The Saintly Queen Of Portugal

We are all familiar with Jesus’ saying, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mt 19:24). However, as always, Jesus leaves us with a word of encouragement and hope, “For man this is impossible but with God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26).

Throughout history, by God’s grace, many rich and powerful people have found their way to heaven and are counted among the saints we honor and venerate.

One of those rich and powerful persons who became a saint was Saint Elizabeth of Portugal.

She was born in 1271 in Spain. Her father was Pedro III who would later be King of Aragon. Though raised with great wealth and privilege, she always sought to live modestly and humbly. Possessed of an intense love for God, she practiced self-denial and frequent penance from a young age.

As was the custom among royalty of the day, she was given in marriage at the age of 12 to King Dinis of Portugal. During those years, she suffered greatly because of his infidelity. Though they had only two children together, he fathered as many as seven children with other women. Nonetheless, Saint Elizabeth was determined to remain faithful to her husband and to lead a model Christian life in hopes of inspiring him to convert to a more moral lifestyle.

The greatest sign of her holiness, however, was her care for the poor. To the outrage of her husband, she would often leave the castle at night to bring them food, clothing and money. Whenever she learned that a beggar had been mistreated by one of the castle guards, she would usher the beggar in, feed him and treat his wounds.

She also had a profound devotion to the Holy Spirit, directing that a church be constructed in honor of the third person of the Blessed Trinity. When the country was suffering from a long drought, Saint Elizabeth promised to donate her crown to that church if God would bring an end to it.

When the drought did end, she established the tradition of feeding all the poor in Lisbon on Pentecost Sunday. At that celebration, she would choose children from the crowd and place the crown on their heads to symbolize that the poor were the true royalty of Portugal, thus committing herself to serving them as she would any other king or queen. 

Though she was a woman of great wealth and power, she chose to use her privilege not to benefit herself but the poorest members of society. In so doing, she is an example to us of the meaning of the feast we celebrate today - The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Though no one more powerful than Jesus has ever walked the earth, He came to serve and not to be served. And He calls upon us who have any wealth or privilege, no matter how meager, to use it in service of others, especially the poorest and weakest.

In today’s gospel, Jesus makes it clear to us that we will be judged at the end of time. It is a fearsome scene which should grab our attention. Furthermore, He lets us know on what terms we will be judged. Did we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned or welcome the stranger? If we have provided for the needs of others, then we will share His victory and be welcomed into His Kingdom. If we have not, then we will be cast off to eternal punishment.

We should pay very close attention to what Jesus has to say to us. It is not enough to say that we believe in Jesus if we reject Him in the poor. It is not enough to say that we came every Sunday to be fed by Him if we failed to feed Him in the hungry. It is not enough to say that we read the Bible everyday if we did not put into practice its mandate to welcome the stranger.

Though these words may cause us to tremble, they should not leave us without hope. Certainly, all of us have fallen short in one way or another in serving our needy neighbor. But it is possible to turn things around because all things are possible with God.

The first step is to ask God for the opportunity to help someone in need. However, be prepared! This is certainly a prayer God will answer when we least expect it. It could be that we see someone stopped at the side of the road who needs help changing a tire. It could be a student being picked on in the schoolyard who needs someone to stick up for him. We never know when needy people will cross our path, but we should never fail to help them. Why? Because we will need that good deed to be counted in our favor when we stand before the judgement seat of Christ more than whatever money or time helping them cost us.

The second step is to practice self-denial on a daily basis. We often do not serve the poor because we are too attached to money and to comfort. However, serving others means going out of our comfort zone and even taking the risk of being hurt. Saint Elizabeth of Portugal prepared for her life of service by refusing to indulge in  the many luxuries of palace life. If we are to follow her example and win praise from Christ when we stand before Him at the end of time, then we must learn to rely less and less on modern conveniences. This will give us the courage to go out of our comfort zone and also leave us with more money to give to others.

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal followed the example of Christ who came to serve and not to be served. Despite her great wealth and privilege, she sought to comfort others rather than live comfortably. We must do the same. This mandate of Jesus is even more urgent in our day when the gap between the wealthy and the poor is widening. And, the truth is that our time is short. It will not be long before we will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. What good deeds will we have to ensure that we are counted among those who are blessed?