MEMORIAL ST ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, FRIDAY OF THIRTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, NOVEMBER 17, 2023

MASS READINGS:

Gospel Lk 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left." They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather."

REFLECTION

"Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it."

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She lived a life full of prayer and service to the poor. Although she was part of the royal courts of Thuringia, she led a simple life and practiced penance. She devoted herself to works of mercy diligently caring for widows, orphans, the sick and the poor. In times of famine, she freely distributed her corn. When her husband died, his brother took this opportunity to seize the estates of his deceased brother and drove out the saintly widow and her children. Then, in the very land where she had assisted all by her charity, Elizabeth was reduced to begging for a little bread for her poor children. Later, justice was restored to Elizabeth and her children. St Elizabeth continued her works of charity by dedicating all her money to the poor and by cleansing the sores and wounds of their bodies and pouring the balm of consolation into their weary hearts.

In today's Gospel, Our Lord tells us, "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it." And so, let us strive to spend our life in service of our brothers and sisters like St . Elizabeth of Hungary.