Prayer to St. Elizabeth (Widow)

Dear Saint Elizabeth, chosen vessel of the highest virtues, thou didst show to the world, by thy shining example, what things can be wrought in a Christian soul by charity, faith and humility. Thou didst make use of all the powers of thy soul in loving thy God alone; thou didst love Him with a love so pure and fervent that thou wast made worthy to enjoy upon earth a foretaste of those heavenly favors and blessings that are bestowed upon the souls invited to the marriage of the adorable Lamb of God. Illuminated by supernatural light and resolute faith, thou didst show thyself to be a true child of the Gospel, giving refreshment to Jesus Christ in the person of thy neighbor and making Him the only object of thy love. Hence, thou didst find all thy joy in conversing with the poor and needy, serving them, wiping away all tears from their eyes, consoling them and assisting them with all manner of kindly offices in sickness and in the other miseries to which our human nature is subject. Thou thyself becamest poor in order to relieve poverty in thy neighbor: poor, that is to say, in the goods of this world, in order to be made rich in the goods of heaven. So great was thy humility that thou didst exchange thy royal throne for a miserable hovel, and thy queenly attire for the lowly habit of the seraphic St. Francis; thou didst, moreover, subject thyself, though sinless, to a life of privation and penance, and didst embrace with holy joy the Cross of our divine Savior, accepting gladly, after His divine example, the insults and unjust persecutions of thy fellow-men. In such wise didst thou forget thy world and thyself in order to remember God alone. O most amiable Saint, the object of God's predilection, vouchsafe to protect our souls and help us to become ever more acceptable to Jesus. From the heights of heaven, turn thy pitying eyes upon us, thine eyes one look of which sufficed on earth to heal the most distressing maladies of thy people. In this our age, which is so wicked and corrupt, so indifferent to the things of God, we run to thy protection with the utmost confidence that thou wilt obtain for us from our Lord light for our minds, and strength for our wills, thereby enabling us to attain to true peace of soul. Defend and guard us in our perilous journey through life; intercede for the pardon and remission of all our sins; and reveal to us the way whereby we may enter with thee into the possession of the kingdom of God. Amen. (Raccolta)

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