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Mon Nov 16 09:09:20 2020
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    17 November ' St Elizabeth of Hungary

    (1207-1231)
    =E2=80=9CElizabeth was a lifelong friend of the poor and gave herself entir= ely
    to relieving the hungry. She ordered that one of her castles should be converted into a hospital in which she gathered many of the weak and
    feeble. She generously gave alms to all who were in need, not only in
    that place but in all the territories of her husband's empire. She
    spent all her own revenue from her husband's four principalities an=
    d
    finally she sold her luxurious possessions and rich clothes for the
    sake of the poor.

    Twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, Elizabeth went to
    visit the sick. She personally cared for those who were particularly
    repulsive; to some she gave good, to others clothing; some she carried
    on her own shoulders and performed many other kindly services. Her
    husband, of happy memory, gladly approved of these charitable works.
    Finally, when her husband died, she sought the highest perfection;
    filled with tears, she implored me to let her beg for alms from door
    to door.

    On Good Friday of that year, when the altars had been stripped, she
    laid her hands on the altar in a chapel in her own town, where she had established the Friars Minor and before witnesses she voluntarily
    renounced all worldly display and everything that our Saviour in the
    gospel advises us to abandon. Even then she saw that she could still
    be distracted by the cares and worldly glory which had surrounded her
    while her husband was alive. Against my will she followed me to
    Marburg. Here in the town she built a hospice where she gathered
    together the weak and the feeble. There she attended the most wretched
    and contemptible at her own table.

    Apart from those active good works, I declare before God that I have
    seldom seen a more contemplative woman.

    Before her death I heard her confession. When I asked what should be
    done about her goods and possessions, she replied that anything which
    seemed to be hers belonged to the poor. She asked me to distribute
    everything except one worn-out dress in which she wished to be buried.
    When all this had been decided, she received the body of our Lord.
    Afterward, until vespers, she spoke often of the holiest things she
    had heard in sermons. Then, she devoutly commended to God all who were
    sitting near her and as if falling into a gentle sleep, she died.=E2=80=9D
    =C2 ' from a letter by Fr Conrad of Marburg, spiritual director o=
    f Saint
    Elizabeth of Hungary

    Elizabeth understood well the lesson Jesus taught when he washed his
    disciples' feet at the Last Supper:=C2 the Christian must be one=
    who
    serves the humblest needs of others, even if one serves from an
    exalted position. In her short life, Elizabeth manifested such great
    love for the poor and suffering that she has become the patroness of
    Catholic charities and of the Secular Franciscan Order. The daughter
    of the King of Hungary, Elizabeth chose a life of penance and
    asceticism when a life of leisure and luxury could easily have been
    hers. This choice endeared her in the hearts of the common people
    throughout Europe.=C2 Of royal blood, Elizabeth could have lorded it
    over her subjects. Yet she served them with such a loving heart that
    her brief life won for her a special place in the hearts of many.
    Elizabeth is also an example to us in her following the guidance of a
    spiritual director. Growth in the spiritual life is a difficult
    process. We can play games very easily if we don't have someone to
    challenge us.

    St Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us!

    From Anastpaul 2017


    =E2=80=9CMercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.=E2=80=9D
    --St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church


    =E2=80=9CTwo works of mercy set a person free:
    Forgive and you will be forgiven
    and give and you will receive.=E2=80=9D

    =E2=80=9D Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works.
    There is the goal;
    that is why we run:
    we run toward it and once we reach it,
    in it we shall find rest.
    --St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church


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    Prayer

    O holy God, who didst endow thy servant and bishop Hugh of
    Lincoln with wise and cheerful boldness, and didst teach him
    to commend the discipline of holy life to kings and princes:
    Grant that we also, rejoicing in the Good News of thy mercy,
    and fearing nothing but the loss of thee, may be bold to speak
    the truth in love, in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer,
    who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one
    God, now and for ever.

    --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
    * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)