Today's Ornament of Grace for Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent is St. Elisabeth Hesselblad.
Luke1:5-25
Then, when Zechariah’s time of priestly service was over, he went home. Afterward, his wife Elizabeth conceived. She went into seclusion for five months, saying: “In these days, the Lord is acting on my behalf; he has seen fit to remove my reproach among men.”
We know from today’s Gospel that Elizabeth, trusting the Lord to come to her aid, became pregnant in her old age. Her trust brought us John the Baptist who pointed the way to Jesus. St. Elizabeth Hesselblad also trusted God. She did not bear a son named John, but she herself was fruitful in pointing the way to the Savior for many.
Born in 1870 to Lutheran parents in Sweden, Elizabeth Hesselblad was the fifth of thirteen children. By the time she was sixteen, she had to go to work to help support the family. Emigrating to the United States in 1888, she studied nursing in New York City and provided home health care to many of the poor. Some of those she served were Catholic, and they influenced Elizabeth profoundly.
Elizabeth gave herself to prayer and study, wanting to know and follow the Lord’s plans for her. So, it was with joy on the Feast of the Assumption, 1902, that she embraced the Catholic faith. Later, reflecting on her conversion, she wrote: “In an instant the love of God was poured over me. I understood that I could respond to that love only through sacrifice and a love prepared to suffer for His glory and for the Church. Without hesitation I offered Him my life, and my will to follow Him on the Way of the Cross.”
A short time after her conversion, Elizabeth left for Europe where she made a pilgrimage to Rome. There she visited the house of Bridget of Sweden, then a Carmelite Monastery. She wanted to join the Carmelites in Rome, but her health was not good due to her care for the sick poor in New York City. The Order felt the life would be too difficult for her, but they welcomed her as a guest on probation. Elizabeth fell critically ill there, so she could not join the Carmelites. Still, feeling called to religious life, she asked the Pope to allow her to make vows under the Rule of the Order St. Bridget had founded. She professed her vows to her Jesuit spiritual director in 1906.
Elizabeth, knowing the Order was strong in Sweden prior to the Protestant Reformation, wanted to bring it back to life. She was unsuccessful in that attempt but proposed a new Order dedicated to care of the sick. By the end of 1911, three women had joined her to pray and work. The Order grew, and Elizabeth continued caring for the sick poor. In 1928 the Carmelites left their Monastery in Rome, and Elizabeth’s new Order of Bridgettines moved in, establishing a foundation in Rome.
During World War II, the convent in Rome was a place where she, as Superior, hid twelve Jews fleeing the holocaust. The Germans occupied Italy in 1943, sending many Jews to Auschwitz. This particular family of Jews roamed the countryside for some months but eventually returned to Rome. Friends suggested they take refuge in the Bridgettine Monastery. Elizabeth and her community welcomed them, risking their lives. The Jews were able to hide in the monastery until they could safely leave after the liberation of Italy in 1944, a period of six months. Like nursing the sick, Elizabeth offered her life for all her brothers and sisters.
Elizabeth became quite ill on April 23, 1957. She raised her hands to bless her sisters saying, “Go to heaven with
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