St Elizabeth of Portugal (1271 - 1336)

Unversalis reminds me today that it is the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Portugal. The brief biography they included was striking for two reasons. First, some aspects of her life reminds me of my own mother. No, my mother wasn't royalty, but she was a saint. :-) Second, the bio notes that it is scandalous to many today to think about how royalty could ever become a saint. The Lord's words about the rich man's difficulty getting into Heaven are some of his hardest. The rich have so much temptation stacked against them, being rich, powerful, famous, surrounded by servants and lavish living. The Lord's response to such thoughts remains true today, however: with God, nothing is impossible. All the same, may I never be rich in this world. Just let me get by with enough to feed, clothe and educate my kids, buy a house and perhaps a bigger car. Maybe visit home every 5 years or so. Travel out of state with the family every 2 years or so. The list gets longer if I think about it too much. Sigh. See what I mean? ;-)