 |
GENERAL CHAPTER |
|
Closure of the second year of the
celebration of the anniversary of the birth of saint Elizabeth, patroness of
the fso Elizabeth contemplated
from the viewpoint of her secular vocation, experienced and
cherished as a fundamental part of her life and as a model for us all. Let us ask the Holy Spirit, which burnt in the hearts of Francis, Clare,
Elizabeth and Ludwig, each according to their vocation, to inflame our hearts,
to guide our thoughts and to reveal to us its work of grace in Elizabeth. The Word of the Lord in Psalm 44 leads us eloquently towards Elizabeth's
inner life: Listen, my daughter, attend to my words and hear; forget your own nation and your ancestral home, then the king will fall in love with your
beauty; he is your lord, bow down before him. The daughter of Tyre will court your
favour with gifts, and the richest of peoples with jewels
set in gold. Clothed in brocade, the king's daughter
is led within to the king with the maidens of her retinue; her companions are
brought to her, they enter the king's palace with joy and
rejoicing. Instead of your ancestors you will have sons; you will make them rulers over the whole world. I will make your name endure from
generations to generation, so nations will sing your praise for ever and ever. (Ps. 44, 11-18) On
the 1st June 1236, tens of thousands of people thronged from all
over Christian Europe to Marburg. Among them and at their head, the bishops and
highest ranking dignitaries of Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, France, Emperor
Frederick II in person and Elizabeth's three children aged 14, 11 and 9, all
united in the joy of the her canonization, Elizabeth and her remain being
relaid to rest in a shrine. On
this 17th November 2008, it is not only Europeans, but all the
peoples of the earth, represented by ourselves, who unite to celebrate both the
8th centenary of her birth and the anniversary of Elizabeth's dies
natalis, her “Entrance into Life” ! You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out
and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will
give you anything you ask him in my name. (John 15, 16). Thus it is He, Jesus, who brings us together today in Hungary in this
Cathedral. This moment we are experiencing is great. In His admirable love, God
chose Elizabeth. She was faithful to her personal calling, even down to the
smallest tasks and God entrusted her with great ones. Is not one of her
greatest tasks that of being patroness of the FSO and the TOR ? What Elizabeth
asks for us is granted in advance in accordance with Jesus' own promise. More
that simply praying to Elizabeth for our intentions or our needs,
we come to pray together for the fulfilment of her intentions in her
mission as patroness of the Secular Franciscan Order. Elizabeth, may your
will be done, here we await, servants of the FSO. “Close the jubilee” therefore
signifies that we have truly accepted all the gifts that God in his prodigality
has planned for us through her. “Close the jubilee” means restarting afresh our
“belief in Love” and “giving with joy and light hearts that which we have
received”. It is the very act itself of renewing of our Profession, of our
membership of the FSO. Rediscovering and re-welcoming
Elizabeth in her guiding role is important for the present and future of the
FSO. To this end, the whole Order, and the FSOin particular, have applied
extensive means, from the letter of the Conference of the Franciscan Family “We
have come to believe in Love” (17th November 2006), to the
International Congress in Rome (23rd February 2007) all the way to
this meeting of the International Elective Chapter held in Hungary in
recognition of Elizabeth. Throughout the last 2 years, the
members of the International Council whose responsibility it is to serve all
brothers, have studied and presented with skill, Elizabeth's life, secular
vocation and message through[1].
This vigilant and benevolent concern has opened our minds and hearts and made
possible, here and now, our common prayer for the intentions of Elizabeth our
patroness. What
can we add to this rich food, which is perhaps not yet altogether digested. Perhaps
the time has come to reply truthfully to the question that Jesus asked Peter in
his time: “But you, who do you say I am ?”. Who
is Elizabeth for us? Who is she for Jesus, for her husband Ludwig and their
children, for their people, for Saint Francis and his family of which we are a
part, for the world at large ? In what are we called to follow her ? Going
beyond the external aspects, we wish to instil ourselves with the spirit which
filled her. Elizabeth
was born in Hungary in 1207, Francis was then 25 (1182-1226), Clare was 13
(1194-1253) Anthony of Padua 12 (1195-1231), Agnes of Prague 2 (1205-1282) and
Louis of France would be born 7 years later (1214). The real knowledge we have of her is historical, based
on contemporary documents and primarily on the elements of her canonisation
file which include testimony of those close to Elizabeth and to her husband. In
addition, as daughter of a king and wife of a Landgrave (Count) we also know
the places and dates of where and when she lived from the writings of
historians. We discover there a young woman of a finely balanced humanity, a
loving wife, a mother in every fibre of her being, a daughter of St Francis in
spirit and in deeds, a widow consenting to and sharing in the offering up of
her husband's life, a woman fully committed to the Lord in the Order of
Franciscan Penitents and an attentive servant of the poorest. These are not
just empty words, they are the reality of her life. At this point we cannot not mention her family
origins ! Elizabeth was an Arpad, a family which gave so many
kings and saints to the Magyars: Saint Steven (of Hungary), Saint Ladislas,
Saint Emeric and also Saint Agnes of Prague, Saint Margaret of Hungary, Saint
Elizabeth of Portugal ... Her father Andrew II, descendant of St Steven, became
king of Hungary in 1205. Her mother, Gertrude, daughter of Berthold IV, Duke of
Merania was a descendant of Charlemagne (Charles the Great) and sister of Saint
Hedwig, Queen of Poland. Through her paternal grandmother, Agnès of Châtillon,
Elizabeth is also a French princess. She is the third child of this royal couple. At the age of four, she leaves her country to be
brought up beside Ludwig, future Landgrave of Thuringia (central Germany) whose
wife she must become: with the full force of her loving and confident heart,
she throws herself into the secular vocation that God suggests to her. She
will become both the first wife and mother to be canonised and the first female
Franciscan saint. It is a honour for the secular Order to have such a
model, whose mission is confirmed for us today. What is the secret of her power to love, of her
balance ? Guda[2],
who lived alongside her for 17 years, testified, at her canonisation process,
how, since her childhood, Elizabeth had a burning love for Jesus, for Ludwig
and for the poor. All through her life, she took God and his love seriously. As
soon as she was conscious of being loved, she replied to this Love by giving
herself. Never did she retake her gift. While still a child, Elizabeth had that most
fundamental of spiritual experiences: a personal encounter with Love, God
infinitely Father, in Jesus his Beloved Son, living, present, at work: from the
moment she understood that the Lord abides, in the form of bread, in the
Tabernacle, the castle chapel became her place of choice. The child Elizabeth
felt more at home close to the real presence of Jesus than anywhere else. She
kept her inner being fixed on Him, called upon Him in all her actions and,
gently speaking His Name, turned everything towards Him. A faithful and burning
love filled her heart. Centred on He who is Good, all Good, Elizabeth became
possessed of a perfect inner freedom. No calculating manner or desire for human
respect could be found in her. Only the springing forth of the freedom of the
children of God. Here is an illustration. Elizabeth, due to her rank, is adorned as befits a
princess. On the feast of Assumption, she goes to the Church of Our Lady in
Eisenach with Sophie her Duchess-mother and young Agnes. When they kneel down,
Elizabeth raises her eyes towards the Crucifix. He has His head bowed under the
crown of thorns and blood flows from His wounds. For the first time, she is
deeply moved, shaken by the thought that it is for her that He was naked, for
her that He was nailed to the cross, for her that He was martyred and died. How
can she wear princely jewels before Him. She removes her golden diadem set with
precious stones and places it on the floor. Tears stream down her face.
Brusquely, Sophie scolds this inappropriate behaviour. They are on the first
bench, all the congregation are watching them, what will they think of
Elizabeth's strange manners ? Oblivious to her surroundings, nothing can tear
her away from the mystery of suffering that has just been revealed to her. “It
is not fitting that I come before God and my King, Jesus-Christ covered in
glory when I see Him crowned with thorns.” From that day forward, she had pierced the mystery of
God burdened with the cross and crucified by love. Contemplating the life of
the Lord, at the same time she discovered Him suffering in the present in the
members of his mystical Body. She became, most naturally, the servant of the
poorest and the despised, moving from the Gospel to life and from life back to
the Gospel. Did Elizabeth live out and cherish her secular
vocation ? There can be no doubt on this point. She was not a divided person,
two separate beings. The love of God was the unifying source of all aspects of
her love. Had she been, in the slightest way, forced to live to this style of
life, we would have witnessed the progressive disintegration of her whole
being. Quite the opposite, steadfastly
committed to the fully matured decision to be one day the wife of
Ludwig, all the events of her life, happy or tragic, would contribute to the
construction of her mature self. To be convinced of this, we need only remind
ourselves of how painful and drawn out it was for her to endure the torment and
uncertainty surrounding her marriage to Ludwig after the death of Landgrave
Hermann and to suffer the intrigues to have her banished from court. Soon the joy of a life of conjugal love and fidelity,
doubled with the joys of a youthful motherhood will fill her heart, repaying
with good measure her years of solitude. The young spouses took up a resolutely
Christian lifestyle in the sparking court. Their ties of marriage were not
merely dictated by convention, the couple shared an authentic conjugal and
fraternal love. The Friars Minor had arrived in Germany in 1221, year
of the wedding of Ludwig and Elizabeth. In 1223 the first sons of St Francis
came to Thuringia. Elizabeth arranged for a convent to be founded in Eisenach,
near to Wartburg. The ideals of Francis' life rekindled Elizabeth energy. She
felt herself encouraged in her vocation. She had inwardly contemplated her
Master to such an extent that she wished tolive in accordance with him in her
secular life. She aspired to live the Franciscan ideal within her marriage and
Ludwig was fit to share the expectations of his wife. It was in this secular
state that she would live out Francis' teachings : in this way she was able to
reconcile her duties as a wife and mother and those of a Landgravine with her
calling to the perfection of a Gospel-led life in the Order of Penitents. Ludwig, pleased to grant her wishes, allowed her to
take Brother Ruggero, one of Francis' first followers, as her spiritual guide.
He introduced her to the life of penance, taught her chastity within marriage,
humility, daring in her courageous works of charity and an indestructible trust in
God's kindness. The testimony concerning her Franciscan life is
peerless: Elizabeth re-intensified the simplicity of her way of
life. Although conforming to the duties of her princely
state, she proved herself to be of tireless charity. She applied all her heart
and intelligence in the work of assisting the poor and the ill. Whilst Ludwig
was alive, she contributed to the construction of hospitals in Eisenach and
Gotha. As a young widow, she built that
of Marburg, and to guarantee its operation, she established a Fraternity
alonside. During the canonisation process, Ysentrude never tired
of repeating that, however inconceivable it may seem that the daughter of a
king and wife of one on the highest princes of the Empire should carry out such
menial chores, Elizabeth accomplished her work “with her own hands”. She performed all these tasks joyfully. Nothing in her
was immaterial. Her whole being took part. As Ysentrude repeatedly testified :
“ She laughed ... was in good humour ... never felt more disgust towards lepers
than to the healthy ... She performed all charitable work in the greatest of
joy and changeless expression ...” Nature and grace accomplished in her such a
union that they became indistinguishable in her vocation. Elizabeth lived in deep communion with Ludwig. They
encouraged each other in God's service. What distressed Elizabeth, was that he
was so often far from her. His combined absences during the six brief years of
marital life exceeded a thousand days: more than two years and nine months.
During these periods she exchanged her clothes of splendid elegance for the
sober clothes of a widow and spent ever longer hours in prayer. And, when the
messenger announced his return, she would have her horse saddled and gallop to
meet her beloved husband. More than a thousand times she kissed him tenderly on
the lips with inexpressible joy and extreme tenderness. While
he was at Wartburg, she returned to her clothes of splendid elegance and
finery to delight him, saying "It is
not through carnal pleasure or vanity that I deck myself thus. God is my
witness, but only through Christian
charity that I may remove from my brother all occasions of discontent or
sin, if anything in me should displease him, that he may love me in the Lord,
and that God Who has consecrated our lives upon earth may unite us in
Heaven." They loved each other with a love in which their whole
being participated. The impetuousness of her feelings must have been
beyond doubt for the ancient historians to dare speak about them in such terms! In giving her all to her husband, could she leave the
first place in her heart to God ? Elizabeth was no split personality, she loved
the Lord more than anything on earth, united in the deepness of her being. Her
love for God fed her love for her husband. She often asked her maids to wake her, by pulling her
foot, so that she might pray when Ludwig was asleep or pretending to sleep. One
night, Ysentrude, wanting to wake Elizabeth, pulled Ludwig's foot which he had
put on his wife's side, waking him up. However, when he understood the reason
for this waking, he accepted it with good grace. Elizabeth used to pray in
their bedroom. Sometimes her husband held her hand throughout her prayer,
inviting her nevertheless to return to bed, out of concern for her health. Elizabeth belonged wholly to Ludwig and shared in his
responsibilities, precisely because she belonged wholly to her other husband
: “Follow Me”. Sure of the approval of her husband and fortified by
his love, she was able to follow freely the whisperings of her heart and,
contrary to the customs of her country, sit down to table beside him, accompany
him on horseback during his travels, hand out his treasure, invite her friends
the poor to their house, feed them, clothe them, heal them. Her generosity was
limitless. At the time of the famine of 1226, in Ludwig's absence, she was
charged with the regency. She was 19. She took the necessary steps with
intelligence, putting in place an impressive solidarity campaign. She sold all
her jewels and precious objects to provide for the needs of the poor. In virtue
of her sovereign rights, she handed out, despite the opposition of the court, the
entire reserves of the Landgrave granaries. To all who were strong enough to
work she provided shirts, shoes and scythes so that they could reap the harvest
and earn their living. When Elizabeth had nothing left to give, she gave out
her own dresses : poor women would obtain a little money by selling them. In
this way nobody took leave of her without receiving some act of generosity. She feared neither rumours nor resistance; she was
sure of Ludwig's assent. In this same year of 1226, while Ludwig was still
alive and with his consent, Elizabeth, Guda and Ysentrude entered into the
Order of Penitents. Elizabeth was19. Placing her hands in those of the visitor,
Conrad de Marburg, she promised obedience, subject to the rights of her husband
and celibacy should she outlive him. Her heart was wholly given over to God and
to Ludwig, in life and in death. The ceremony took place in the monastery of
Saint Catherine in Eisenach. In 1227 Ludwig is 27. The time of Elizabeth's greatest
trial. The ardour of her conjugal love overflows unrestrainedly when Ludwig
makes a solemnly vow to leave for the crusades. She faints with the shock. Yet
she accepts this painful departure and, even though she is carrying their third
child, she follows him to the borders and beyond. When the news of her husband's death reaches her,
overcome with grief, she careers headlong through the rooms and halls of the
castle ... Shortly later,
receiving his remains in Bamberg cathedral, her prayer bursts out : "Merciful Lord, I thank Thee for having
consoled me by this long desired sight of my husband's bones. Thou knowest that
though I so deeply loved him, I do not regret the sacrifice which my dear one
himself offered to Thee, and which I, too have offered Thee. I would give the
whole world to have him back, and would willingly beg my bread with him, but I
take Thee to witness, that against Thy will I would not recall him to life even
if I could do it at the price of a single hair. Now I commend him and myself to Thy mercy. May Thy will be accomplished in
us." Once
again, the people who hear her are witnesses to her twofold loyalty. Now that
her beloved has returned to God, it is by giving herself entirely to the Lord
in the unity of their common sacrifice that she still belongs to her beloved. What
a journey she has made ! She is 20. Banished
from Wartburg, after experiencing the incomprehensible harshness and
ingratitude of Eisenach's people, in the Franciscan church, she can sing a Te
Deum in the “perfect joy” of St Francis as described to brother Leon. Elizabeth
the Landgravine is dead. Elizabeth daughter of the “Poverello” is born into the
joyful life of holy Poverty. At this stage in Elizabeth's life, we can
gain further insight by reading the
pages of Pope Benedict XVI's book “Jesus of Nazareth” about Francis and the
blessedness of the poor in heart. Dispossessed
of everything, Elizabeth solemnly devotes herself to the Lord. On the Good
Friday of the 24th of March 1228, with the altars stripped in memory of the
crucified Christ, Elizabeth makes her way to the monastery chapel of the
Eisenach Franciscan brothers. There, in the presence of a few brothers, her
relatives and her children, she places her hands on the altar and formally
renounces her own will, all the glories of this world and all that the Lord
advises us to abandon in his Gospels. Alongside and in union with Elisabeth,
Guda and Ysentrude also make this second public Profession into the Order of
Penitents, forming in this way, a small fraternity. They
will one day, in Marburg, accept the grey habit of the Penitents from the hands
of Master Conrad and pledge to spread God's forgiveness, eating and working
together, visiting the houses of the poor and providing for their needs. Who
gave this young woman, become a “stumbling block” and a scandal, the inner
strength to accept rebukes and taunts, exclusion and loneliness, with neither
complaint nor opposition, remaining firm in resolve despite the pains inflicted
on her heart, overflowing with tenderness ? From which source did she draw the
energy to keep her cheerful, free from all bitterness and full of affection so
that, like an everlasting spring, she could spread joy to all around her ? It
was by experience that she understood how, through humiliation and loneliness,
she became ever more closely united with the One who bears the cross and the
crown of thorns. The Lord granted an inner consolation in direct measure to her
trials. At
his point it is impossible for our thoughts not to turn to so many of our
brothers throughout the world, to so many fraternities who, at this very
moment, live through persecution, rejection, expulsion, their own Calvaries. 1229.
Now aged 22, Elizabeth enters the last stage of her life. She entrusts her
children to the care of God and to safe hands. They will receive an education
true to their late father's wishes and to the customs of their time. She told
her followers: “The Lord has heard my prayer. I call on God as my witness, I do not
fear for my children, I have entrusted them to God, may He do with them as He
wishes. As for slander, opposition and contempt, I rejoice in them and love
nothing but God alone.” Her
last two years in Marburg were spent in obedience to Master Conrad and were
marked by a growing simplicity of life and self-sacrifice, until her death in
love. The
journey that Elizabeth covered in 24 years without pause and allowing no
distraction, calls out to us all. Rereading articles 4 to 19 of our Rule[3]
with Elizabeth's life before our eyes, each paragraph takes form through her !
Her life appears as a watermark behind each word ! Like a trailblazer she has
preceded us on this path and the Church has recognised the magnitude and the
fruitfulness of her example. The letter sent by Pope Benedict XVI, on the 27th
of May 2007 is a magnificent confirmation of
Elizabeth's mission : [...]
the splendid testimony of this Saint, whose fame has crossed the boundaries of
her own Homeland involving a great many people throughout the Continent,
including non-Christians. [...] authentic pearl of the new Christian Hungary,
[...] Elizabeth made her own the programme of Jesus Christ, Son of God, who in
becoming man "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant" (Phil 2:
7). Thanks to the help of her excellent teachers, she trod in the footsteps of
St Francis of Assisi and set Christ, the one Redeemer of humanity, as her
personal and ultimate goal and model in life. Called
to be the wife of the Landgrave of Thuringia, she never ceased to devote
herself to the care of the poor, in whom she recognized the likeness of the
divine Master. She was able to combine her gifts as an exemplary wife and
mother with the exercise of the Gospel virtues that she had learned at the
school of the Saint of Assisi. She proved to be a true daughter of the Church,
who bore a concrete, visible and meaningful witness to Christ's love.
Innumerable people down the ages followed her example, viewing her as a model
who mirrored the Christian virtues, lived radically in marriage, in the family
and also in widowhood. Political
figures have been inspired by her, drawing from her the incentive to work for
reconciliation among nations. Elizabeth
is, with Saint Louis, King of France, the patron saint of the Secular
Franciscan Order. It
was in their secular state as spouses, as parents and in positions of public
responsibility, that they lived out the Gospel, the whole Gospel, simply, to
the folly of their hearts, which overflowed with love and serenity even in
trials, loneliness and death. They followed the road of penitence proposed by Francis:
love of God, love of their neighbour and hatred of sin, drawing strength from the Eucharist, to lead productive
lives full of “the worthy fruits of penitence”. Their
example, their protecting role, their influence on society are, more than ever,
still required today The
challenge for both ourselves and our Fraternities is both immense and urgent:
to renew our promise, humbly but boldly, to live the Gospel in the footsteps
and example of saint Francis, certain of saint Elizabeth's aid, at a time when
the world around us speaks of financial and economic crisis, of the culture of
death[4]
and of secularization. I have
come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already ![5] “Go, Francis, and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into
ruins” What message do you have for us,
Father Saint Francis ? “Do not therefore keep back anything for yourselves that He may receive you entirely who gives Himself up entirely to you.”[6] “I beg you, Lord, let the fiery,
gentle power of your love take possession of my soul ...” May the
Franciscan flame of holiness which burnt in Saints Francis, Clara, Elizabeth,
Ludwig, burn in us
all !
[1]
For example, the circular sent
by the OFS International Council on the 6th January 2007 to all
brothers and sisters of the FSO, 5 issues of Koïnonïa (53 to 57) on Elizabeth
from our International Assistants and a training programme for each month of
the two years of the centenary celebration with an introductory letter by our
General Minister.
http://www.ciofs.org/ [2] Guda, Ysuntrude and later Ermengarde and Elizabeth were Saint Elizabeth's maids.
[3] 4a The rule and life of the Secular Franciscans is
this: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example
of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and the centre of
his life with God and people. 10 United
themselves to the redemptive obedience of Jesus, who placed his will into the
Father's hands, let them faithfully fulfill the duties proper to their various
circumstances of life. Let them also follow the poor and crucified Christ,
witness to him even in difficulties and persecutions. 11 Trusting in
the Father, Christ chose for himself and his mother a poor and humble life,
even though he valued created things attentively and lovingly. Let the Secular
Franciscans seek a proper spirit of detachment from temporal goods by
simplifying their own material needs. Let them be mindful that according to the
gospel they are stewards of the goods received for the benefit of God's
children. Thus,
in the spirit of the Beatitudes, and as pilgrims and strangers on their
way to the home of the
Father,
they should strive to purify their hearts from every tendency and yearning for
possession and power. 13 As the
Father sees in every person the features of his Son, the firstborn of many
brothers and sisters, so the Secular Franciscans with a gentle and courteous
spirit accept all people as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ. A
sense of community will make them joyful and ready to place themselves on an
equal basis with all people, especially with the lowly for whom they shall
strive to create conditions of life worthy of people redeemed by Christ. 15 Let them
individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting justice by the
testimony of their human lives and their courageous initiatives. Especially in
the field of public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with
their faith. 17 In their
family they should cultivate the Franciscan spirit of peace, fidelity, and
respect for life, striving to make of it a sign of a world already renewed in
Christ. By living the grace of matrimony, husbands and wives
in particular should bear witness in the world to the love of Christ for his
Church. They should joyfully accompany their children on their human and
spiritual journey by providing a simple and open Christian education and being
attentive to the vocation of each child.
[4] Cf. the
project aiming for the general Assemble of the United Nations to add abortion
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the 10th December,
the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.
[5] Lk 12, 49
[6] Letter
on all the Orden, 29 |
|