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SAINT ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL-
Model Peacemaker and Religious in Spirit/1271-1336/Feast:July 4-#43

fr:Dear Saint,you were born in Spain and became Queen of Portugal 
but are best known as "the Peacemaker" because of your ability to bring 
about peace during your lifetime,even by dramatic battlefield 
interventions.
You are also remembered for your aid to the poor and for leading a 
Religious life while living in the world.

St:I must emphasize that God took good care of me.I was named after 
my great aunt,Elizabeth of Hungary,who had been canonized seven 
years previously...
My father was King Peter III of Aragon and I was entrusted to my 
grandfather for my Christian upbringing,but he died before 
I was six years old.
*With God's grace I was a devout and obedient child.Thus,
at twelve years of age I consented to become the wife of Dionysius,
King of Portugal.
My husband was kind to me and never objected to my living the life of 
a Religious.God blessed us with two children.

fr:You showed extraordinary patience and gentleness which,thanks to 
the grace of God,enabled you to convert your husband from a life of 
immorality.
Impressed by your outstanding charity toward the poor,he came to 
realize that he had a Saint in his house.
*However,your charity was not mere humanitarianism,or the activity of 
a "social-worker." You were animated by the Spirit of Christ,
Who during His earthly life went about doing good.

St:When we follow Christ,we must accept to bear the cross that He 
decides not to take away from us.my son,Alfonso,rebelled against his 
father,and my husband for a time suspected that I favored my son.

fr:Through your patient conduct,you were successful in bringing about 
the reconciliation between father and son.After your husband's death,
you became a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis--for even as 
Queen you had recited not only the Divine Office but also the Offices 
of our Lady and of the Dead.
*You also managed to reconcile your son,the King of Portugal,with your 
grandson,the King of Castile.
But your self-sacrificing and strenuous efforts took their toll and you died 
shortly afterward.What a wonderful reception you must have been 
granted by the Prince of Peace 
Whom you had served and imitated so well!

St:Mary,mother of grace,Mother of mercy,shield us from the enemy 
and receive us at the hour of death.

fr:Dear Saint,inspire us with a desire to accept and bear the cross which 
our Lord wants us to bear during our fleeting life upon earth.
*May we always imitate your prayerful efforts to reconcile sinners with 
God and enemies with one another.

SAINT EPHREM-
Defender of the Faith/306-373/Feast:June 9-#20

fr:Dear Saint,I enjoy recalling your life for many reasons.
You lived in a great century,when there appeared men like 
Cyril of Alexandria,
Cyril of Jerusalem,Basil the Great,Augustine of Hippo,and the 
Emperor Constantine,who brought peace to the Church.
*Much paganism was still prevalent in your day,and your pagan father
--annoyed because of your interest in Christianity--
cast you out of his house.

St:That turned out to be a blessing,for I was adopted by the 
Bishop of Nisibis,fully instructed in the Faith,and baptized at the age of 
eighteen.
Our Lord was most kind to me.
*I learned things about monastic life 
and was finally ordained as a Deacon.I chose to remain a 
Deacon all my life,recalling that Christ had come to be a servant,
and He was supreme Lord!

fr:I know you liked to write both poetry and prose.Like the saintly 
Deacon Stephen who was martyred for the Faith,you became a teacher 
and defender of that Faith.Like Stephen also,you were inspired by the 
Holy Spirit and throughout the centuries you have become known as the 
"Harp of the Holy Spirit" as well as the Prophet of the Syrians.

St:We should never forget and ever trust in the power shown by the 
Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost.I know that it was only because of that 
power working in me that I was able to teach,preach and write in 
defense of the Faith and to follow the Divine Master.

pr:Lord Jesus Christ,King of kings,You have power over life and death.
You know even things that are uncertain and obscure,
and our very thoughts and feelings are not hidden from You.
Cleanse me from my secret faults,for I have done wrong 
and You saw it....You know how weak I am,both in soul and in body.
Give me strength,0 Lord,in my frailty and sustain me in my sufferings....
Grant me a prudent judgment,dear Lord,and let me always be mindful of 
Your blessings...Let me retain until the end 
Your grace that has Protected me till now.

fr:Dear Saint,it is well known that besides your great love for our Lord 
you also had deep devotion to His Blessed Mother.She was,as it were,
the Spouse of the Holy Spirit,through Whom she conceived our Savior.
*Obtain for us a similar love for Jesus and the Holy Spirit and a deep 
attachment to Mary.Help us to propagate that love and devotion to 
others all the days of our lives.

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