St. Elizabeth of Hungary, religious

As long as, anyone has the means of doing good to his neighbors and does not do so,

he shall be reckoned a stranger to the love of the Lord.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63*

From their

Descendants there came a godless offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of king Antiochus, who had been held as hostage in Rome.

He became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the Greek era (in the year 175 B.С.).

(...) On the fifteenth day of the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five,

Antiochus erected the "abominable idol of the invaders" on the altar of the temple. Pagan altars were built throughout the whole land of Judea;

incense was offered at the doors of their houses and in the squares. There, wicked men tore up the books of the Law they found and burned them.

 

They killed anyone they caught in possession of the book of the Covenant and who fulfilled the precepts of the Law, as the royal decree had ordered.

But in spite of all this, many Israelites still remained firm and determined not to eat unclean food.

They preferred to die rather than to make themselves unclean with those foods (prohibited by the Law) that violated the Holy Covenant.

 

Ps 119:53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158 

Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Gospel: Luke 18:35-43

When Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging.

As he heard the crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by.

Then he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The people in front of him scolded him.

"Be quiet!" they said, but he cried out all the more, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus stopped, and ordered the blind man to be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him,

"What do you want me to do for you?" And the man said, "Lord, that I may see!" Jesus said, "Receive your sight, your faith has saved you."

At once the blind man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving praise to God.

And all the people who were there also praised God.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul."

Elizabeth was a princess of Hungary who was married to Louis of Thuringia.

She was widowed at an early age and so she devoted her energies to prayer and to caring for the sick at the hospital she had built.

Elizabeth became a Third Order Franciscan and today she is their patron saint. During their married years,

Elizabeth was already dedicated to giving alms to the poor and caring for the afflicted.

Louis came to support her in her charity by witnessing miracles that showed that what Elizabeth was doing was truly God's work.

 

One such miracle concerned a leper named Helias. Elizabeth had instructed that the sick man should be placed in the bed in which she and Louis slept.

Louis returned to find him there and was at first scandalized, but upon pulling back the sheets, the leper appeared as Christ on the cross.

In the life of Elizabeth, it is recorded that "Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul." Christ healed the blind man who begged, "Lord that I may see!"

May the Lord open the eyes of our souls, like Louis. May he open our hearts to others' needs like Saint Elizabeth.