Elizabeth of Hungary		 November 19
Princess
Elizabeth, the daughter of Andrew II of Hungary, was born at Presburg, Hungary, in 1207. When she was four she was sent to the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia to be betrothed to his eldest son, Louis IV, who was then ten years of age. Although many others treated her harshly, Louis was very good to her. When Elizabeth was fifteen, they finally married, and it proved to be a love match. They had three children. 
Elizabeth was influenced by the Franciscans, who had recently reached Germany. She enjoyed helping the poor, and Louis gave her all she needed to carry out this ministry. She spent large sums on charitable work, funding hospitals and providing for orphans. After seven years of very happy life, Louis died suddenly of the plague while journeying to the crusades. Elizabeth was inconsolable. To make matters worse, her brother-in-law, upset by her extravagant generosity, took possession of her son, the heir, and turned Elizabeth and her two daughters out of the castle with, tradition says, a baby at her breast. They survived with great difficulty, often having to beg for food, until some friends of Louis caused her brother-in-law to make some small provision for her life.
She made arrangements for the care of her children and became a Franciscan tertiary. She came under the authority of a harsh priest, Conrad of Marburg, who had been a member of the Inquisition. He treated her with great severity, and under a discipline of fasting, penances and vigils her health suffered. The last four years of her life were spent in caring for the poor and sick in Marburg. She continued to do this with charm and good humour despite the cruel directives of her confessor, and she refused an invitation to return to Hungary. She was only twenty-four when she died in 1231.
Elizabeth was buried at Marburg, and the poor people whom she had helped came to mourn. Her contemporaries were so moved by the story, that she was canonised only four years after she died. A year later her body was taken from the humble grave and placed in a rich tomb in a church which was built in her memory.
For Liturgical Use
Elizabeth of Hungary was born in 1207 and at 15 married Louis IV, the Landgrave of Thuringia. She devoted herself to charitable work among the poor. In 1227 her husband died on the way to the crusades, and Elizabeth was thrown out of the court. She became a Franciscan tertiary, but her spiritual adviser took an almost sadistic delight in disciplining her. She continued to devote herself to the poor of Marburg, but died in 1231 at the age of 24. 
Sentence
Jesus said, “By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”		John 13:35
Collects
Everloving God,
the comforter of the suffering and the hope of the poor,
you gave Elizabeth strength and love
to minister to those in need;
give us grace to seek out those in trouble or in want,
and to serve you faithfully by our compassion for others;
through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Jesus, Saviour,
we remember Elizabeth,
the widowed, banished, battered princess,
separated from her children and all she had,
for you, for the sick and for the poor;
help us to understand and care
for those whose grief is sore.
Psalms	43	82
Readings
Tobit 12:6b-9		On almsgiving
James 2:14-17		Faith and works
Luke 12:32-34		Treasure in heaven
Post Communion Sentence
We are treated as dying, and see - we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.		2 Corinthians 6:9,10