(yesterday) Nov. 19, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow, Principal patroness of the third Order. St. Elizabeth, one of the greatest glories of the Seraphic Order, was born in 1207. She was promised in …More
(yesterday) Nov. 19, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow, Principal patroness of the third Order.
St. Elizabeth, one of the greatest glories of the Seraphic Order, was born in 1207. She was promised in marriage at a very early age, according to the custom of the country, and was brought up at the court of the Duke of Thuringia, whose son Louis she married, when she reached her fourteenth year. From this holy union three children were born. On becoming Duchess, she did not allow herself to be dazzled by the brilliance of her position. She redoubled her mortification and prayers, and carried out her responsibilities to perfection. God rewarded the inexhaustible charity of the illustrious princess by miracles. One day, it is related, when she was in the town of Eisenach, carrying supplies for the poor in her cloak, she suddenly found herself face to face with her husband returning from the hunt. Astonished at seeing her bent by the weight of her burden, the prince wished to see what she was carrying. He opened her coat, but all he saw there were some white and red roses, although it was not the season for flowers. By keeping vigilant watch over her senses and a severe guard over her heart, Elizabeth preserved her innocence and her fervor. This privileged soul was too pleasing to God to escape tribulation. At the age of twenty she lost her husband, was despoiled of all her earthly goods, and expelled from her palace, the Castle of Wartburg. No longer possessing anything, the unfortunate princess had to provide for herself and her children by working with her hands.
Her brother-in-law Henry, who had been so merciless towards her, repented of his injustice, and re-established Elizabeth in her rights. However, she herself renounced all human honors, left the castle, and withdrew to a small wooden dwelling near the Friars Minor, who had already given her the habit of the Third Order. She died on November 19, 1231, at the age of only twenty-four. – (from) The Franciscan Supplement.
St. Elizabeth, one of the greatest glories of the Seraphic Order, was born in 1207. She was promised in marriage at a very early age, according to the custom of the country, and was brought up at the court of the Duke of Thuringia, whose son Louis she married, when she reached her fourteenth year. From this holy union three children were born. On becoming Duchess, she did not allow herself to be dazzled by the brilliance of her position. She redoubled her mortification and prayers, and carried out her responsibilities to perfection. God rewarded the inexhaustible charity of the illustrious princess by miracles. One day, it is related, when she was in the town of Eisenach, carrying supplies for the poor in her cloak, she suddenly found herself face to face with her husband returning from the hunt. Astonished at seeing her bent by the weight of her burden, the prince wished to see what she was carrying. He opened her coat, but all he saw there were some white and red roses, although it was not the season for flowers. By keeping vigilant watch over her senses and a severe guard over her heart, Elizabeth preserved her innocence and her fervor. This privileged soul was too pleasing to God to escape tribulation. At the age of twenty she lost her husband, was despoiled of all her earthly goods, and expelled from her palace, the Castle of Wartburg. No longer possessing anything, the unfortunate princess had to provide for herself and her children by working with her hands.
Her brother-in-law Henry, who had been so merciless towards her, repented of his injustice, and re-established Elizabeth in her rights. However, she herself renounced all human honors, left the castle, and withdrew to a small wooden dwelling near the Friars Minor, who had already given her the habit of the Third Order. She died on November 19, 1231, at the age of only twenty-four. – (from) The Franciscan Supplement.