Feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (17 Nov 2008)

We can never do too much in terms of obeying the two great commandments given to us by Our Blessed Lord. They are, as we know, the love of God and the love of neighbor.In today’s liturgy we celebrate the commemoration of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a royal princess of 13th century Hungary and the aunt of our own Dominican Saint Margaret of Hungary. Margaret was a cloistered nun; Elizabeth was a wealthy noblewoman who gave all that she could to the poor, seeing in them the face of Jesus himself.

If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, we must put into constant practice that simple instruction given to us by Our Lord: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is very simple, but not necessarily very easy.

Let’s think for a minute: how do we want others to relate to us? We want them to be friendly, to be “on our side,” so to speak; we want them to be concerned for our well-being and to do what they can to help us and be beneficial to us. But do we behave that way toward them? Are we friendly, pleasant, well-disposed to others? Do we let them know that we are “on their side?” That we see them as our brothers and sisters in Christ? When others come to us for any kind of help, can they count on an open reception, an attentive ear, a willingness to do what we can? Sometimes there is nothing that we can do other than listen, perhaps give some words of comfort, and pray for them. This is sadly true of people who sometimes approach us on the street, asking for money. Nevertheless, Our Lord wants us to be well-disposed, concerned for others’ authentic well-being and to do what we can.

In today’s gospel, a blind man, on hearing that Jesus was going by, shouted at him: “Have pity on me!” Our Lord asked the bystanders to bring the blind man to him, and he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The answer was, “Lord, please let me see!” Immediately Jesus restored the man’s sight—a tremendous gift! Our Lord did for others what he could. He wants us to do what WE can.

There are those who try never to let a day go by without performing some useful service for someone else. What a beautiful habit to get into! Imagine how valuable those services to others will be on the day of judgment: “Whatever you did to him, her, or them, you did to Me.” Those are powerful words. But, do they refer to GOOD things, to services, to helpfulness, to friendliness—or do they refer to a lack of concern, a deaf ear, a cold shoulder? The choice is ours; the result is God’s. Thank you for seeking God’s truth. God bless you. Father Victor Brown, O.P.