My Patron's Baby Daddy

Pulled from a friend's Facebook Saint of the Day feed, which I decided to check out when Blackboard went down and I couldn't finish my homework.

Today is the feast of Blessed Louis of Thuringia, spouse of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, my patroness and the reason for the blog name.

BLESSED LOUIS OF THURINGIA

This German prince lived during the last part of the twelfth and first part of the thirteenth centuries. He married St. Elizabeth of Hungary when he was twenty-one and she was just fourteen. The marriage had been arranged by their parents. This was the custom. But they both loved God, and he gave them great love for each other. So it was that they were very happy together. Their joy increased when God sent them their three children. The youngest was Blessed Gertrude.

Louis helped his wife in her many works of charity for the poor. He also joined her in devout prayer. Time after time, the people saw their handsome prince and his lovely wife helping the poor. It is said that once Elizabeth brought a leper into their castle and nursed him in their bed. For a moment, when Louis saw that, he was angry. Then, suddenly, instead of the leper, he saw our crucified Lord lying there. After that proof of how much Jesus appreciated Elizabeth's charity, Louis had a hospital for lepers built.

One long, bitter cold winter, Louis had to be away from his land. When he returned, Elizabeth was overjoyed. The next year Louis left on a Crusade to free the Holy Land from the Muslims. But on the way, he caught malaria, and soon was dying. Because he had always lived in close union with Jesus, the brave ruler felt no fear of death. He received the Last Sacraments and died peacefully in 1227. Let us pray today for married couples, that their love for each other will help them grow in personal holiness.

The bit about "helping his wife in her many works of charity for the poor" makes him sound a lot more benevolent than he was at first. Like any good husband, he was concerned with Lizzie started feeding the many beggars at the gate. She was once headed down to feed some poor people and needed to carry loaves of bread past Louis, who she knew would be upset that she was again giving so much away. As she passed her husband, God touched Louis' vision so that he saw his wife carrying armloads of roses. Neat, huh?

Now that her secret is out, my medal is free to show her carrying bread.

BTW: The friend who had the saint feed dropped by the House of Chez Casa this evening with a darling book about a dinosaur who was peculiar and a lovely other dinosaur who was a free spirit and especially keen on shopping. They loved each other very much as they grew old together. We took a break from my studies and his grading to read it aloud to each other, as we sipped scotch (him) and tawny port (me) and thought mushy thoughts. Like the dinosaurs, we're older and still very much in love (not all the time, but we're so grateful when God gives us those periods of intense mushiness.)

Painting is the wedding of Louis and Elizabeth, Rijks Museum.