You Can Be a Saint by Rev Fr AnthonyNzubechukwu Ibegbunam
nzubemaria@gmail.com
St Elizabeth of Hungary also known as St Elizabeth of Thuringia was born on July 7, 1207 in the Kingdom of Hungary. Historians dispute her birthplace. Some say she was born in Sarospatak and others say Pozosony (modern-day Slovakia.) Her father was Andrew II, the rich and powerful King of Hungary. Her mother was Gertrude, a German countess. They were married for political reasons as was common of the times. As a young child, Elizabeth exhibited a special love for the poor. At the age of four in 1211 Elizabeth was betrothed to the eldest son of Landgrave [Count] Hermann I of Thuringia, Germany for political reasons. She was taken to the Thuringian court to be brought up with her future husband and, in the course of time, to be betrothed to him. The court of Thuringia was at this period famous for its magnificence. The landgrave of this region was one of the richest and most influential sovereigns in Europe at the beginning of the 13th century and his castle at Wartburg was a centre of magnificence and culture.
Notwithstanding the turbulence and purely secular life of the court and the pomp of her surroundings, the little girl grew up a very religious child with an evident inclination to prayer and pious observances and small acts of self-mortification. As she played games with the other children, she contrived little ways to sneak into the chapel and have a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Because of these actions she became the ridicule of some. In 1213 Elizabeth's mother, Gertrude, was murdered by Hungarian nobles. On 31 December, 1216, the oldest son of the landgrave, Hermann, who Elizabeth was to marry, died; after this she was betrothed to Ludwig [Louis], the second son. Despite the fact that political reasons had determined the betrothal of Elizabeth and Louis, a sincere love developed between the two young people, enlivened by faith and by the desire to do God's will.
Louis was 18 years old when his father died on April 25, 1217. He succeeded him and began to reign over Thuringia. In 1221, he was made regent of Meissen and the East Mark. The same year, Louis and Elizabeth were married despite the objections of his family who disapproved of her simple and pious ways. He was twenty-one and she was fourteen. The wedding was a simple celebration. The marriage was a happy and exemplary one, and the couple were devotedly attached to each other. Louis proved himself worthy of his wife. When others complained of her actions he said, “So long as she does not sell the castle, I am happy with her!” He gave his protection to her acts of charity, penance, and her vigils, and often held Elizabeth's hands as she knelt praying at night beside his bed. He was also a capable ruler and brave soldier. The Germans called him St. Ludwig [Louis], an appellation given to him as one of the best men of his age and the pious husband of St. Elizabeth. Louis, increasingly admired for his wife's great faith, said to her, referring to her attention to the poor: “Dear Elizabeth, it is Christ whom you have cleansed, nourished and cared for”. A clear witness to how faith and love of God and neighbour strengthen family life and deepen ever more the matrimonial union.” [Benedict XVI, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, General Audience, Saint Peter's Square, Wednesday, 20 October 2010]
The young couple found spiritual support in the Friars Minor [Franciscans] who began to spread through Thuringia in 1222. Elizabeth chose from among them Friar Rodeger (Rüdiger) as her spiritual director. When he told her about the event of the conversion of Francis of Assisi, a rich young merchant, Elizabeth was even more enthusiastic in the journey of her Christian life. From that time she became even more determined to follow the poor and Crucified Christ, present in poor people. Even when her first son, Herman (1222-41) was born, followed by two other children, Sophia (1224-84) and Gertrude (1227-97), Elizabeth never neglected her charitable works. She also helped the Friars Minor to build a convent at Halberstadt, of which Friar Rodeger became superior. For this reason Elizabeth's spiritual direction was taken on by Fr. Conrad of Marburg.
With her profound sensitivity, Elizabeth saw the contradictions between the faith professed and Christian practice. She could not bear compromise. Once, on entering a church on the Feast of the Assumption, she took off her crown, laid it before the Crucifix and, covering her face, lay prostrate on the ground. When her mother-in-law reprimanded her for this gesture, Elizabeth answered: "How can I, a wretched creature, continue to wear a crown of earthly dignity, when I see my King Jesus Christ crowned with thorns?”. [Ibid]
The farewell to her husband was a hard trial, when, at the end of June in 1227, Louis IV joined the Crusade of the Emperor Frederick II. He reminded his wife that this was traditional for the sovereigns of Thuringia. Elizabeth answered him: “Far be it from me to detain you. I have given my whole self to God and now I must also give you”. However, fever decimated the troops and Louis himself fell ill and died in Otranto, Italy on September 11, 1227. He was 27 years old. The news of the death of Louis reached Elizabeth in October, just after she has given birth to her third child, Gertrude. On hearing the sad news, Elizabeth, who was only twenty years old, exclaimed in grief: "The world with all its joys is now dead to me." She was so sorrowful that she withdrew in solitude; but then, strengthened by prayer and comforted by the hope of seeing him again in Heaven, she began to attend to the affairs of the Kingdom. However, another trial was lying in wait for Elizabeth. Her brother-in-law, Henry usurped the government of Thuringia, declaring himself the true heir of Louis IV and accusing Elizabeth of being a pious woman incapable of ruling. The young widow, with three children, was banished from the Castle of Wartburg and went in search of a place of refuge. Only two of her ladies remained close to her. They accompanied her and entrusted the three children to the care of Louis's friends. Wandering through the villages, Elizabeth worked wherever she was welcomed, looked after the sick, spun thread and cooked [Ibid].
During this difficult situation which she bore with great faith, with patience and with dedication to God, a few relatives who had stayed faithful to her and viewed her brother-in-law's rule as illegal, restored her reputation. So it was that at the beginning of 1228, Elizabeth received sufficient income to withdraw to the family's castle in Marburg, where her spiritual director, Fra Conrad, also lived.
Elizabeth spent her last three years in the hospital she built at Marburg, serving the sick and keeping wake over the dying. She sought the most repugnant tasks and carried them out with love. She became what one might call a consecrated woman in the world and, with other friends clothed in grey habits, formed a religious community. One day a young girl went to Elizabeth and said to her “I want to be a member of your community”; she responded “That is not an easy decision. Consider if you are ready to live by our rules: 1) Patiently endure the scorn of others, living in voluntary poverty. 2) Be humble. 3) Don't seek human comfort or pleasure of the senses. 4) Be merciful toward your neighbour. 5) Always keep God in your heart and in your thoughts. 6) Thank God that His Sacrifice has freed you from eternal death. 7) Because God has suffered so much for you, carry your cross with patience. 8) Consecrate your body and soul to God. 9) Remember often that you are the instrument of God and aspire to eternal union with Him. 10) Treat your neighbour as you would want to be treated. 11) Always think about brevity of human life and remember that both young and old people die. Turn your thoughts to eternal life. 12) Always repent of your sins and ask God's forgiveness.
After a life of heroic charity and selfless service to the poor and the sick, Elizabeth passed unto glory in Marburg, Germany on November 17, 1231 at the age of 24. Her last words were: “The time has come when Almighty God calls his friends to himself.” Very soon after her death, miracles were reported that happened at her grave in the church of the hospital she built at Marburg where she was buried, especially those of healing. Her spiritual director, Fr. Conrad showed great zeal in advancing the process of canonization. By papal command three examinations were held of those who had been healed: namely, in August, 1232, January, 1233, and January, 1235. He wrote a report in support of the canonization to Pope Gregory IX: “Elizabeth was a lifelong friend of the poor and gave herself entirely 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, and 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 food, 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. Good Friday of that year (1228), 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 hospital 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.” (Epistula magistri Conradi, 11-19).
The testimonies of her holiness were so many and such that after only four years, Pope Gregory IX canonized her in 1235 and, that same year, the beautiful church built in her honour at Marburg was consecrated. November 17 is her feast day. Elizabeth is the Patroness of the Third Order Regular of St Francis, of the Franciscan Secular Order and of Catholic charities.
LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ST ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY
Elizabeth was born into a life of riches and privilege, but lived a life of simplicity, generosity and great faith. She chose a life of penance and asceticism over a life of leisure and luxury. This choice endeared her in the hearts of the common people throughout Europe. In fact, she inspired greatest admiration among the women of her time. She lived at a time of great suffering. She sought to serve the poorest of the poor. Are you doing anything to help those in need? “St Elizabeth is a true example for all who have roles of leadership: the exercise of authority, at every level, must be lived as a service to justice and charity, in the constant search for the common good.”
“In St Elizabeth we see how faith and friendship with Christ create a sense of justice, of the equality of all, of the rights of others and how they create love, charity. And from this charity is born hope too, the certainty that we are loved by Christ and that the love of Christ awaits us, thereby rendering us capable of imitating Christ and of seeing Christ in others. St Elizabeth invites us to rediscover Christ, to love him and to have faith; and thereby to find true justice and love, as well as the joy that one day we shall be immersed in divine love, in the joy of eternity with God. [Ibid]
Under the spiritual direction of a Franciscan friar, she led a life of prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor and sick. 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 [relax] very easily if we don't have someone to challenge us. Elizabeth understood well the lesson Jesus taught when he washed his disciples' feet at the Last Supper: The Christian must be one who serves the humblest needs of others, even if one serves from an exalted position. 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.” [St. Elizabeth of Hungary, https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-elizabeth-of-hungary/]
Prayer
Almighty God, by whose grace your servant Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and honored Jesus in the poor of this world. Grant that we, following her example, may, with love and gladness, serve those in any need or trouble. We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen
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