Circ. 50/02-08
Rome, January 6, 2007
TO ALL THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS
OF THE SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER.
On the occasion of the feast of the Epiphany when we celebrate the
manifestation of Jesus to the world, your brothers and sisters of the CIOFS
Presidency wish you a Happy New Year 2007.
Brothers and sisters, 2007 marks the beginning of our celebration of the
eighth centenary of the birth of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and Thuringia. I invite you to take advantage of this
opportunity to deepen your knowledge of our patroness and to reflect on the
roots of our Order and, more specifically, on our own vocation as Secular
Franciscans.
As you may know, Elizabeth was a Hungarian princess born in 1207, the
daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary.
As was the custom of the time among the medieval nobility, Elizabeth was
promised in marriage to a German prince from Thuringia and was entrusted to the
Thuringian court when she was four years old.
There, she was raised along with the other children of the Landgraf’s
family, including her future husband. At
the age of fourteen , she married Louis IV, the Landgraf of Thuringia and had
three children. She was left a widow at
the age of twenty and died in 1231.
During her short life, she made herself available to those in need
including the forsaken of society, the hungry and the sick.
St. Elizabeth dedicated her life to loving charity and is recognized as
patroness of the Third Order, Secular and Regular, as well as of many other Institutes such as those dedicated to
the caring of the sick. Despite this recognition, many fundamental aspects of
her life are not well known, even among ourselves. We are therefore invited to take advantage of
this anniversary celebration to become more knowledgeable of this Saint and to
recognize our own charism in the manner in which she lived her life. This is also an excellent time for us to
reflect on our own call to the Secular Franciscan Order.
There is much to be gained in reflecting on young Elizabeth’s vocational
path. Clearly, her experiences in life can show us how to read God’s plan in
our own lives, and to embrace it even when it does not correspond to our wishes
and desires. Elizabeth had a profound
confidence in God’s will and was able to see it in the events of her life. Her example should stimulate us to recognize
God’s plan in the events of our own lives, a plan that is full of love, even
during times of difficulty and sufferings.
Today, Elizabeth also challenges us to reflect on our marriage and
family life, on our professional work and social engagements. Throughout her married life, Elizabeth lived
her marriage with Louis as a sacrament of the eternal wedding to the Great
King, the most handsome of men 1. With the help of God and of Louis’ companion soul, she successfully
journeyed with her husband in marriage and was able to reach Christian
perfection by adhering obediently to her vocational call, which shaped her into
an exemplary spouse 2.
Although she was the wife of the landgraf, she practiced the most
authentic humility in service to the poor, the marginalized, the most repugnant
and even in hiding her royal identity with never a thought of leaving any trace
of herself.
The depth of her spiritual life allowed her to offer God the proper
space in which He could work in her life, and to share this experience with
Louis by fully accomplishing her mission as wife, mother and landgrafin. This
explains the tender gestures between husband and wife, gestures to which her
servants referred during the process of her canonization, as well as her capacity to enter into deep dialogue with her husband
in a complete sharing into each other’s feelings and lived experience. These intimate experiences of living within a
family can provide a sense of reality to some of the legendary episodes from
her life, such as the miracle of the roses and that of the leper in her bridal
bed.
She listened to God’s word and was obedient to His will, even when she
became a very young widow. She, as a
faithful spouse, had always believed in the plans to which God had called her
in joy and health, and who continued to call her in sorrow and sickness. Even when she received the body of her dead
husband, she united herself to St. Francis in praising “sister death” and thanked the Lord.
With tears, she proclaimed: “You know how much I loved him; you also
know that both of us had offered his sacrifice in the Crusades in the Holy Land
and I am not sorry for this. If I could have him back, I would give the whole world
for him, and go begging with him forever.
But you are witness that I would not want to rescue his life if it were
against your will, even if it cost but a single hair of mine.”
During this centenary, we are all invited to give particular attention to
the following:
- St. Elizabeth, as one of the first
“spiritual daughters” of St. Francis, who produced “worthy fruits of penance3 ”.
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1 Ps. 45:3
2
Lino Temperini – Santa Elisabetta d’Ungheria secondo le fonti storiche – Ed. Franciscanum,2006.
Rif.76,77, From the testimony of the
handmaid Isentrude:”Elizabeth did all these and many other things worthy of
recall (which however, at the moment Isentrude does not remember), durino the
lifetime of her husband, with whom she lived in marriage in a way worthy of
praie. They loved each other with a wonderful affection, gently invitino and
strengthening each other in the praie and service of God. Although her
husband’s attention was of necessity directed to the temporal needs of his
principalità, in private he always had the fear of God before his eyes. He
freely granted Blessed Elizabeth the authority to carry out all those things
which pertained to the work and the honor of God, and promoting the salvation
of souls.
3. Prologue to the Rule of the SFO, Exhortation of St. Francis to
the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.
Like her, we must heed the admonition of St.
Francis to become men and women of mercy, living the charism of poverty, humility, contemplation
and, above all, of ongoing conversion. Elizabeth was able to incorporate all of
these virtues into her life, virtues that continue to distinguish the brothers
and sisters of penance to this day.
- St. Elizabeth, as a concrete and exemplary
model of the apostolic mission to which we are all called.
Her complete giving of self to her marriage and family life, to the temporal
tasks associated with governing her country, and to the poor, the sick
(especially, lepers) and the marginalized of her time, is an example for all of
us and a reminder to feel constantly challenged by the spirit of St. Francis
who calls us to be in the world without belonging to it.
The life of St. Elizabeth was extraordinary, especially for a woman
living in a culture where the role of women was restricted to being at home and
caring for children. Most women of that
time were expected to live a passive and silent life, economically and
emotionally dependent, having no one to care about their true thinking or
performing capabilities.
The life of our holy patroness and her Franciscan spirit provides an
inspiring example for us to imitate.
Elizabeth challenges us, by living our secular and Franciscan identity,
to offer our lives, in response to the signs of our time, with a continuous
spirit of conversion and moved to give an active response to the requirements
of our Rule (4) to “go from Gospel to
life and from life to Gospel”. We
are further challenged to create bonds of friendship and mutual understanding
in a world filled with indifference and where the weak are often mistreated, so
that the values of our own vocation may shine with a new light in our daily
lives.
We, your brothers and sisters of the CIOFS Presidency, invite you to
share with us in celebrating the life of St. Elizabeth by deepening our
understanding and appreciation for her and by engaging in a reflection on her
life and spirituality. You are
encouraged to use the formation program proposed by the Centenary Commission,
and available on the CIOFS website, to further this reflection.
With fraternal love,
|
Encarnación
del Pozo Ministra
General OFS Benedetto
Lino Consejero lengua italiana
Fr.
Ivan Matic, OFM Asistente
general
|
Rosalvo
G. Mota Viceministro general OFS
Wihelmina
Visser-Pelsma Consejera lengua alemana
Fr.
Martín P. Bitzer, OFMConv. Asistente
general
|
Doug
Clorey Consejero lengua inglesa 1 Louis
Hervé Silva Consejero lengua francesa
Fr.
Samy Irudaya, OFMCap. Asistente
general
|
Lucy
Almiranez Consejera lengua inglesa 2
Maria
Aparecida Crepaldi Consejerea lengua portuguesa
Fr.
Michael Higgins, TOR Asistente
general
|
M.
Consuelo de Núñez Consejera lengua española
Xavier
Ramos Consejero de Jufra
Francesco y Anna Maria Crescenti Secretarios generales
Carlo
Cerú Tesorero general |