Elizabeth’s life is so interesting. It’s full of intrigue and service. She wanted to serve Jesus and when she learned the scripture “if ye do it to the least of these, ye do it unto me,” she started to serve the poor and the sick, bringing them into the castle (to the dismay of her dead husband’s family). She gave up all her riches to the poor.
Something like that must have been so contrary to reality in that day, everyone learned about her and honored and loved her. She was pronounced a Saint after she died at age 24. She probably got sick from caring for the sick.
Christ in the bed
Another story told of Elizabeth, also found in Dietrich of Apolda’s Vita, relates how she laid the leper Helias of Eisenach in the bed she shared with her husband. Her mother-in-law, who was horrified, told this immediately to Louis on his return. When Louis removed the bedclothes in great indignation, at that instant “Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed.” This story also appears in Franz Liszt’s oratorio about Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is remembered in art, music and stories that have been handed down through centuries. Good for her. Her life is worth reading about.
After visiting Marburg, we all loaded up to drive over to Wetzlar to have lunch at Mr. B’s, a fine burger shop.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 