July 5--St. Elizabeth of Portugal, Holy Woman

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Do you have a peacemaker in your family; someone who can patch things up when one relative insults another, or when family members get into a dispute? Well, the Iberian peninsula and all its royalty had a saint to help them out, Elizabeth of Portugal. She was born to the future King of Aragon in 1271, betrothed to the King of Portugal in 1282, and married in 1288. Her brothers were kings of Aragon and Sicily; her son-in-law, King of Castile. So her whole family tended to want their way, being kings! She, on the other hand, was devout, even as a child. She is quoted as far as understanding her role in life: “God made me queen so that I may serve others.” And she served in many ways, but most notably as a peacemaker by stopping a civil war between her husband and son and as well as stopping a war between her son and son-in-law. Legend has it that in the civil war she rode on a mule between the two sides to prevent combat. She even negotiated a peace treaty with the Queen of Castile. After her husband died in 1325, she became a Third Order Franciscan, retired to a convent, and died in 1336.

Kings often have huge egos. We also tend to have huge egos, inflated by pride and self-righteousness. When we perceive a comment as an insult or even a disagreement with a cherished belief, we tend to lash out, causing pain and suffering. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt. 5:9). Many times he gives us those peacemakers to calm the waters and, even sometimes, to deflate our egos. If we have egos the size of royalty, may God send us peacemakers, such as St. Elizabeth!

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Elizabeth_of_Portugal_(1271%E2%80%931336),_by_Spanish_(Madrilenian)_School.png

**https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Rainha_Santa_em_Alvalade_(Roque_Gameiro,_Quadros_da_Hist%C3%B3ria_de_Portugal,_1917).png

July 5—St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest

In an age and society where an unborn child is accepted if it is a choice and not a gift, where gender is considered an autonomous decision rather than an accepted fact, and marriage is considered a lifestyle choice no matter who it may be with, the Catholic Church is opposed for loving and teaching according to Jesus and human nature. But today’s saint considered the opposition of others as a badge to be worn proudly, much as his favorite saint, St. Paul, did.

St. Anthony Zaccaria lived in the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation. He studied medicine and became a doctor, but he wanted to serve the spiritual needs of others and so, became a priest. He started a religious order called the Clerks Regular of St. Paul, also called the Barnabites, a community of priests who took vows and lived by a rule, but lived and served in the world. St. Anthony trained his priests to follow the spirit of St. Paul:

“We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, rather than abhor and despise them, since they harm themselves and do us good, and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory while they incite God’s anger against themselves. And even more than this, we should pray for them and not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by goodness. We should heap good works like hot coals of burning love upon their heads, as our Apostle urges us to do (See Rom. 12:20). So that, when they become aware of our tolerance and gentleness they may undergo a change of heart and be prompted to turn in love to God….

When you are opposed for the truths of the faith, offer it up for the salvation of the other, much as St. Anthony did.