Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

READINGS

Reading 1 Hebrews 6:10-20

Brothers and sisters: God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.

When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, and said, I will indeed bless you and multiply you. And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained the promise. Now, men swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument. So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath, so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our hearts,

that we may know what is the hope

that belongs to our call.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

REFLECTION

"He who chose me first for Himself shall receive me. Why are you delaying, executioner?...She stood, she prayed, she bent her neck. You could see the executioner tremble, as though he himself had been condemned, and his right hand shake, his face grow pale, as he feared the peril of another, while the maiden feared not for her own." Saint Ambrose

The above quote was made by St. Ambrose about St. Agnes. St. Agnes was martyred at only 12 years of age. She was martyred because she would not renounce Christianity. Devoted only to Jesus, she refused to marry a young man. He reported her to the authorities. Sempronius, prefect, ordered her dragged naked through the streets. Then he sent her to a brothel. Most of the men were afraid to touch her. One man went toward her and was blinded; but his sight was restored, when Agnes prayed for him. Finally, the prefect ordered her to be beheaded. Nothing frightened her not even the executioner.

Two years after St. Agnes' martyrdom, Constantina, the Emperor’s daughter, contracted leprosy. She went to the grave of St. Agnes and prayed. She was cured. In thanksgiving Constantine had a church built over her tomb; Sant’ Agnese in Agone, Rome, Italy.

St. Agnes' name means lamb. Traditionally, on St. Agnes' feast day at her Basilica, two lambs are sheared. The wool is woven into a cape, a pallia, for the archbishops. The pallium is placed on the Archbishops' shoulders during the feast of Saints Peter and Paul by the Pope. This is to signify their mission as shepherds.

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our hearts,

that we may know what is the hope

that belongs to our call.

God enlightened the eyes of St. Agnes' heart. She was called to be with Jesus and she did not fear death to join her beloved. Let us pray to St. Agnes to discern our call.