SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY
Wisdom, Chapter 6, Verse 7-8
7 For
the Ruler of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, because he himself made the great as well as the
small, and provides for all alike;
8 but
for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends.
No matter how big or important you are God is
greater. If you are in a position of power exercise your power as if you are
working for God; for the power you have has been given to you from him. Whether
you are great or small complete your duties as if it is for the Lord. In all
things do your best. If you are in power take care of and listen to your people
do not lord it over them. Your authority has been given to you by the Lord.
St. Elizabeth,
Duchess of Thuringia, it is said that the servant of God lost her mother,
Gertrude, Queen of Hungary, about the year 1220. In the spirit of a holy
Christian daughter, she gave abundant alms, redoubled her prayers and
mortifications, exhausted the resources of her charity for the relief of that
dear soul. God revealed to her that she had not done too much. One night the
deceased appeared to her with a sad and emaciated countenance; she placed
herself on her knees next to the bed, and said to her, weeping, “My daughter,
you see at your feet your mother overwhelmed with suffering. I come to implore
you to multiply your suffrages, that Divine Mercy may deliver me from the
frightful torments I endure. Oh! how much are those to be pitied who exercise
authority over others? I expiate now the faults that I committed upon the
throne. Oh! my daughter, I pray you by the pangs I endured when bringing you
into the world, by the cares and anxieties which your education cost me, I
conjure you to deliver me from my torments.” Elizabeth, deeply touched, arose
immediately, took the discipline to blood, and implored God, with tears, to
have mercy on her mother, Gertrude, declaring that she would not cease to pray
until she had obtained her deliverance. Her prayers were heard.
Elizabeth
was the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II. At the age of four (b. 1207),
she was brought to the court of her future husband, Ludwig, landgrave of
Thuringia. After her marriage in 1221, she very conscientiously fulfilled her
duties both toward her husband and as a servant of God. During the night she
would rise from bed and spend long periods in prayer. Zealously she performed
all types of charitable acts; she put herself at the service of widows,
orphans, the sick, the needy. During a famine she generously distributed all
the grain from her stocks, cared for lepers in one of the hospitals she
established, kissed their hands and feet. For the benefit of the indigent she
provided suitable lodging. After the early death of her husband (in 1227 while
on a crusade led by Emperor Frederick II), Elizabeth laid aside all royal
dignities in order to serve God more freely. She put on simple clothing, became
a tertiary of St. Francis, and showed great patience and humility. Nor was she
spared intense suffering - the goods belonging to her as a widow were withheld,
she was forced to leave Wartburg. In Eisenach no one dared receive her out of
fear of her enemies. Upon much pleading a shepherd of the landgrave permitted
her to use an abandoned pig sty. No one was allowed to visit or aid her; with
her three children, of whom the youngest was not more than a few months old,
she was forced to wander about in the winter's cold. In 1228 she took the veil
of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis at Marburg and there built a
hospital with some property still belonging to her. She retained for herself
only a small mud house. All her strength and care were now devoted to the poor
and the sick, while she obtained the few things she needed by spinning. Young
in years but rich in good works, she slept in the Lord in 1231, only
twenty-four years old.
Things
to Do
·
St.
Elizabeth's daughter, St. Gertrude of Thuringia and her relatives Hedwig of
Silesia, Agnes of Bohemia, Margaret of Hungary, Cunigund of Poland and
Elizabeth of Portugal, were drawn to holiness through her example. Pray for the
salvation and sanctity of your relatives.
·
Love
for the poor is characteristic of every genuine follower of Christ, those
lacking the truth are the poorest of the poor, spend some time on a regular
basis studying your faith (by reading or taking a home study course) so that
you will be prepared to feed those who are hungry for the truth.
·
Teach
your children the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and give them
practical examples.
·
Have
your children help you bake
bread like St. Elizabeth and distribute some to your neighbors.
·
St.
Elizabeth is the patroness of the Franciscan Third Order (tertiary) and of all
Catholic Charities. Find out more about what a third order is, particularly the
Franciscan Third Order.
·
See
Nameday
Ideas for St. Elizabeth, including dessert and symbols and prayers.
·
Follow
these links for some wonderful works of art of St. Elizabeth:
o Anonymous
Sienese medallion (XIV Century): St.
Elizabeth of Hungary
o Collinson,
James: St. Elizabeth of Hungary
o Martini, Simone:
St. Clare and St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
National
UnFriend Day (NUD) is an unofficial holiday designed to promote unfriending
other Facebook users that are not true friends. Social media now provides
access to just about anyone, anywhere on the globe. However, this easy global
access exposes personal information to theft or misuse and unnecessary
cluttering by other's junk posts. In this digital age, it is imperative that
identities remain protected and that time spent on social media be reduced and
replaced by face-to-face human interaction. National UnFriend Day was
originally conceived and proposed by TV personality Jimmy Kimmel on November
17, 2010 in an effort to remind society of the true meaning of friendship.
Kimmel believes that there are many Facebook offenses that can lead to
unfriending someone, some of which include, posting too much, spell-checking
too little, repetitively posting the same kind of material, not googling before
asking questions, being on Facebook all the time and sending in-app Facebook
requests for games. In addition to unfriending irritating offenders, it is
advisable to unfriend those whom you no longer have steady contact with and any
unknown users that may have access to your information and posts.
National
UnFriend Day Facts & Quotes
·
According to a report by Common
Sense Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping navigate the world
of media and technology, teenagers spend about 9 hours a day consuming media, 1.5
hours of which is spent on social media.
·
As of January 2016, compared to
other social networks, Facebook is the leading social network with
approximately 1.6 billion active monthly users. This is in comparison to
WhatsApp (900 million active monthly users), Instagram (400 million active
monthly users) and Twitter (320 million active monthly users).
·
The average Facebook user has 338
friends. 27% of young Facebook users have more than 500 friends, compared
an average of 100 friends for 72% of Facebook users who are older than 65 years
of age.
·
36% of Facebook users strongly
dislike it when someone shares too much information or photos about themselves,
as well as when they post photos of others without asking for permission.
·
I encourage you to cut out some of the friend fat in your life. A friend is someone you have a special relationship with. It's not someone who asks which Harry Potter character you are.- Jimmy Kimmel, November 2010
National
UnFriend Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Go through your privacy settings on
Facebook. Keep in mind that some of the people that you have previously
friended may not be friends at all. Your privacy settings can control who is
able to see your content and whose content will show up on your news feed.
·
Decide who you are going to unfriend
on Facebook. Facebook also offers the possibility of making friends into acquaintances.
Your acquaintance list can then be separated from your friend list, allowing
you to publish and read 'friend-only' content.
·
Review your posting habits.
Have you been posting too much content or have you been posting photos of
your friends, without receiving permission? Check to see whether you have also
violated any Facebook UnFriend Day Offenses as defined by Jimmy Kimmel.
·
Watch movies about friendship.
Here are some to consider:
1) Stand by Me (1986)
2) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
3) Good Will Hunting (1997)
4) The Intouchables (2011)
5) The Social Network (2010)
6) The Bucket List (2007)
7) As Good as it Gets (1997)
Fitness
Friday-Hunting Workout
Recognizing that God the Father created man on Friday the 6th day
I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and
renew yourself in strength; mind, soul and heart.
Elk hunting[4] (or indeed any rough-country hunt where drastic elevation
changes are a routine part of the hunt) requires a different kind of planning
and conditioning than your usual whitetail hunt. The most common problem
out-of-state hunters experience is not being in good enough physical condition
to handle constant up-and-down foot travel at high elevation - especially when
carrying a pack. The result is a physically exhausted hunter who is unable to
perform. Hours and days of precious hunting time are wasted due to need for
rest and recovery. Here’s a twelve-week plan that will prep you for the high
country. There are two main components to physical prep for rough-country
hunting: cardiovascular and muscular. Plan on exercising thirty to forty-five
minutes per weekday, alternating between cardio and muscular workouts. Be sure
to stretch and warm up gradually before workouts and cool off gradually
afterwards.
Week
One: Start out easy on yourself to lower
risk of hurting joints or tendons.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Go for a brisk 45-minute walk, preferably including up and down terrain.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: Spend 30 minutes climbing up and down the local bleacher stairs (or a nice steep hill). Take regular short rests.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Go for a brisk 45-minute walk, preferably including up and down terrain.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: Spend 30 minutes climbing up and down the local bleacher stairs (or a nice steep hill). Take regular short rests.
Week
Two: Step it up a little.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Add short stints of jogging to your walk.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: same 30-minute routine, just cut down on rest time.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Add short stints of jogging to your walk.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: same 30-minute routine, just cut down on rest time.
Week
Three: Start getting focused.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Begin pushing yourself, walking less and jogging more.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: Same 30-minute routine, add three squats and three lunges (don’t use weights) alternately during short rest periods.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Begin pushing yourself, walking less and jogging more.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: Same 30-minute routine, add three squats and three lunges (don’t use weights) alternately during short rest periods.
Daily
Devotions
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