“…[F]or I was hungry and you gave me food…
(Matthew 25: 35)

Elizabeth of Hungary
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB

Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
November 19, 2008

Tobit 12:6b-9
Matthew 25: 31-40


In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As one report of Elizabeth of Hungary’s good works, “During a famine she generously distributed all the grain from her stocks, cared for lepers in one of the hospitals she established, kissed their hands and feet. For the benefit of the indigent she provided suitable lodging.”

This Holy woman, whose Feast Day is today in the Episcopal Church, was a remarkable woman of religious faith, relationship to God in Christ, and someone who in her exemplary Christian life helped the poor, the widow, the misbegotten.

Our reading from Matthew in the Gospel this day accurately provides an insight into her character and Christ-like living. Note that this stalwart woman who had remarkable endurance in faith, lived in the 13th Century and died at the early age of 24.

Some words from Matthew, telling of Christ’s teachings:

“…[F]or I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” That from Matthew 25: 35-36.

Married at 14 to royalty, husband dead at 20, Elizabeth had already begun her work with the poor and needy. Her husband, also venerated for his service to the poor, supported her in her religious work. As a widow, the work became the greater, and with three children she continued her devotion, becoming even more devout and holy. God was calling her; she responded. This we know. Elizabeth of Hungary said “yes” to the Lord.

As she gave most of what she had to the needs of the poor, and she had much as a royal person, her family became alarmed and threw her out. She was even left homeless with three children, and out in the cold, literally. At one point, as a story goes, Elizabeth was confronted by irate family members who said she was spending their money and giving away their food. Thinking she was carrying money to the poor, they demanded she open her arms and show what she was “hiding.” As the tale goes, she opened her arms, and pressed against her body was a bouquet of roses. So beautiful. The tale lives with her special service to God, and indicates her favor by Him and her goodness. A miracle is what people consider the story of the roses.

Sometimes it is necessary to select an entire Psalm for a homily. So I think.

I am doing so, because it neatly describes this Godly woman. Here it is, the alternate Psalm for reading today:

Psalm 112 is from the New Standard Revised Version of the Bible. I’ll comment on her life as I read the lines.

Praise the Lord!

(And she did so, in heart and deed.)

Happy are those who fear
The Lord.

(Did God not call her, and give her trials as well as rewards?)

Who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty
In the land;

(Elizabeth studied under a strict spiritual director, and later in her young life became a Third Order Franciscan. She was a patron of the Franciscan Order, and they are her spiritual descendants, in a way of exemplary--Christ centered living.)

the generation of the upright
will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their
Houses,
And their righteousness endures
Forever.

(We remember Elizabeth eight Centuries later. Surely she is an inspiration, and the Church memorializes her for she was a righteous person who helps us come to Christ, and know what God wants of us. In our own Church of Our Saviour we engage in acts of charity and mercy, helping the poor and needy. One indication of this is our outreach through cooperative, Ecumenical service by feeding the homeless once a month in concert with our neighbor Catholic Church, Mt. Carmel.)

They rise in the darkness as a light
For the upright;
They are gracious, merciful, and
Righteous.
It is well with those who deal
Generously and lend.

(This woman of trials, banished by family among others, driven from her home city, lived a life of joy and service. Somehow this mystery of God’s joy is difficult to fathom. But we find evidence of it time and time again.)

who conduct their affairs with
justice.
For the righteous will never
Be moved;
They will be remembered
Forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
Their hearts are firm, secure
In the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will
Not be afraid.

(Elizabeth, young, unafraid, steady in her faith, gave succor to so many, and was a self-sacrificing woman who began living a life of Holy denial. Sometimes it is missed that this remarkable woman as widow raised three children as she did Holy works. Elizabeth was a mother.)

in the end they will look in
triumph on their foes.

(We do believe that good prevails and that our God is on the side of good, that Christ is merciful, generous, forgiving, and loves man and woman, all of creation. We as a Parish participate in our own acts of service and needs of our neighbor as a moral religious community, who believes that our fellow humankind are part of creation. Even the poor, the misbegotten, the widow and alone, or orphan more than deserve our help, but require it.)

They have distributed freely, they
Have given to the poor;
Their righteousness endures
Forever;
Their horn is exalted in honor.

(This day we remember Elizabeth of Hungry, and we join in Eucharist together as part of our Feast Day in celebration. Thanks be to God.)

The wicked see it and are angry;
They gnash their teeth and melt
Away;
The desire of the wicked comes
To nothing.

Here ends the reading and lesson.



The Psalm is both beautiful and instructive. As I say, it does describe and illustrate the life and work of Elizabeth so well.

As you know from what we’ve been talking about, Elizabeth was a young widow. She is considered a patroness of widows. Here are two famous prayers in her name. I will say them for you.

Prayers to St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Patroness of Widows and widowers
feast day: November 17

Dear Saint Elizabeth, you were always poor in spirit, most generous toward the poor, faithful to your husband, and fully consecrated to your Divine Bridegroom. Grant your help to widows and widowers and keep them faithful to their heavenly Lord. Teach them how to cope with their loss and to make use of their time in the service of God. Amen.

Prayer of Widows and Widowers

Lord Jesus Christ, during your earthly life You showed compassion on those who had lost a loved one. Turn your compassionate eyes on me in my sorrow
over the loss of my life's partner. Take him/her into your heavenly kingdom as a reward for his/her earthly service.
Help me to cope with my loss by relying on You even more than before.
Teach me to adapt to the new conditions of my life and to continue doing
your will as I see it. Enable me to avoid withdrawing from life
and make me give myself to others more readily, so that I may continue to live in your grace and to do the tasks that You have laid out for me. Amen.

What to add about this exceptional woman. We praise her.

Thank you for being here on this Feast Day.

Amen.


--Peter Menkin, Pentecost 2008






(Appx. 1330 words)

Double-click image to make larger and readable.

Poem in Ruah: A Journal of Spiritual Poetry published by Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, California USA. http://popruah.opwest.org/ My poem, "Poetic Recitation on the Rule of St. Benedict" is on page 30 in this 2007 edition.

The Poem

Attend with the ear of your heart

Listen in the silence

at night or daytime

through trials and living.

This Rule brings God, the Lord

closer: do so to me.

Labor of obedience

Before beginning a good work, pray earnestly,

We are the Lord's counted

sons and daughters.

The path offers good gifts,

open your eyes to the light.

Arise from sleep.

The Rule proffers the voice

from heaven this day.

--Peter Menkin

Book Review: "The Way of Jesus"

I come to recognize publishers that publish books interesting to me, specifically with titles of spiritual and religious topics. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company of Michigan, USA and Cambridge, United Kingdom is one such publisher. A friend loaned me the book titled, “The Way of Jesus,” I am happy to recommend this anonymous work after reading it. I admit I may have found myself overlooking the title if it had not been brought to my attention. This is a book helpful in knowing Christ and living the Christian life.

The book was originally discovered in Germany in 1516 under the title “Theologia Germanica,” published by Martin Luther. A contemporary style helps with understanding the work, it was translated into the contemporary English by Tony D’Souza, who lives in London, England. The writing contains a certain charm without being difficult to the 21st Century American reader; hence the editing is successful if only containing a whiff of plainness and kind of simplicity. This may be to its credit, after reading the entire book and looking back on it.

You guess this is a mystical work, probably, and you guess right. Written in short segments, one may read it on a daily basis finding time to reflect on each chapter. I read it straight through, so to speak, not reading it as a devotional, but as an instructive and illuminating work on Christ and my relationship and understanding of him in my life. Fortunately, I found this satisfying and illuminating. The work is an illuminating book, 140 pages and introduces itself on the cover as, “a contemporary edition of a spiritual classic.” Tony D’Souza is noted as “editor,” by the way. Just to be clear on the matter and give proper credit to him.

From the start, the book offers evidence and instruction: “…[O]ur knowledge of God should become so perfect that we see that none of our gifts or will, love or good works come from ourselves but that they all come from God, from whom all good proceeds.” Perhaps you as reader of this review say, “How obvious.” But I recall a situation where I confused my own sense of smallness before God instead of his largeness; instead my posture required an attitude of humility that accepts and acknowledges His goodness and greatness. This is not so large an error, or far from a way to humility, yet to get on a better path to the Way of Jesus this book is helpful in sorting out relationship and truths. There is discernment on its pages.

Again, in the same line, as the author says early in the book, “…[I]t is better that God should be loved, praised, and honored even if we vainly imagine that we love or praise God. This is preferable to God being left unloved, unpraised, and unhonored, because when the vain imagination turns into understanding of truth, then claiming anything for our own will fall away naturally…’Poor fool that I was, I imagined it was me, but all the time it was God.’” Simple, yes, but clarifying and also helpful in bringing the reader to an insight to Christ’s significant and special relationship with mankind (womankind, too, of course.)

It is by degrees and example, by various dictums the writer lets us know something of perspective: “Four Things Are Necessary Before a Person Can Receive Divine Truth and Become Possessed by the Spirit of God.”

Possessed by the spirit of God? I ask, and I wonder. This statement about divine truth is novel to my ears, as are discussions of evil personified by the Devil. Yet as a reviewer I urge you to buy the book to read on and persevere; the reader will find this endeavor of a book both entertaining and also written so that its certain realities are recognizable in our century. Reading a classic work does take some leaps and jumps, especially when written almost 500 years ago.

Christ says blessed are the poor. He means material poverty, and that is common knowledge. But he also says, blessed are the poor in spirit, and the author who is imparting “knowledge,” or a way of knowing, ends a chapter with the promise of his teachings: “Out of this grows that poverty of spirit of which Christ said…” One gets the firm intention of learning something about spiritual poverty by this work, and thereby a humility. To this end, the chapter headings are like aphorisms, such as the chapter just noted: “There is a Deep and True Humility and Poverty of Spirit in a Person Who Shares in the Divinity of God.” I thought these a kind of Zen Koan. But slightly so. More a puzzle made statement than an exercise in special construction. Yet the book is that, too, in its own way. There you have a sense of the way mystery is constructed by the modern edition, I guess the modern language is true to the original since a noteworthy publisher publishes the book. Here is another “aphorism”, clearer and less puzzling, but a puzzle: “What Sin Is, and How We Must Not Claim Any Good thing for Ourselves, because All Good Belongs to the True Good Alone.”

I was glad to find this book title available through Amazon.com, for I tried searching on it (the title), but could not find the book. I tried a search on the editor, Tony D’Souza, and found the book on Amazon.com. This particular copy, which was loaned to me, was purchased at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California (USA) where my friend said she found it by browsing.

I am happy she thought it suited my interests and tastes, and also that I would appreciate something that takes a desire for a special religious flavor of instruction. My Deacon friend practices contemplation in the morning, and knowing my own interest in contemplative prayer is correct in her recognition that contemplatives will find the book, “The Way of Jesus,” helpful in living a Christian life. That is a lot to say about a book, but I am sure if you’ve gotten this far in this review, you have an interest that will make this a work beneficial to your own life, contemplative in leaning or not. This is also a book for the active life in Christ, for it clarifies and instructs on understanding this historic person and God. A helpful book in living a Christian life.

--Peter Menkin, Pentecost 2007


This amateur review of mine appears on Amazon.com.

About a relationship with God

Here is an older poem, revised recently. It is about the morning. A friend recently asked, "How is your morning going?" Her question is a good one, and it started me thinking that there are many parts to my morning. I like to think it is mostly like the poem. Mostly, it is. In each of the seasons I have the company of God. This is comforting. "...(I)t is all too easy to concentrate on the human struggle..., and forget the primary role of God in all of this. What is more, all the way with God is with God," writes Terrence G. Kardong in "Benedict's Rule: A Translation and Commentary."

I have quoted the monk Kardong with a hand to address the relationship with God within the spirit of "with God's protection" from RB 73: That the Whole Fulfillment of Justice is not Laid Down in this Rule. Though my practice can be ascetical, to a small extent, his quotation is meant to address the larger practices. I think it fits, nonetheless.

Early morning (2000) (revise)...
Peter Menkin

Startling reminder, ray point of light (star):

come winter daytime,

bring early morning to awaken anew before

dawn, with life to arise.

Stretch pearl luster

and harken with children,

young parents, neighbors,

and babies unborn asleep,

resting in the womb

to come forth beginning.

The new day has intentions.

You Holy Spirit stir me,

health and hopefulness restore.

This God, the Ground of Being...
by Peter Menkin

When reading the prayer of a man long gone, from a book,
one joins across many years
the imagination and dreams, many hopes of a man
and entreats God, the Christ,
in the same way and words

so they become ones own. This is a short experience
to be remembered.
Some people want to be with Christ, his spirit, all the day
and long through the day, which lasts for such a while
they speak to the Lord and offer their innermost thoughts,

small details. We can be so intimate with this God, who cares
about human beings.
Merciful and faithful is this God, the Triune everlasting

wonderous, generous one of unknown being, yet ground of being,
that is the essence of ourselves and the basic thing us
within. A reality that is the great reality. Tell of Him, this source
and maker of the world and all that is in it. Reflection of Him,

this God, Son, Holy Spirit.
Does this story remind you,
reader, of the possibilities you have tasted,
that you know and can say is part of the wisdom that is experience.
The joy that comes, we can see. See what is unseeable.

Intimacies and spiritual closeness expressed in a poem...

Just today, I was talking with a friend about spiritual intimacies. We asked each other what were the acts or experiences during Worship that each remembered as a special time. I said, during the offering of the cup as a lay minister when people come to the rail to take communion. This is an intimate time of offering, and there is a limit to what one offers spritually when saying, "The Blood of Christ, the Cup of Salvation."

It is this limitation that accentuates the intimacy of the moment and the prayer. As an instrument, it is God's work that is at work. And in seeming contradiction, we two engaged in offering and the taking of the cup have in that few moments have a special connection.

Welcome to this older poem of mine written during a retreat at New Camaldoli, Big Sur, California (monastery). I was taken with the spiritual intimacy of the Communion Service, and observed one woman who I thought especially devout during this silent retreat. I was inspired, and mystified by the communion experienced on this Sunday at the top of the mountain above the Pacific Ocean...engaged in the mystery of it with others and so wrote my observation of the worshiper.

Spiritual recognitions: Chapter House intimacies
by Peter Menkin (2001)

You were there, and I knew you tangible
from love and desire, recollected:
the fine mind, and education,
the religion and spiritual teachings

held privately with a modesty
in respect for reverent teachers.
Your prayers were those I listen
to as you offer mention to God
for the women of the Church.

Jesuit minds have instilled in you, spiritual strength,
stranger known to me in the bread and wine--
the willingness to wear a silvercross. More beautiful because you
express pain and love for the world
in its excess, of so much evil. Forgive

me I had to notice you in communion,
in archtype as woman seeking the divine
on the mountain in winter by the Pacific
Ocean: Vistas of rock, Route 1, Big Sur
Edge of the world, of the awe consistent:
We are at the place of prayer tangible

Christological; an immensity of the burning fire
with white in Trinity, mysterium.
New Ecumenical spirits sweep the world.
So generous a meal; we partake through
the day wrestling meditation,
and prayer to witness and speak. Everflowing.

You came for strength and wisdom, ignited.
All of us were brought closer to God together.