Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-17-16, M, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 11-17-16 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

November 2016

Pope's Intentions

Universal: Countries Receiving Refugees -- That the countries which take in a great number of displaced persons and refugees may find support for their efforts which show solidarity.

Evangelization: Collaboration of Priests and Laity -- That within parishes, priests and lay people may collaborate in service to the community without giving in to the temptation of discouragement.

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Daily Gospel Commentary

Thursday of the Thirty-third week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Blessed Paul VI, Pope from 1963-1978
Speech to the United Nations Organisation, October 4 1965 (©Libreria vaticana editrice)

"If this day you only knew what makes for peace"

Never again war, never again war! It is peace, peace, that has to guide the destiny of the nations and of all mankind!. . .

As you know very well, peace is not built merely by means of politics and a balance of power and interests. It is built with the mind, with ideas, with the works of peace. You are working at this great endeavor.

      But you are only at the beginning of your labors. Will the world ever come to change the selfish and bellicose outlook that has spun out such a great part of its history up to now? It is hard to foresee the future, but easy to assert that the world has to set out resolutely on the path toward a new history, a peaceful history, one that will be truly and fully human, the one that God promised to men of good will.

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'The first ideas I can remember date back to when I was five years old. When I went to bed, instead of sleeping -- I have never been much of a sleeper -- I used to think about eternity. I would think "forever, forever, forever." I would try to imagine enormous distances and pile still more distances on these and realize that they would never come to an end.'

St. Anthony Mary Claret

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The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

[Salvation]

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, religious

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, religious
Memorial
November 17th

Sándor Liezen-Mayer
Saint Elisabeth of Hungary
1882 -- Oil on canvas, 262 x 186 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

(1207-1231) She was the daughter of the King of Hungary and in 1221 married Ludwig, the Landgrave of Thuringia. With Ludwig she had four children. After her husband's death in 1227, she became a Franciscan tertiary, devoting herself to caring for the poor, the sick, and the aged. She died in exceptional poverty and was canonized in 1235.

Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003

Collect:
O God, by whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
recognized and revered Christ in the poor,
grant, through her intercession,
that we may serve with unfailing charity
the needy and those afflicted.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: 1 John 3:14-18
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.


Gospel Reading: Luke 6:27-38
"But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

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BENEDICT XVI, GENERAL AUDIENCE, Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our catechesis today I wish to speak about Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia. She was born in the early thirteenth century. Her father was the King of Hungary, and Elizabeth was known from an early age for her fidelity to prayer and her attention to the poor. Though she was married to Ludwig, a nobleman, for political reasons, she and her husband developed a sincere love for each other, one deepened by faith and the desire to do the Lord’s will.

In her married life, Elizabeth did not compromise her faith in spite of the requirements of life at court. She preferred to feed the poor than to dine at banquets, and to clothe the naked than to dress in costly garments. Because of their deep faith in God, Elizabeth and Ludwig supported each other in their religious duties. After his early death, she dedicated herself to the service of the poor, always performing the humblest and most difficult works. She founded a religious community, and lived her vows until her death at an early age. She was canonized four years later, and is a patroness of the Third Order of Saint Francis. May her dedication to the poor and needy inspire in us the same love for Christ in our neighbour. 

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[Salvation]

On St. Elizabeth of Hungary
SAINT ELIZABETH of HUNGARY Widow (1207-1231)
Traditional Feast Day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
The Legend of Saint Elizabeth [of Hungary]

[Salvation]

Information: St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Feast Day: November 17

Born: 1207 at Presburg, Hungary

Died: 17 November 1231, Marburg, Germany

Canonized: 1235, Perugia, Italy

Major Shrine: Elisabeth Church (Marburg)

Patron of: hospitals, nurses, bakers, brides, countesses, dying children, exiles, homeless people, lacemakers, tertiaries and widows

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Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Feast Day: November 17
Born: 1207 :: Died: 1231

Elizabeth, the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary was born in Presburg. When she was only thirteen years old, she married Louis, the ruler of Thuringia. Elizabeth was a beautiful bride who dearly loved her handsome husband. Louis returned her affection with all his heart. God gave them three children and they were very happy for six years.

She build a hospital at the foot of the mountain where the castle stood and looked after the sick herself. Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick in secret, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her cloak. The food she was carrying miraculously changed to roses.

Then St. Elizabeth's sorrows began. Louis died of the plague. She was so heart-broken that she cried: "The world is dead to me and all that is joyous in the world." Louis' relatives had never liked Elizabeth because she had given so much food to the poor.

While Louis was alive, they had not been able to do anything but now they began to trouble her. Within a short time, this beautiful, gentle princess and her three children were sent away from the castle. They suffered hunger and cold.

Yet Elizabeth did not complain about her terrible sufferings. Instead she blessed God and prayed with great fervor. She accepted the sorrows just as she had accepted the joys.

Elizabeth's relatives came to her rescue. She and her children had a home once more. Her uncle wanted her to marry again, for she was still very young and attractive. But the saint had decided to give herself to God.

She wanted to imitate the poverty of St. Francis. She went to live in a poor cottage and spent the last few years of her life serving the sick and the poor. She even went fishing to try to earn more money for her beloved poor.

St. Elizabeth was only twenty-four when she died in 1231. On her death bed, she was heard to sing softly. She had great confidence that Jesus would take her to himself.

[Salvation]

Thursday

November 17, 2016

Finding God

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” - St. Teresa of Calcutta

Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: Consider beginning a Bible study or small group with some friends or family.

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CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Thursday, November 17

Liturgical Color: White

Today is the Memorial of St.
Elizabeth of Hungary, religious.
Against the advice of her family, she
built a hospital near her home where
she tended the sick. She said she
could only follow the teaching of
Christ, not the opinion of her family.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: November 17th

Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, religious

MASS READINGS

November 17, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, by whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and revered Christ in the poor, grant, through her intercession, that we may serve with unfailing charity the needy and those afflicted. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (6)

• Crown Cake
• Elisen-Lebkuchen
• Heilige Kapfe (Saint's Plaits)
• Hungarian White Bread
• Marzipan Roses
• Rose Petal Coconut Cake

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Activities (14)

• Death and Burial
• November and the Holy Souls
• Practical Suggestions for Christian Living (Anointing of the Sick)
• Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November
• Prepare for Death
• Preparing for Heaven
• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: November
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: November
• Teaching About Death
• Teaching Children About Sickness and Death
• Namedays
• What is a Nameday?
• Nameday Ideas for the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
• St. Elizabeth's Bread

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Prayers (5)

• November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Little Litany of the Holy Souls
• Prayer for a Happy Death
• Daily Acceptance of Death
• Litany of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

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Library (7)

• Gregory the Great, a Model for Civil and Religious Leaders | Pope Benedict XVI
• Painting Angels, Saints and Their Symbols | Maria Stella Ceplecha
• Saint Gregory the Great (1) | Pope Benedict XVI
• Saint Gregory the Great (2) | Pope Benedict XVI
• The Divine Office, Part III: From St. Gregory the Great to Pius X | Benedictine Monks of Buckfast Abbey
• The Golden Legend: When Saints Were Saints | Sandra Miesel
• Three Co-Patronesses of Europe | Pope John Paul II

Old Calendar: St. Gregory the Wonderworker, bishop and confessor ; Other Titles: Elizabeth of Thuringia; Elisabeth of Thuringia; Elisabeth of Hungary

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, religious. She was the daughter of Andrew II, King of Hungary, and wife of Duke Louis IV of Thuringia. She is famous for her great kindness and inexhaustible charity towards the poor and the sick. November 19 is the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in the Extraordinary Form.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Gregory the Wonderworker, bishop and confessor. According to the Ordinary Form, St. Gregory's memorial is celebrated on September 3.

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St. Elizabeth of Hungary
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.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Bakers; beggars; brides; Catholic charities; charitable societies; charitable workers; charities; countesses; death of children; exiles; falsely accused people; Franciscan Third Order; hoboes; homeless people; hospitals; in-law problems; lacemakers; lace workers; nursing homes; nursing services; people in exile; people ridiculed for their piety; Sisters of Mercy; tertiaries; Teutonic Knights; toothache; tramps; widows.

Symbols: Three crowns (virgin, wife, widow); triple crown; roses; basket of bread and flask of wine; roses in a robe; infant in a cradle; model of a hospital or of Warburg castle; distaff.
Often Portrayed As: Queen distributing alms; Woman wearing a crown and tending to beggars; Woman wearing a crown, carrying a load of roses in her apron or mantle.

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:
  
  • Anonymous Sienese medallion (XIV Century): St. Elizabeth of Hungary
    
  • Collinson, James: St. Elizabeth of Hungary
    
  • Martini, Simone: St. Clare and St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
    
  • Martini, Simone: St. Elizabeth, St. Margaret and Henry of Hungary

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St. Gregory Thaumaturgus
Theodore, afterwards called Gregory, and from his miracles surnamed Thaumaturgus or Worker of Wonders, was of Neocaesarea in Pontus, born of parents eminent in rank and pagan in religion. At fourteen years of age he lost his father, but continued his education, which was directed towards a career in the law. His sister going to join her husband, an official at Caesarea in Palestine, Gregory accompanied her with his brother Athenodorus, who was afterwards a bishop and suffered much for the faith of Jesus Christ. Origen had arrived at Caesarea a little before and opened a school there, and at the first meeting with Gregory and his brother discerned in them capacity for learning and dispositions to virtue which encouraged him to inspire them with a love of truth and an eager desire of attaining the sovereign good of man. Fascinated with his discourse, they entered his school and laid aside all thoughts of going to the law-school of Bairut, as they had originally intended. Gregory does justice to Origen by assuring us that he excited them to virtue no less by his example than by his words; and tells us that he inculcated that in all things the most valuable knowledge is that of the first cause, and thus he led them on to theology. He opened to their view all that the philosophers and poets had written concerning God, showing what was true and what was erroneous in the doctrines of each and demonstrating the incompetence of human reason alone for attaining to certain knowledge in the most important of all points, that of religion. The conversion of the brothers to Christianity was complete and they continued their studies under their master for some years, going back home about the year 238. Before he took leave of Origen, Gregory thanked him publicly in an oration before a large audience, in which he extols the method and wisdom by which his great master conducted him through his studies, and gives interesting particulars of the way in which Origen taught. A letter also is extant from the master to the disciple: he calls Gregory his respected son and exhorts him to employ for the service of religion all the talents which he had received from God and to borrow from the heathen philosophy what might serve that purpose, as the Jews converted the spoils of the Egyptians to the building of the tabernacle of the true God.

On his return to Neocaesarea St Gregory intended to practice law, but within a short time, although there were only seventeen Christians in the town, he was appointed to be its bishop; but of his long episcopate few certain particulars have come down to us. St Gregory of Nyssa gives a good deal of information in his panegyric of the saint with regard to the deeds which earned him the title of Wonderworker, but there is little doubt that a good deal of it is legendary. However, it is known that Neocaesarea was rich and populous, deeply buried in vice and idolatry, that St Gregory, animated with zeal and charity, applied himself vigorously to the charge committed to him, and that God was pleased to confer upon him an extraordinary power of working miracles. St Basil tells us that "through the cooperation of the Spirit, Gregory had a formidable power over evil spirits; he altered the course of rivers in the name of Christ; he dried up a lake that was a cause of dissension between two brothers; and his foretelling of the future made him equal with the other prophets. Such were his signs and wonders that both friends and enemies of the truth looked on him as another Moses."*

When he first took possession of his see Gregory accepted the invitation of Musonius, a person of importance in the city, and lodged with him. That very day he began to preach and before night had converted a number sufficient to form a little church. Early next morning the doors were crowded with sick persons, whom he cured at the same time that he wrought the conversion of their souls. Christians soon became so numerous that the saint was enabled to build a church for their use, to which all contributed either money or labor. The circumstances in which St Gregory caused Alexander the Charcoal-burner to be chosen bishop of Comana have been narrated in the notice of that saint on August 1; and his wisdom and tact caused him to be referred to in civil as well as religious causes, and then his interrupted legal studies came in useful. Gregory of Nyssa and his brother Basil learned much of what was currently said about the Wonderworker from their grandmother, St Macrina, who was born in Neocaesarea about the time of his death. St Basil says that the whole tenor of his life expressed the height of evangelical fervor. In his devotion he showed the greatest reverence and recollection and never covered his head at prayer, and he loved simplicity and modesty of speech: "yea" and "nay" were the measure of his ordinary conversation. He abhorred lies and falsehood; no anger or bitterness ever appeared in his words or behavior.

The persecution of Decius breaking out in 250, St Gregory advised his flock rather to hide than to expose themselves to the danger of losing their faith; he himself withdrew into the desert, accompanied only by a pagan priest whom he had converted and who was then his deacon. The persecutors were informed that he was concealed upon a certain mountain and sent soldiers to apprehend him. They returned, saying they had seen nothing but two trees; upon which the informer went to the place and, finding the bishop and his deacon at their prayers, whom the soldiers had mistaken for two trees, judged their escape to have been miraculous and became a Christian. The persecution was followed by a plague, and the plague by an irruption of Goths into Asia Minor, so that it is not surprising to find that, with these added to the ordinary cares and duties of the episcopate, St Gregory was not a voluminous writer. What these cares and duties were he sets out in his "Canonical Letter ", occasioned by problems arising from the barbarian raids. It is stated that St Gregory organized secular amusements in connection with the annual commemorations of the martyrs, which attracted pagans as well as popularizing the religious gatherings among Christians : doubtless, too, he had it in mind that the martyrs were honored by happy recreation in addition to formally religious observances. But he is the sole missionary we know of, during these first three centuries, who employed such methods; and he was a highly-educated Greek.

A little before his death St Gregory Thaumaturgus inquired how many infidels yet remained in the city, and being told there were seventeen he thankfully acknowledged as a great mercy that, having found but seventeen Christians at his coming thither, he left but seventeen idolaters. Having then prayed for their conversion, and the confirmation and sanctification of those that believed in the true God, he enjoined his friends not to procure him any special place of burial but that, as he lived as a pilgrim in the world claiming nothing for himself, so after death he might enjoy the common lot. His body is said to have been ultimately transferred to a Byzantine monastery in Calabria, and there is considerable local cultus of St Gregory in southern Italy and Sicily, where he is invoked in times of earthquake and, on account of his miracle of stopping the flooding of the River Lycus, against inundations.

*Alban Butler narrates the famous miraculous removal of a great stone, which in the Dialogues of St Gregory the Great becomes a mountain. When the feast of St Gertrude was to be added to the Western calendar in 1738 it was found that her dies natalis coincided with that of St Gregory. Clement XII thought that a saint who moved mountains should not himself be moved, even by a pope, and St Gertrude's feast was assigned to the 15th.

Apart from what Gregory himself tells us about his relations with Origen, and sundry casual allusions which we find in the writings of St Basil, St Jerome and Eusebius, the information which we possess concerning this saint is of a very unsatisfactory character. The panegyric by St Gregory of Nyssa recounts many marvels, but says little of his history, and even less confidence can be placed in the Syriac life (the best text is in 'Bedjan, Acta Martyrum, vol. vi, 1896, pp. 83-106). Besides this there is an Armenian life and one in Latin both of little value. See also Ryssel, Gregorius Thaumaturgus, rein Leben und seine Schriften (1880) Funk in the Theologirche Quartalschrift for 1898, pp. 81 seq. Journal of Theological Studies for 1930, pp. 142. A valuable article by M. Jugie on the sermons attributed to St Gregory is in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xliii (1925), pp. 86-95. Here it is clearly shown that most of these attributions are unreliable, but Fr Jugie inclines to accept the authenticity of one of those preserved in Armenian, though he rejects that which F. C. Conybeare translated into English in the Expositor for 1896, pt s, pp. 161-173. Critics, however, seem generally agreed in admitting the genuineness of the panegyric of Origen, the treatise on the Creed, the canonical epistle, and the dissertation addressed to Theopompus this last only exists in Syriac. The greater part of the writings printed under the name of St Gregory Thaumaturgus in Migne, PG., vol. x, are either gravely suspect or certainly spurious. See Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur, vol. ii, pp. 315-332."

Excerpted from Butler's Lives of the Saints

Patron: Against earthquakes; against floods; desperate causes; forgotten causes; impossible causes; lost causes

Symbols: Bishop driving demons out of a temple; presenting a bishop's mitre to Saint Alexander the Charcoal Burner

Things to Do:

• Read some of the writings of St. Gregory the Wonderworker here.
  
• Read The Life of Gregory the Wonderworker by St. Gregory of Nyssa (lenghty introduction)

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 19:41-44

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Memorial)

He saw the city and wept over it. (Luke 19:41)

“Jesus, you are overflowing with compassion! You saw that ‘what makes for peace’ was hidden from the eyes of your people, and you wept over them (Luke 19:42). It made you suffer, but you did not turn away. You did not condemn. You wept!

“Thank you, Lord, that you are not aloof from us. When we separate ourselves from you, it stirs your compassion and sorrow, not your judgment. You did not come to condemn us, but to save us. And when we miss out on that, when our eyes are blinded, you suffer with us. When we cut ourselves off from your grace, you weep. You enter into the misery we’re bringing on ourselves.

“Even when we suffer physically, when we die, you weep over us. Just as you wept over your friend Lazarus, your heart is stirred whenever we hurt. You are our brother, and you long for the best for us.

“Thank you, Lord, that your love for us produces so much more than sympathy! You took on our humanity, and you share all our human emotions. You weep with us, but you also rejoice with us. In our victories, no matter how small, you rejoice. When the disciples returned from their missionary trip, you rejoiced to see how the Father worked through them. When the couple was married in Cana, you celebrated with them. When you see us reach out to someone in need, you smile.

“Jesus, help me to see your tears when I am the one who has separated myself from you. Move my heart to repentance by the compassion and love in your eyes. Draw me to you, and make me whole again. Let me rejoice in your lavish tenderness.

“Give me your heart, Lord! Just as you are close to each of us, help me not to hold myself aloof from my brothers and sisters. Even if they seem to be cutting themselves off from you, stir my compassion. Help me see over everything else that they are my brothers and sisters, that we are all children of the same Father in heaven. Help me to suffer with them and rejoice with them, to welcome them and accompany them, just as you do.

“Jesus, give me a heart like yours—a heart of compassion and solidarity.”

Revelation 5:1-10
Psalm 149:1-6, 9

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for November 17, 2016:

In times of discouragement, turn to the saints. Each one is unique! They lived lives of holiness in all kinds of circumstances, and are always ready to help us.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

November 17, 2016 – Build Your Life on the Rock That Is Christ

17 Nov 2016

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious

Luke 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, many times I have overlooked your love in the circumstances of my life. I know you are always present, even if I don’t feel your love. This time of prayer is an opportunity to show you my love, and I truly desire to bring you consolation as you so often bring consolation to me.

Petition: Heavenly Father, help me to stand firm amidst the vicissitudes of life.

1. “As for Me and My Household, We Will Serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
The beauty of this life is that it offers us so many options. We have all been given the grace of free will, and we can choose to do many things. We can choose where we would like to work, where we want to vacation, who our friends are, what we are going to do this very moment. But the most important choice we make in life is to decide whether to love and serve God or to deny him. God’s greatest, natural gift to us is free will, and with it we direct our own destiny. What a truly beautiful soul who chooses to spend his life serving God! Clearly opting for God and his ways gives direction to a person’s life and provides clarity in moments of darkness and trial.

2. The Time to Prepare for a Storm Is Now: The worst time to clean out the gutters is in the middle of a thunder storm. And that roof would have worked a lot better had it been fixed before a week of rain. The concept of being prepared is so hard for us human beings. Christ told his disciples, “Watch and pray, that you may not undergo the test” (Matthew 26:41). He was saying, “Be prepared. You never know when temptations or tough times are going to strike.”

3. Holding the Fort: The spiritual life is a lot like a castle. A castle has its strong points and its not-so-strong points. It has a moat, high stone walls and turrets, but it also has a gate made only of wood. Each of us has one or two things that can be likened to that wooden gate. We all have our weaknesses, but do we know what those weaknesses are? One of the keys to being able to resist sin is self-knowledge. If we know ourselves, we can avoid putting ourselves in compromising situations. We can use our strong points to fight the enemy and fortify those areas that are the weakest. In the end, the strongest weapon we have both to resist and to fight is our dependence on the Lord – our prayer and fidelity to his will!

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I don’t want to base my life just on feelings and on what makes me happy. I want to live for you, to take a risk for you.

Resolution: I will start a constant prayer life by praying the Rosary every day this week.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

November 17, 2016

In the first reading from the Book of Revelation the Redeemer Lamb is honored and revered by the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders: You are worthy to take the book and open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood you purchased for God people of every race, language and nation; and you made them a kingdom and priests for our God and they shall reign over the land.

In the Gospel reading Jesus weeps over Jerusalem for its failure to recognize and acknowledge the coming of the Messiah. Jesus also predicts the destruction and utter ruin of Jerusalem: “And they will dash you to the ground and your children with you, for you did not recognize the time and the visitation of your God.”

In similar fashion God comes to us in various ways: through the goodness of people, through his generous gifts of grace and creation, through the many happenings in our lives, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, through the Church and its sacraments. We pray that we may recognize him and his time and visitation in our lives and that we respond with faith and generosity.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 6

<< Thursday, November 17, 2016 >>

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Revelation 5:1-10
View Readings

Psalm 149:1-6, 9

Luke 19:41-44
Similar Reflections

A KNOW-NO?

"I wept bitterly because no one could be found worthy to open or examine the scroll." �Revelation 5:4

What is God's plan for the world and for your life? If you don't know God's plan, perhaps Jesus has wept over you and said: "If only you had known the path to peace this day; but you have completely lost it from view!" (Lk 19:41-42) You too should weep bitterly.

However, we don't have to be ignorant of God's plan, for Jesus "has won the right by His victory" to open God's scroll and reveal the meaning of life (Rv 5:5). "In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, He has spoken to us through His Son" (Heb 1:1-2). Jesus is the eternal Word made flesh (Jn 1:14). He is the only Way to know the Truth of the meaning of Life (Jn 14:6). Now we know what life is about because we know Jesus, Who is the Life (Jn 14:6; 11:25).

Listen to Jesus in His Body, the Church. Listen to the Church in her teachings, especially in the Bible. Know, rejoice in, and live God's plan, "a plan which [includes] us" (Heb 11:40). "You are not in the dark" (1 Thes 5:4). "No, all of you are children of light and of the day" (1 Thes 5:5). "Blest are your eyes because they see" (Mt 13:16).

Prayer: Father, make me a light to the "culture of death" in this world in darkness.

Promise: "You made of them a kingdom, and priests to serve our God, and they shall reign on the earth." �Rv 5:10

Praise: St. Elizabeth is the patron of bakers, the falsely accused, homeless, widows and young brides.

[Salvation]

"Love one another as I have loved you."