Today, Americans celebrate Independence Day. But today, American Catholics and Catholics all over
the world also celebrate the feast of St. Elizabeth of Portugal. Who is she? And what does she have to
do with America?
Who she is
Elizabeth was a Spanish princess who married the king of Portugal in the thirteenth century. Her
great aunt was St. Elizabeth of Hungary, so holiness ran in the family.
As Queen of Portugal, Elizabeth was a prayerful woman who lived her life in service to the poor of her
country. She also saved her country from civil war more than once.
It is said that her husband was unfaithful to her for some of their marriage, but that he repented and
died a holy death. After her husband died, she joined a convent she had started years earlier, and
lived out the rest of her days there.
Why I love her
Three things strike me about Elizabeth.
1. She was married...and she's a saint. I love the stories of married saints, as they prove
that saintliness and holiness is possible for all of us pursuing the vocation of marriage. Elizabeth was
a wife and mother of two, a girl named Constance and a boy named Afonso.
2. She was a holy queen. I look at society today, and complain that it is harder to be a Christian
than it ever was before. But is that really true? Imagine living in a court setting like Elizabeth did.
When riches and power get together, they usually produce pretty immoral offspring. But, Elizabeth
lived in the world of royal court, and held true to her morals. She even went to daily Mass!
3. She was a public servant. Elizabeth not only served God in her faith, but she engaged in service of
her country. She served the poor tirelessly, and promoted peace by quelling civil wars. Once she even
rode onto the battlefield to make peace.
What Elizabeth and Lady Liberty have to teach us
Part of the sonnet inscribed on Lady Liberty's pedestal reads,
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
The first colonists came to America to find adventure, to find freedom, to find a new home. Elizabeth
of Portugal tried to give new life to her tired, and her poor, the "refuse" and rejected in her country.
Both women (if you will indulge me for a moment and personify Lady Liberty as a female
representation of America) were beacons of hope and welcome for those in need.
Today, let's take a brief respite from bemoaning the current state of America.
Instead, let's focus on how we can serve our fellow Americans, especially those who are on the
outskirts of our society. Let's celebrate our freedom, yes, and thank those who have served to keep us
safe.
But then, let's make a plan for how we can serve the homeless, the mentally ill, the refugee, the
veteran, the elderly. Pick a ministry you believe in, and set a time to volunteer in the next two weeks.
We are Americans. We are Catholics. How can we be better citizens and better followers of Christ?
How can we make our country a better place, while simultaneously bringing Christ to each other and
the world?
Easy. We can serve.
A portrait of Elizabeth by Francisco de Zurbarán found in the Museo del Prado
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