June 18, 2012 
Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the day
Saint Elizabeth of Schonau (c.1130-1164)
Saint Elizabeth of Schonau was brought up in a Benedictine monastery from the age of 12. She saw the monastery as her home and took her vows. Elizabeth was gifted with visions, prayerful ecstasies and prophecies, and she waged a spiritual battle against demons. She was appointed abbess and, with the assistance of her brother, penned three tomes describing her visions. Saint Elizabeth of Schonau is the patroness against temptations.
Reflection
It is safe to assume that Saint Elizabeth, the patroness against temptations, faced and conquered considerable temptations. What temptations do you face? How do you conquer them? It is important to remember that giving in to temptation, although bad, happens even to saints. What makes people truly righteous is not that they never fail, but that, when they fail, they keep trying to be good.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, never allow me to give up in my struggle for holiness.
Liturgical season information
Lectionary: 365
Place in Year: Ordinary Time
Color of decorations and priest's vestments: Green
Daily readings
Reading 1: 1 Kings 21:1-16
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 5:2-3ab, 4b-6a, 6b-7
Gospel: Matthew 5:38-42
View complete readings on USCCB.org
