Lisa Hendey
Today is one of my least favorite kinds of days. It’s a wake up early and do housework day, with just a touch of blogging thrown in here for good measure. We’re welcoming a special guest this weekend, so my gravely-neglected home needs a lot of TLC.
I’ll admit it. I’m a domestic failure.
My poor husband will eat a combo of microwave popcorn and frozen veggies for dinner and my son is an expert at ironing, mainly out of self defense.
So a day like today filled with mopping, and dusting, and even baking is an “offer it up” kind of day for me.
Happily, today’s memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary falls just at the right time for me. This daughter of a King went from riches to rags and never shirked from helping others, as we read in this short biography:
Princess, the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary. Great-aunt of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal. She married Prince Louis of Thuringa at age 13. Built a hospital at the foot of the mountain on which her castle stood; tended to the sick herself. Her family and courtiers opposed this, but she insisted she could only follow Christ’s teachings, not theirs. Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her mantle to see what she was carrying; the food had been miraculously changed to roses. Upon the death of Louis, Elizabeth sold all that she had, and worked to support her four children. Her gifts of bread to the poor, and of a large gift of grain to a famine stricken Germany, led to her patronage of bakers and related fields.
I love reading about the various patronages of our saints, so it was a real thrill to learn that St. Elizabeth is a “go-to intercessor” for “people ridiculed for their piety”. I think I will invoke her lovingly next time I have a run-in with a Facebook friend or combox demon. Not that I’m calling myself “pious” by any means — as in my domesticity, I have much to improve upon in that regard as well. But in learning about St. Elizabeth’s life, I’m certain that she had more than her fair share of “offer it up” moments as well. So she’s good company for a dreary day filled with dust-bunnies…
If you find yourself with a toothache today, be sure to offer a prayer to St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
As you pass a panhandler, pray for him and for all those who suffer from lack of shelter through her intercession.
And if you’re a countess, you can give her a shout out as well!
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us!
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