The Faith That Will Not Be Silenced

Voice over by Angeline Chue Chue

1Macc 1:10-15.41-43.54-57.62-64; Psalm: 118; Lk 18:35-43

Saint Elisabeth of Hungary

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, on this memorial of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, the Church presents us with a powerful contrast between the soul-crushing pressure of the world and the liberating, persistent cry of faith. In an age that often demands our silent conformity, the Word of God calls us to the courageous witness of a queen and a beggar.

The first reading from Maccabees paints a bleak picture of a people under siege—not just by an army, but by an ideology. King Antiochus enforces a program of forced assimilation, demanding that the Jewish people abandon their covenant, their laws, and their very identity to blend into the dominant pagan culture. The pressure is immense, and many succumb, choosing the path of least resistance. Yet, a faithful remnant emerges—those who would rather die than deny their God. Their martyrdom is a witness to a truth that transcends any earthly power: we belong to God.

This struggle finds its healing echo in the Gospel. A blind beggar, an outcast in his own right, hears that Jesus is passing by. When he cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” the crowd tries to shush him. They represent the world’s voice, telling the inconvenient, the weak, and the faithful to be quiet. But the beggar possesses a holy stubbornness. He “kept calling out all the more.” He refuses to be silenced. His physical blindness has paradoxically given him spiritual sight; he alone recognizes Jesus as the “Son of David,” the Messiah. Jesus responds to this audacious faith, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”

This is the Catholic faith in action: a persistent, personal trust in Christ that breaks through all barriers. Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, a queen, lived this same faith. Surrounded by the “crowd” of courtly expectations that urged her to enjoy her privilege in silence, she instead heard the cry of the poor. She refused to be silenced by her station. She sold her jewels to build a hospital, personally tended to the sick, and famously saw the bread in her cloak for the poor turn into roses when challenged. She used her royal voice to serve the King of Kings.

As Pope Benedict XVI said of her, “Elisabeth’s life is a splendid demonstration of the liberating power of a faith that becomes active in love.”

The comfort for us is this: when we feel pressured to compromise our faith, when the “crowd” tells us to be quiet about our beliefs, we are in good company. The challenge is to imitate the beggar’s cry and Elisabeth’s service. We must persistently pray for the grace to truly see Christ, and then courageously serve Him in the poor and marginalized, even when it is counter-cultural.

Let us ask for the intercession of Saint Elisabeth. May she help us to have a faith that will not be silenced—a faith that sees Christ in the needy and serves Him with a royal love, confident that such faith will not only heal our own blindness but will truly save us. Amen.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.