The Word of God has proposed for our consideration the beauty of a virtuous women, the charisma of a devout widow and the encounter with the Lord present among the poor.

Three messages remodeling the figure of Saint Elizabeth. Three parts which she herself will help us to understand with the strength of her existence.

An existence that in special way is among our origins and profoundly seals your spiritual tradition, dear brothers and sister of the Third Order Regular and Secular. An existence that comes forth from the charisma and sanctity of Francis

It’s beautiful to have this encounter together to celebrate the 7^th centenary of the birth of Saint Elizabeth and also that it coincides with the 8th centenary of the conversion of Francis that our church of Assisi, is living with particular intensity.

It was from Francis movement, lead from the beginning to the missions that arises the grace impulse received, by young Elizabeth. In the year1221 in a General Chapter that took place in Saint Mary of the Angels with the presence of Saint Francis, some friars were willing to leave for Germany to found the order in that country. Some of them stayed in Eisenach. where prince Ludovic and Elizabeth lived. Among the first German friars was brother Ruggiero with the presence of Saint Francis who was the spiritual guide of Saint Elizabeth.

What particular thing could have impressed the young princess who was rich in material things, power, and landholdings, that would make her choose a radical change in her life, until she was able to achieve the ascetic figure of the penitent, and start a spiritual life signed by a penitent dimension?

As one can appreciate this perspective comes back to Francis himself, who in his will, develops all his spiritual dimension in this concept: "the Lord leads me to start penance this way".

Within the concept of penance, it was not even primarily the concept of renouncing everything and the ascetics, but the "metanoia", or the conversion of the heart, the transformation of life, until reaching complete conformation to Christ.

The young princess who started to listen to the sons of Francis, had the possibility of learning about a Christianity that, while she was taking in seriously the more radical part of the gospel, starting from poorness, was nonetheless a Christianity that was of a sad tone of the Manichaean separation. It was therefore, the Christianity of happiness and song, of discovering the paternal face of God in the sweet humanity and forgiveness of the Son becoming human; a Christianity that sang the splendor of God being present in the world.

The word of God that we have listened, (Ecc. 26, 1-4, 13-21), invites us precisely to see Elizabeth under the light of beauty. What is beauty is not easy to say. It is more an experience than an idea; beauty is interpreted in various ways. The passage taken from the book of the Ecclesiastes has an indication that joins intimately the beauty to virtue. Kindness and virtue attracts each other. In a latter analysis we refer it to God himself, most kindness and most beauty. The beauty of God rests on the creator and man himself reflects it on the same measure in which one lives in God. It has a poetic flavor the word that we have just listen: "Like the morning sun over the hills of the Lord, that is the enchantment of a good woman in a well kept home". Elizabeth was first of all, this virtuous woman. If we can see her today as an inspiring woman of so many of us that live under the Franciscan charisma in the ordinary life of a family, of a profession, of an existence among all the things in the world, it is precisely because she comes fully into the design of God to this secular vocation which makes living to be the value of the world having our look straight upon God.

The second lecture, (1Tim 5, 3-10) gives us another indication that it is more closely aligned specifically to the devout widow. Beyond the specific category of interested persons, with this subject we are in another grace towards the spiritual rode that puts into evidence the value and the beauty of a contemplative life. However, Elizabeth would not have had any difficulty after the death of her husband, of finding a new husband. But the Lord had prepared for her a superior grace of beauty in beauty. . "Ad summam tendens perfectionem" So writes the biographer. Elizabeth feels that she has been called to the vertex of perfection, and so in a Franciscan church in Eisenach where she herself had called the minor friars, rest the hands upon the naked altar on Holy Friday. It is the 24^th of March of 1227. She resigns to all worldly things to dedicate herself only to God. Months afterwards through the hands of brother Burcardo, celebrating Master Conrad. she received the penance habit. It deals with a religious profession of living not within the walls of a convent, but in the ordinary rhythm of life, playing together action and contemplation, the dimension of "Mary" and of that "Martha", recalling Jesus words to Martha from Betania on contemplation as of "unum necessarium" . The church of our time has rediscovered the values of happiness and of secularity, as values that come from God. But contemplation is what gives everything sense and fulfillment. History becomes a number of next-to-the-last things that find their fulfillment in the very last thing: since God is first and last. The choice that Saint Elizabeth took reminds us that only God can feel the heart.

The last reading, (Mt 25, 31-40 ) proposes the great chapter of charity in which Christ identifies himself with each brother and sister who have the need of our help. John Paul II writes about this page that it not only has a great ethical value but also a Christological sense. It’s like saying that the mystery of Jesus is being shown to us, and it helps us to understand the death of the incarnation. Francis understands it this way when he embraced the leper. In that brother he embraced Christ himself, and he was interested in him, sharing his suffering. The contemplation that he loved doing in front of the St. Damian crucifix and most of all in front of the Eucharistic presence of Christ.

Also in this Elizabeth of Hungary is "an imitator of Saint Francis", as John Paul II says in his Letter to the Fulda Bishop, Observatore Romano, 18.09.1981). It is notorious how charity shines upon her that carries it also in the life of her husband, as she build various hospitals, and finally dedicating herself in the hospital of Marburg to take care of the sick as to Christ himself.

Dear brothers and sisters how can we not see the beauty and urgency of this message for our times. Francis on one side for his conversion and Elizabeth on the other, in this centenary, that reminds us of her figure invites us to take seriously the evangelical message and translated in the compromise of life.

Today’s world has more than to wish to know, about this testimony. Benedictus XVI has reminded us of it last June 7 as the pilgrim here on the Tomb of St. Francis. We also remember today in the context of the spiritual compromise of our Church of ASsisit which this year leaves the compromise of conversion especially in connection to the value of communion. We must convert to the love of God. We must convert to fraternal love.

I am happy to be able to celebrate with you the happiness of this centenary also sharing congratulations from His Holiness and placing upon the altar of the Lord the common compromise to always follow faithfully the example of Francis and Elizabeth of Hungary.