St. Elizabeth of Hungary

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Monday, 17 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to continue to have faith, hope and trust in the Lord despite us maybe facing lots of challenges and trials in our journey. We must always have hope in God and we should not easily give up our faith in Him even when things seem to be very bleak, desperate and hopeless for us. We must remember that even in the past, our predecessors had faced lots of similar troubles and challenges, and many of them really suffered very terribly. And yet, they did not give up their faith in the Lord, and for their trust in Him, they were vindicated, rescued and restored to hope.

In our first reading today, taken from the First Book of the Maccabees, we heard of the moment when the descendants of the Israelites, the Jewish people living in Judea and Galilee, were suffering greatly during the time of the Greek successor kingdoms of the Empire of Alexander the Great. The Greek Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes in particular was notorious for his harsh and intense persecutions against the Jewish people in his dominion, which as we heard in our first reading today, stemmed from the desire to the unite the very diverse nature of his subjects, being a kingdom ruling over many different people and cultures, including that of the Jews mostly in Judea and Galilee.

And therefore the whole premise and history of the Book of the Maccabees were centred on the struggle between the faithful Jews who refused to obey the king’s commands to abandon their Jewish customs and practices, their faith in YHVH their Lord and God, and adopt instead the Greek customs, practices and beliefs. Many of those faithful to the true path suffered and many died under persecution from the King, who enforced greatly his laws and orders to convert all the Jewish and other people of his kingdom to the Greek customs and pagan beliefs. But the Lord was with His people and He raised up the Maccabees, a courageous family of leaders who led the people of God to eventual victory and freedom against the Seleucids.

Then, from the Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus came to Jericho and encountered a blind man who sought the Lord to heal him from his blindness. And despite being discouraged by others around him who tried to keep him silent and who told him off for crying out for the Lord, the blind man kept on crying out louder and louder until the Lord came to him and healed him for his great faith and trust in Him. He was healed and saved because of the great trust and faith He had in the Lord knowing that He alone has the power to make him see once again and healing him from his blindness, a feat that many would have thought to be impossible.

This is a reminder to all of us as Christians that we must also have a similar kind of faith in the Lord, a faith that is truly strong and unassailable, a faith that is indeed beyond all challenges and trials, faith that do not become weaker or dimmer even when we are faced with such great difficulties in our paths. This is the kind of faith which we should cultivate in all of us, faith that grows ever stronger each time and faith that continue to help us focus towards the Lord even in the most difficult and darkest moments in our lives. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves to a faith like this, brothers and sisters? We should be inspired by the courage and the faith of the blind man who never gave up and keep on seeking the Lord, no matter what.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a great and holy woman, a faithful servant of God, whose life and devotion, commitment and worthy life should be source of inspiration for all of us to follow, in how we should be truly faithful in our whole lives as Christians. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess of Hungary who was married to a noble landowner and ruler of Thuringia in Germany. She had to marry at a young age and raise a family. But at the same time, she also lived a life of piety and virtue, inspired by the examples and reforms carried out by her contemporary, St. Francis of Assisi. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was renowned for her great charitable actions and care for the poor and the sick throughout her husband’s lands, which was approved by her husband, the ruler of the land. Her action also influenced him greatly, as her husband Louis often stood by the Church and the efforts the Church did.

Later on, when St. Elizabeth of Hungary was widowed quite early on, just a few years after her marriage, she made a vow of chastity akin to that of those who have joined the religious orders, and resisted any efforts by her family and others to have her remarry because of her still relatively young age. She continued to do plenty of works of charity, caring for the needy and those who were suffering, as much as she could do. Her great charity and love for others were even shown in miracles such as the famous ‘miracle of the roses’ attributed to her. In that miracle account, St. Elizabeth of Hungary was caught by her husband in one of her times sneaking out to give alms and food for the poor, with her cloak containing food from her husband’s mansion.

When she was confronted and asked of the cloak’s contents, the contents were miraculously transformed into that of roses, a clear proof of God’s guidance and approval of her actions. St. Elizabeth of Hungary continued to carry out her charitable works and actions for the rest of her life. Her examples were indeed good inspiration for each and every one of us to follow since through her efforts, she has touched the lives of so many people around her and beyond, and showing many of us even to this day on how we should truly be faithful to God in all things, even in the smallest things that we do in our lives. We should imitate and follow her good examples in our own lives as Christians as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the life and works of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and all that we have heard earlier on from our Scripture passages today, let us all therefore continue to strive to be always faithful to the Lord at all times, showing this great faith through our every actions, works and deeds. Let us show our faith courageously and be persistent in seeking God like that of the blind man seeking the Lord and His healing, and let us all continue to trust in God wholeheartedly as always. Amen.

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Monday, 17 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 18 : 35-43

At that time, 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.

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Monday, 17 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 118 : 53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158

I feel indignant at the wicked who have forsaken Your law.

The wicked have me trapped in their snares, but I have not forgotten Your laws.

Rescue me from human oppression, and help me keep Your precepts.

My persecutors close in with evil intent; they are far from Your law.

Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes.

I look upon the faithless with loathing, because they do not obey Your ruling.

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Monday, 17 November 2025 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Maccabees 1 : 10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64

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.C..

It was then that some rebels emerged from Israel, who succeeded in winning over many people. They said, “Let us renew contact with the people around us for we had endured many misfortunes since we separated from them.”

This proposal was well-received and some eagerly went to the king. The king authorised them to adopt the customs of the pagan nations. With his permission, they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem in the pagan style. And as they wanted to be like the pagans in everything, they made artificial foreskins for themselves and abandoned the Holy Covenant, sinning as they pleased.

Antiochus issued a decree to his whole kingdom. All the people of his empire had to renounce their particular customs and become one people. All the pagan nations obeyed and respected the king’s decree, and, even in Israel, many accepted the imposed cult. They offered sacrifices to idols and no longer respected the Sabbath.

On the fifteenth day of the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five, in the year 167 B.C., 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 burnt 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. And Israel suffered a very great trial.

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the coming of the time of reckoning for all of us in the end of time, when God will judge all the living and the dead, over all of Creation. He is our Lord and Master, the Master over all the whole Universe. Everything that is present all around us in this Universe, in our world are merely the wonderful things that God had created to be part of His Creation. However, we must always keep in mind that it is Him Who is the One we ought to worship and focus our attention towards. Unfortunately, more often than not, we got distracted by the temptations present all around us, and by the marvels and wonders of what God had created, which unfortunately led us to focus our attention on them instead on the Lord, as we should have done.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Wisdom in which the author highlighted the foolishness of all those people who disregarded the one and only True God, and instead sought to worship the things that God had created, such as the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the sky and the sea, and any other objects in this universe, and even men themselves, instead of the One Who had made and created all of them. They worshipped the things that were inferior to the One Who is supreme over all, and far exceeding those things that mankind had worshipped throughout time instead of God, because of their limited understanding and lack of Wisdom and knowledge of the truth of God. They instead depended on their own intellect, power, wisdom and understanding, and in their lack of ability to appreciate God’s truth, they instead focused their attentions on the wrong ones.

This was why so many of our predecessors, from many different parts of the world, in their incomplete and flawed understanding of how the world works, and the lack of knowledge of the Lord, Who is in fact behind everything and is the reason why everything is present, this is why so many of them chose to worship pagan gods and idols, worshipping inanimate objects and living things alike, especially those that were beyond our comprehension. God reminded all of us that this is not how we should live our lives, and this is not the correct path that we are to follow. Instead, we should return our attention and focus on the Lord, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to His cause, entrusting ourselves to His Wisdom and Providence at all times.

In today’s Gospel passage, we heard of the reminders of the Lord to all of His disciples that everything will come to a moment of reckoning as mentioned earlier, when the time comes for the Lord to return and restore everything to perfect order and when He would gather all of us once again into His Presence. And this will come at a time most unexpected for everyone, and no one but God Himself knows when this moment exactly will happen. Again, this is an important reminder for all of us that we must not be ignorant of the truth of God and everything that He had revealed to us. Too many people, as highlighted in that Gospel passage today, were swayed by various worldly temptations that they failed to realise their sinfulness and wicked state of life, and thus fell into damnation.

We must always be wary lest we may be tempted by the same kind of temptations, the temptations that could bring us into our downfall if we are not careful. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by those desires and pleasures of the world, the comforts of life and all the wonders of this earthly existence, while ignoring and forgetting God’s presence in all of them, then we may end up being like so many of our predecessors, who have fallen into the path of sin, disobeying God and His Law, His will and commandments. And as Christians, who follow the Lord and believe in Him, we must always put Him first and foremost at the very centre of our life and as the focus and emphasis of our very existence in this world. We should not allow any other things to become distractions, keeping us away from God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a great and holy woman, a faithful servant of God, whose life and devotion, commitment and worthy life should be source of inspiration for all of us to follow, in how we should be truly faithful in our whole lives as Christians. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess of Hungary who was married to a noble landowner and ruler of Thuringia in Germany. She had to marry at a young age and raise a family. But at the same time, she also lived a life of piety and virtue, inspired by the examples and reforms carried out by her contemporary, St. Francis of Assisi. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was renowned for her great charitable actions and care for the poor and the sick throughout her husband’s lands, which was approved by her husband, the ruler of the land. Her action also influenced him greatly, as her husband Louis often stood by the Church and the efforts the Church did.

Later on, when St. Elizabeth of Hungary was widowed quite early on, just a few years after her marriage, she made a vow of chastity akin to that of those who have joined the religious orders, and resisted any efforts by her family and others to have her remarry because of her still relatively young age. She continued to do plenty of works of charity, caring for the needy and those who were suffering, as much as she could do. Her great charity and love for others were even shown in miracles such as the famous ‘miracle of the roses’ attributed to her. In that miracle account, St. Elizabeth of Hungary was caught by her husband in one of her times sneaking out to give alms and food for the poor, with her cloak containing food from her husband’s mansion. When she was confronted and asked of the cloak’s contents, the contents were miraculously transformed into that of roses.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired and encouraged by the faithful examples of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, in doing what we can so that we may always be ever faithful to God in all things. We should not allow temptations of this world and our wicked desires and ambitions, attachments and other things from leading us into our downfall through sin. Let us instead inspire one another to be ever righteous, virtuous and worthy in all of our works and dealings in life, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 17 : 26-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. In those days people ate and drank and got married; but on the day Noah entered the Ark, the flood came and destroyed them all.”

“So it was in the days of Lot : people ate and drank, and bought and sold, and planted and built; but on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven, which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”

“On that day, if you are on the rooftop, do not go down into the house to get your belongings; and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again.”

“I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it might happen that one will be taken, and the other left; though two women are grinding corn together, one might be taken and the other left.” Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this take place, Lord?” And He answered, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.”

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on, throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Friday, 17 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Wisdom 13 : 1-9

The natural helplessness of humans is seen in their ignorance of God. The experience of good things did not lead them to the knowledge of Him Who is. They were interested in His works, but they did not recognise the Author of them.

Fire, wind, air, the sphere of the stars, rushing water and the lights in the sky were held as the rulers of the world. If, charmed by such beauty, they took them for gods, let them know how far superior is their sovereign. And if they were impressed by their power and activity, let them understand from this how much mightier is He Who formed them. For the grandeur and beauty of creatures lead us to ponder on their Author, greater and more magnificent.

No doubt these people are not to be blamed severely, for possibly they strayed though they searched for God and desired to find Him. They pondered over the created things that surrounded them and were captivated by the sight of such beauty. Even so they are not to be excused, for if they were able to explore the world, why did they not discover first the world’s Sovereign?

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Thursday, 17 November 2022 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Lord today contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the Lord Whom we worship and serve, the one and only true God, our Lord and Master, our King and Ruler over the whole entire Universe, which we will celebrate together this coming Sunday on the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and King of the Universe. We are therefore reminded today that we worship this Almighty, all-powerful and glorious God, Whose love for us has brought about our salvation and liberation from sin. By His mercy and most compassionate love, each one of us have received the assurance of eternal life and freedom from the shackles of sin that had held us hostage and kept us chained to our fate of suffering and death.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the revelation shown to the Apostle, regarding the triumphant victory won by the Lord, enthroned in glory among the Cherubim and Seraphim, among the Angels and innumerable saints. St. John saw in the vision of the slaughtered Lamb of God, the Triumphant Lord, the Heir of David and Son of God, Who has won the ultimate victory against the forces of evil, sin and death. And he shared it with all of us, the faithful in this world so that we may have hope in Him and that we may trust Him to guide us down the path towards His grace, salvation and eternal life. Many of us have often forgotten the One Whom we are serving, and the One Whom we ought to be following in our lives. We act as if God is nobody, and that He has no place in our lives.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, the Holy City of God. He spoke of this eventual event on few occasions, and told His disciples how all the glory that was Jerusalem and its Temple, the majestic House of God built by king Herod the Great and his successors, would not remain standing, and all of them would be destroyed. This is in fact a reminder to all of us that all the glory of this world is merely passing and will not last forever, and whatever the people at that time took great pride in keeping, like the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the elders and the chief priests who often rejected the Lord and His truth, and refused to listen to Him because they thought of themselves being superior and better, for all the properties, power, influence and glory they had.

They thought that their Temple authority, their Law and rituals, their practices and all their entrenched positions in the society of the people of God. They thought that their power and privileges earned them the right to boast and to be praised, to be entitled honour and respect they often demanded from the other people, but they forgot that, first of all, all of them were supposed to serve God and help others to come closer to God, as the guardians and custodians of God’s Law and truth. Instead, they often misused their authority and power, persecuting and ostracising those whom they deemed to be less than worthy, those whom they deemed as sinners and beyond redemption, while parading their own efforts and works, their piety and observance of the Law.

In that, the Lord wants us all as Christians to keep in mind not to fall into the same trap of pride, ego and greed. As the later destruction of the city of Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people into various places, showed that no worldly glory, power, privileges, power or anything of those sorts can remain or last forever. Whatever is in the world can be destroyed and lost within mere short while and a mere moment, and those who depend on those things, on their worldly power and foundation, will indeed be disappointed and humiliated as history itself has shown us. Instead, God wants us all to put our trust and faith in Him, entrusting ourselves to His providence and care, and doing everything we can to follow Him and to obey Him. That, brothers and sisters in Christ, is our calling as Christians, what we are all supposed to do.

Today, the whole Church celebrates the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, whose life and dedication to the Lord should become inspiration and example for all of us as Christians. We have to discern our path in life based on what we know of the life of this holy and devout saint. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a Hungarian princess and noblewoman who was married to a German noble, and was widowed at a young age. Throughout her life from her youth, and in her short time as a wife in a happy marriage, and afterwards, St. Elizabeth of Hungary had always been very pious and devout to the Lord, and she showed particular concern and care for the poor and the sick all around her, in her community and beyond. She spent a lot of time and effort to reach out to them and to care for them, and after she was widowed, she gave herself to a life of dedication to God.

Despite the opposition and hardships that she had to face in her determination to commit herself and her life to God, to the point that she was imprisoned at times and in house arrest, in the attempts by her family to dissuade her from her commitment, St. Elizabeth of Hungary never gave in to the temptations and pressures, and continued to carry on her efforts and works, and her piety and inspiration soon gained a lot of supporters by all those who were inspired by her tireless works and efforts for the poor and the sick, and those touched by her great personal piety, love and faith in God. She established hospitals and places where the poor and the sick can be taken care of, using her own funds and properties in doing so. She did not let worldly glory, attachments, wealth and all those things to distract her from doing God’s will, and whatever that God has called her to do in her own life.

Let us hence be inspired by the examples shown by St. Elizabeth of Hungary, in her faith and commitment to live a life truly worthy of God, in her piety and devotion to God, and her love for her fellow brethren, that each and every one of us may also draw ever closer to the Lord by following her examples and faith, and also those of innumerable other saints, holy men and women of God who had devoted themselves to the Lord in their own manner and ways. Each and every one of us as Christians ought to follow their examples and remind ourselves that we have to centre our lives on the Lord and rid ourselves from the excesses of worldly desires, pride, ego, attachments to worldly matters, all of which had become serious obstacles and downfall for so many of our predecessors.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in our faith, and may He empower and encourage us all to continue to persevere in faith, that we may draw ever closer to Him, and live our lives ever more worthily of Him if we have not yet done so, from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore, and may He stay by our side and remain with us always. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 November 2022 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Lord today contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the Lord Whom we worship and serve, the one and only true God, our Lord and Master, our King and Ruler over the whole entire Universe, which we will celebrate together this coming Sunday on the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and King of the Universe. We are therefore reminded today that we worship this Almighty, all-powerful and glorious God, Whose love for us has brought about our salvation and liberation from sin. By His mercy and most compassionate love, each one of us have received the assurance of eternal life and freedom from the shackles of sin that had held us hostage and kept us chained to our fate of suffering and death.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the revelation shown to the Apostle, regarding the triumphant victory won by the Lord, enthroned in glory among the Cherubim and Seraphim, among the Angels and innumerable saints. St. John saw in the vision of the slaughtered Lamb of God, the Triumphant Lord, the Heir of David and Son of God, Who has won the ultimate victory against the forces of evil, sin and death. And he shared it with all of us, the faithful in this world so that we may have hope in Him and that we may trust Him to guide us down the path towards His grace, salvation and eternal life. Many of us have often forgotten the One Whom we are serving, and the One Whom we ought to be following in our lives. We act as if God is nobody, and that He has no place in our lives.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, the Holy City of God. He spoke of this eventual event on few occasions, and told His disciples how all the glory that was Jerusalem and its Temple, the majestic House of God built by king Herod the Great and his successors, would not remain standing, and all of them would be destroyed. This is in fact a reminder to all of us that all the glory of this world is merely passing and will not last forever, and whatever the people at that time took great pride in keeping, like the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the elders and the chief priests who often rejected the Lord and His truth, and refused to listen to Him because they thought of themselves being superior and better, for all the properties, power, influence and glory they had.

They thought that their Temple authority, their Law and rituals, their practices and all their entrenched positions in the society of the people of God. They thought that their power and privileges earned them the right to boast and to be praised, to be entitled honour and respect they often demanded from the other people, but they forgot that, first of all, all of them were supposed to serve God and help others to come closer to God, as the guardians and custodians of God’s Law and truth. Instead, they often misused their authority and power, persecuting and ostracising those whom they deemed to be less than worthy, those whom they deemed as sinners and beyond redemption, while parading their own efforts and works, their piety and observance of the Law.

In that, the Lord wants us all as Christians to keep in mind not to fall into the same trap of pride, ego and greed. As the later destruction of the city of Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people into various places, showed that no worldly glory, power, privileges, power or anything of those sorts can remain or last forever. Whatever is in the world can be destroyed and lost within mere short while and a mere moment, and those who depend on those things, on their worldly power and foundation, will indeed be disappointed and humiliated as history itself has shown us. Instead, God wants us all to put our trust and faith in Him, entrusting ourselves to His providence and care, and doing everything we can to follow Him and to obey Him. That, brothers and sisters in Christ, is our calling as Christians, what we are all supposed to do.

Today, the whole Church celebrates the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, whose life and dedication to the Lord should become inspiration and example for all of us as Christians. We have to discern our path in life based on what we know of the life of this holy and devout saint. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a Hungarian princess and noblewoman who was married to a German noble, and was widowed at a young age. Throughout her life from her youth, and in her short time as a wife in a happy marriage, and afterwards, St. Elizabeth of Hungary had always been very pious and devout to the Lord, and she showed particular concern and care for the poor and the sick all around her, in her community and beyond. She spent a lot of time and effort to reach out to them and to care for them, and after she was widowed, she gave herself to a life of dedication to God.

Despite the opposition and hardships that she had to face in her determination to commit herself and her life to God, to the point that she was imprisoned at times and in house arrest, in the attempts by her family to dissuade her from her commitment, St. Elizabeth of Hungary never gave in to the temptations and pressures, and continued to carry on her efforts and works, and her piety and inspiration soon gained a lot of supporters by all those who were inspired by her tireless works and efforts for the poor and the sick, and those touched by her great personal piety, love and faith in God. She established hospitals and places where the poor and the sick can be taken care of, using her own funds and properties in doing so. She did not let worldly glory, attachments, wealth and all those things to distract her from doing God’s will, and whatever that God has called her to do in her own life.

Let us hence be inspired by the examples shown by St. Elizabeth of Hungary, in her faith and commitment to live a life truly worthy of God, in her piety and devotion to God, and her love for her fellow brethren, that each and every one of us may also draw ever closer to the Lord by following her examples and faith, and also those of innumerable other saints, holy men and women of God who had devoted themselves to the Lord in their own manner and ways. Each and every one of us as Christians ought to follow their examples and remind ourselves that we have to centre our lives on the Lord and rid ourselves from the excesses of worldly desires, pride, ego, attachments to worldly matters, all of which had become serious obstacles and downfall for so many of our predecessors.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in our faith, and may He empower and encourage us all to continue to persevere in faith, that we may draw ever closer to Him, and live our lives ever more worthily of Him if we have not yet done so, from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore, and may He stay by our side and remain with us always. Amen.