Daily readings with reflections

Readings & Reflections: Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time & St. Agnes, January 21,2020

Readings & Reflections: Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time & St. Agnes, January 21,2020

Agnes was a virgin martyred during the Diocletian persecution around the year 304 A.D. She has been hailed throughout Church history as one of the holy virgin martyrs who gave up their lives out of love for Christ, the Bridegroom. In Greek, her name means “pure, chaste.” In Latin, Agnes suggests agnus, meaning “lamb.” Her cult is of ancient standing, and two churches in Rome commemorate her witness. Agnes is invoked in the canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I).  Of Agnes, the great Doctor Saint Jerome wrote, “The life of Agnes is praised in the literature and speech of all peoples, especially in the Churches, she who overcame both her age and the tyrant, and consecrated by her martyrdom her claim to chastity.” Since the 6thcentury, artists have depicted Agnes with a lamb in her arms, evoking her humility, purity, and innocence. On the feast of Saint Agnes, two lambs are presented in Rome. From their wool are woven the palliums sent to newly consecrated archbishops “from the body of Blessed Peter,” a sign of their communion with the Pope.

Samuel sat at table looking for the Lord’s anointed. The Lord said to him, “Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” Jesus wants the Pharisees to see the Sabbath the way that God sees. We learn to see God’s way at the table of the Last Supper.

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, Make me a flexible instrument through which your grace will flow. Let me be open to your call to discipleship and be a committed and dedicated follower of your Son, our Lord Jesus. In Him, we pray, we move and have our being. Amen.

Reading I
1 Sm 16:1-13

The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 89:20, 21-22, 27-28
R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.

Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.

“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. I have found David, my servant.

“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.

Gospel
Mk 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Jesus and the Sabbath

The Sabbath dispute is once more the focus of our gospel. This issue brings to our hearts that doing good should not be matter of WHO, WHAT and WHERE.  God’s law on love was never partial. God is not unjust.  He will not forget our work and the love we have shown him by our past and present service to his people.

It should therefore be our desire to give our brethren the same zeal and service at all times and without reservation. If we act accordingly till the end we can be assured of God’s bountiful promises.

The law of the Sabbath in its nature may be considered a ceremonial law and not one that appeals to the conscience and needs no written revelation as what we know as a moral law. As Christians we obey and abide by all law that is moral not because it is the law but because it is founded on God’s word and a violation of such edicts brings the destruction of one’s inner spirit and peace as we effectively separate ourselves from God.

Jesus replied to the Pharisees who accused his disciples of breaking the law by plucking grain and rubbing it in their hands on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:1, 2; Lk. 6:1, 2), by calling attention to the case of David. When David was being pursued by Saul, he went to the house of God and ate the sacred showbread. The law forbade any but priests to eat this bread (Lev. 24:9). Jesus said David ate that “which was not lawful for him to eat” (Matt. 12:4). But the disciples had not violated divine law. Jesus said they were 11 guiltless.” The Pharisees condoned David’s action although it was “not lawful,” yet they “condemned the guiltless” by falsely accusing the disciples.

What God’s law pertaining to the Sabbath actually said was one thing and what Jewish tradition said was another. Jesus did not admit that either he or His disciples had violated the divine law of the Sabbath in any sense! The only violation was of man-made interpretations of the Sabbath law.

Jesus laid bare to us the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and freed his disciples from false methods of observing the Sabbath. He differentiated between true obligations and endless burdensome rules that were of human origin that had perverted the Sabbath law.

Today, God speaks to us as distinct members of His church and community. In how many ways have we become like the Pharisees in leading and governing the affairs of our community? As co-leaders and workers in community, how biased and self centered have we been in the interpretation and implementation of community policies and guidelines when the question seem to apply to our failure to meet the same?

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath.” is not in conflict with Scripture and Mosaic law. It is only in conflict with the Pharisees’ traditions. By means of their hairsplitting legalism the Pharisees were constantly burying God’s law under the heavy load of their traditions and robbing men of the joy of Sabbath rest.

Let us stop and pause and ask ourselves if traces of the Pharasaic attitude are deeply buried in our hearts!

Direction

Do good at all times. Do not use authority and position to determine what is moral and Christian.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, You have never forgotten me and have always been by my side. Help me to love and serve others the way You have loved and served me even up to the Cross. In your Mighty Name, I pray, amen.

Reflection 2 – The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath

What does the commandment “keep holy the Sabbath” require of us? Or better yet, what is the primary intention behind this command? The religious leaders confronted Jesus on this issue. The “Sabbath rest” was meant to be a time to remember and celebrate God’s goodness and the goodness of his work, both in creation and redemption. It was a day set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on our behalf. It was intended to bring everyday work to a halt and to provide needed rest and refreshment. Jesus’ disciples are scolded by the scribes and Pharisees, not for plucking and eating corn from the fields, but for doing so on the Sabbath. In defending his disciples, Jesus argues from the scriptures that human need has precedence over ritual custom.

When David and his men were fleeing for their lives, they sought food from Ahimelech the priest (1 Samuel 21:1-6). The only bread he had was the holy bread offered in the Temple. None but the priests were allowed to eat it. In their hunger, David and his men ate of this bread. Jesus reminds the Pharisees that the Sabbath was given for our benefit, to refresh and renew us in living for God. It was intended for good and not for evil. Withholding mercy and kindness in response to human need was not part of God’s intention that we rest from unnecessary labor. Do you honor the Lord in the way you treat your neighbor and celebrate the Lord’s Day?

“Lord Jesus, may I give you fitting honor in the way I live my life and in the way I treat my neighbor. May I honor the Lord’s Day as a day holy to you. And may I always treat others with the same mercy and kindness which you have shown to me. Free me from a critical and intolerant spirit that I may always seek the good of my neighbor.” -Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2020/jan21.htm

Reflection 3 – Law gives security; Jesus takes risks

Every confessor has had to wrestle with the problem of a penitent who confesses, “Bless me, father, for I have sinned. I missed Mass last Sunday. I was in the hospital and could not get to church.” The priest responds, “It would not be a sin in this case. You did not miss deliberately.” And the penitent replies, “I know it wasn’t a sin, father, but I just feel better if I confess it!” There may be some value in confessing so the penitent will feel better, but there may also be some fault or failure here in the supposition that God will be upset with us if we break the letter of the law even when we want to fulfill its spirit.

Jesus was a remarkably balanced human being. He didn’t teach that we do not have to obey the moral law because of God’s generous mercy, but neither was he a strict legalist. He knew the Torah, but he also knew why God gave it. The law was meant to preserve freedom, to protect basic human rights, to maintain a healthy relationship between God and his people.

Franciscan friar Richard Rohr puts it plainly in his book, Jesus’ Plan For a New World: “When the law gets in the way of human compassion Jesus simply disregards the law.” The Pharisaic brand of Judaism focused on the law. Jesus’ critics were looking for religious security; their righteousness, they thought, was something they earned. Jesus’ brand of religion was based upon discerning values and pursuing them. Christians may not simply take refuge in the law; they are called to take risks.

Time and time again Jesus’ teaching and behavior runs afoul of the religious scruples of his day. He eats with sinners, touches lepers, and skips ritual washings. He presents God more often as a forgiving father than a demanding judge. He challenges the religious leaders of his day to become more human than we are if by human we mean “thoughtful and down to earth.” To be truly human we have to become more like God. (Source: Norman Langenbrunner, Weekday Homily Helps. Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, January 20, 2009).

Reflection 4 – The Sabbath and the Spirit of the Law

Once again in the First Reading (1 Sam 16:1-13), Samuel anoints a young man as king to give him the spirit of God and prophetic approval. This romantic description of David’s selection implies that Saul’s dynasty is stillborn. This private anointing of David is only a beginning. David refuses to take Samuel’s anticipatory liturgical hint to lead a rebellion against Saul. Instead he will slowly fulfill the promise by gradually and legitimately advancing towards the kingship. Then he will be anointed again as he is acclaimed and accepted by the people. David cooperates with the spirit he has recei ved and rises in power. Saul smothers that spirit as his power and authority ebb away. It is important not only to receive the Spirit but to remain in contact with that gift.

In the Gospel (Mk 2:23-28), we remain in contact with the Spirit through the sacraments and our religious practices. It is possible for a mechanical application of rules to detract from our spiritual life. This Gospel reading is one of a series of controversies between Jesus and the religious leaders. Yesterday’s reading dealth with fasting. This reading concerns the Sabbath because the early Church had switched its weekly observance from the Sabbath to Sunday. The Lord tells us that when religious observances become ends in themselves rather than vehicles for communion with God, they can become roadblocks. It is possible to obey rules simply because a person loves rules rather than God. The Sabbath was originally intended to celebrate the covenant and liberation. The religious establishment had turned it into a burden and a penance. We can become slaves of practices if they fail to free us for communication with the Father.

The Spirit is a gift that we must bring to fulfillment in our lives. That fulfillment comes through frequent contact with the Spirit (Source: Rev. Joseph Krempa. Daily Homilies. Year 2 Ordinary Time. New York: Alba House, 1985, pp. 11-12).

Reflection 5 – God has anointed you, too!

[ Listen to the podcast of this reflection ]

Do you sometimes feel insignificant? Notice how UNimportant the great King David was in the beginning, as seen in today’s first reading. He was so unimportant that his dad, Jesse, didn’t even invite him to Samuel’s big ceremonial sacrifice! Or maybe he was too valuable in the work of sheep-herding to be considered important for anything else. Jesse didn’t even inform Samuel of David’s existence when the holy man asked to see all of his sons.

If you feel left out, ignored, forgotten, devalued or unappreciated, take courage! “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” If your heart is with God, if your heart loves to serve him, if your heart trusts God to do what is best for your life, and if your heart wants to be obedient to his ways, God will raise you up. God is, in fact, already preparing you for something important to do.

Don’t underestimate how important you are to him right now! The responsibilities you have today are very important for the kingdom of God. Even if all you’re doing is earning money in a secular job to put food on your table and a roof over your family’s head, which is extremely important to God. If you do little more than care for the children he’s given you, the importance of what you are doing is beyond measure.

But be ready! What you are doing today is a preparation for a special anointing that God will give you in a surprising tomorrow. How do I know? Because that’s the way he works all the time. He uses everything about today to prepare us for a future mission, even though we’re not aware of being prepared, so that we can do greater and greater works for his kingdom.

The Lord has much need of your gifts and talents, experiences and skills, training and wisdom. There is no one else who can offer to the kingdom of God exactly what you have to offer. He can put it all to very good use. And he wants to! He plans to! But too often we say no; we fail to understand how much he’s already prepared us, and so we feel intimidated by the possibilities. We need to trust in God rather than our limited understanding.

Consider this: If a hundred years from now you were to be canonized a saint, what specialty would your patronage? Oh don’t balk at this question. Even if you’re never officially canonized, you are in fact headed for heaven because of your love for Christ. What would the people on earth ask you to pray for when you reach the throne of God?

This is what you’ve been anointed to do now, serving God with your life here on earth. – Read the source: https://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2020-01-21

Reflection 6 – God’s encouragement and affirmation

[ Listen to the podcast of this reflection ]

If you’re serving your family, your church, your employer, your customers, or your friends in any way, God appreciates what you’re doing! That’s the message of today’s first reading.

Sometimes, it seems like our kind efforts make little difference. This scripture is God’s compassionate voice reassuring us. He’s encouraging you and affirming you in the services you give. He who began a good work in you has not forgotten about any of your efforts. He’s very pleased with what you’ve already done, and he’s asking you to keep serving his kingdom with the same zeal, the same eagerness that you had at the beginning — for the sake of others.

For example, the Good News Ministries that my husband Ralph and I founded in 1995 actually began two years prior, when a few people near Tampa (Florida) prayed the Rosary asking God to send someone who could start this ministry. At the time, we lived in New Jersey with no plans to move. One year later, Ralph and I attended Charlie Osburn’s Good News Catholic Evangelization School in Pensacola, Florida.

There, as I prayed about getting involved in this ministry while kneeling before a statue of Mary, I sensed a holy, unseen presence next to me — a female presence dressed in blue. I couldn’t believe that the Blessed Mother would visit me personally, but later I realized that she had been sent to guide me because of the rosaries that others were praying.

Within a year, Jesus led us to Tampa, and only 30 days later we met a priest, parish, and core team ready and eager to host a Good News School under our leadership. We began holding seminars, parish missions, and week-long conferences. God affirmed, God encouraged, and the ministry grew. (Call this Phase 1.)

Then hardships arrived. We entered the test that everyone experiences if they truly want to be effective ministers for Christ: Would we practice what we preached? Our trials turned everything upside-down. And God affirmed, God encouraged, we endured, we waited, we lost the priest who’d become our chaplain, Ralph lost the freedom to spend time on the ministry, the core team drifted off into other interests, and the only place where the ministry grew was on the Internet, mostly by myself. (Phase 2.)

Repeatedly, God reminded us of his promises regarding the work he had begun in us, as with Abraham: “I will bless your ministry and multiply it.” So, thanks be to God, every trial has been producing fruits like we’d never imagined in the beginning — fruits that bless others abundantly, not only over the Internet but also in personal encounters and live speaking engagements.

Eventually, Phase 3 began. A staff of one grew to four and sometimes five to keep things going and growing. Thanks to the trials we endured in Phase 2 (some of which have still not ended), we’re able to help people to whom we would otherwise be useless. I’m able to write these Good News Reflections that touch people at the heart of their own trials, as if (according to what some readers tell me) I’m right there in their homes. – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2019-01-22

For more of this story, with photos, visit http://gnm.org/about-history/.

If you’re suffering, remember that God has intervened with an oath. If you take refuge in him, you can hold fast to the hope that lies before you. This is an anchor for your soul. Whatever you do for Christ in the midst of trials becomes the foundation of a work that someday he will complete — with tremendous blessings for countless others.

Reflection 7 – Value life above all

Today we celebrate the day of penance for the violation of the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. The Medical Journal Report: (Diary of Unborn Baby) wrote, “On November 1: My mother and father showed how much they love one another. The slept together and my life began; On November 15: My blood circulation system is beginning now. My body is beginning to grow. I am now big enough to be seen; On November 20: My two hands and two feet have begun to grow. I can now stretch and straighten my back; On December 15: Today my mother felt me moving around and she is sure that I am inside her. How happy I am! On January 6: Now hair is starting to grow on top of my head and above my eyes. Now I am starting to grow on top of my head and above my eyes. Now I am starting to make myself pretty; On January 19: My heart is really beating strong now. I am growing in all directions. I am happy and contented; On January 20: Today my mother killed me… If it had happened to you, you would not be listening this story of an unborn baby.

The story of an unborn baby is a reality that the crooks are still with us. The oppressors are still doing their evil work. We are as miserable as ever. This situation needs our attention and concern for action. How could we repent our sins committed against the unborn baby and what action do I do for the liberation of the unborn baby?

In the gospel today Jesus reminds the Pharisees that the Sabbath was given for our benefit, to refresh and renew us in living for God. It was intended for good and not for evil. Withholding mercy and kindness in response to human need was not part of God’s intention that we rest from unnecessary labor. Thus, the value of life is more important than the ritual custom, the value of life is more important than the comfort of money in the family and in God’s kingdom. How can we value life today in God’s kingdom?

God’s kingdom makes itself felt, wherever life is enhanced or broken life restored wherever we defend the rights of the unborn baby; wherever we find joy and true happiness; wherever people build community with vital life-giving relationships, there the kingdom has taken root. Wherever life is celebrated and God’s ultimate goal of leading all human beings into the great community of brothers and sisters in union with him is promoted, there we can smell and touch, the kingdom as having arrived already in our midst.

As Christians we are called to follow Jesus today by giving our life for the defense of an unborn baby in the womb of the mother. The Church had the 46th Annual March for Life in Washington, DC on January 18, 2019. Read more on Pope Francis: Nothing can “justify the destruction of embryos”  click below:   http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/05/18/pope-francis-nothing-can-justify-the-destruction-of-embryos/

The teaching of the Church says, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life (CCC:2270).

“Since, it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible like any other human being (CCC:2274).

“Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life (CCC:2272).

“There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss” (CCC:1864). God gives grace and help to all who humbly call upon him. Giving up on God and refusing to turn away from sin and disbelief results from pride and the loss of hope in God. The love and mercy of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit are freely given to those who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus by driving out the demons and make God’s kingdom felt: wherever life is enhanced or broken life restored; wherever we defend the rights of the unborn baby; wherever we find joy and true happiness; wherever people build community with vital life-giving relationships, there the kingdom of God has taken its roots.

Day of Prayer

“Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the Church’s effort to defend their lives, attempts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist, and conservative.

“Yet this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development. Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defense of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the powers that be.

“Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single human life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, ‘every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offense against the creator of the individual’” (Christifideles Laici 37) – Source: From the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel) published by Pope Francis in 2013; Magnificat, Vol. 18, No. 11, January 2017, pp. 328-329).

Reflection 8 – Day of Penance for violations of human life

Catholics in the United States observe today as a day of penance “for violations to the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.” That was an adaptation of the Roman Missal, requested by our bishops and approved by Holy See. We pray the “Mass for Peace and Justice,” recalling the famous words of Pope Paul VI, “If you want peace, work for justice.”

Clearly, as Pope John Paul II taught, there is a clear link among all of the life issues: sanctity at the beginning of life, along the way and at the end of life. We want a society without abortion or cloning, a society that protects the dignity of every person, and a society that does not take life, either through capital punishment or through euthanasia.

But abortion, in particular, is an enormous issue, much of which is hidden behind the scenes. Well over a million children are willfully aborted each year. It’s estimated that, on average, over 40% of women will have at least one abortion before age 45. Yet we Catholics, among many other people, believe that life begins at conception, and that human life is sacred. We simply cannot, as society, ignore this.

On this day of penance, we are called to examine our own lives. In what ways have we been complacent? Or in what ways have we done harm to the cause for life by acting in ways that do not attract support? Are we pro-life in some areas and not in others? Do we support programs to help young women who become pregnant and need help?

This is a day of prayer, too. Our Mass today has special prayers for peace and for justice. The two are closely linked. We pray for God’s justice to reign, not only in our hearts, but in society. In our Eucharist we pray to be more closely united with God’s will.

God is calling all of us to live life, and to live it more abundantly. Let us pray today that we can be witnesses of abundant life, of overflowing charity, of love of justice, especially for those unborn, who are completely dependent upon us for protection. (Source: John Feister. Weekday Homily Help. Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, January 22, 2010).

Reflection 9 – St. Agnes (d. 258? A.D.)

Almost nothing is known of this saint except that she was very young—12 or 13—when she was martyred in the last half of the third century. Various modes of death have been suggested—beheading, burning, strangling.

Legend has it that Agnes was a beautiful girl whom many young men wanted to marry. Among those she refused, one reported her to the authorities for being a Christian. She was arrested and confined to a house of prostitution. The legend continues that a man who looked upon her lustfully lost his sight and had it restored by her prayer. Agnes was condemned, executed and buried near Rome in a catacomb that eventually was named after her. The daughter of Constantine built a basilica in her honor.

Comment:

Like that of modern Maria Goretti (July 6), the martyrdom of a virginal young girl made a deep impression on a society enslaved to a materialistic outlook. Like Agatha, who died in similar circumstances, Agnes is a symbol that holiness does not depend on length of years, experience or human effort. It is a gift God offers to all.

Quote:

“This is a virgin’s birthday; let us follow the example of her chastity. It is a martyr’s birthday; let us offer sacrifices; it is the birthday of holy Agnes: let men be filled with wonder, little ones with hope, married women with awe, and the unmarried with emulation. It seems to me that this child, holy beyond her years and courageous beyond human nature, receives thename of Agnes [Greek: pure] not as an earthly designation but as a revelation from God of what she was to be” (from Saint Ambrose’s discourse on virginity).

Patron Saint of: Girls

Read the source:  http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1267

SAINT OF THE DAY
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. Click here to receive Saint of the Day in your email.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Rome 

SAINT AGNES
2872-saint-agnes-domenichino.jpg

Saint Agnes by Domenichino
VIRGIN AND MARTYR
BORN c. 291
DIED c. 304
VENERATED IN Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism
CANONIZED Pre-congregation
MAJOR SHRINE Church of Sant’Agnese fuori le mura and the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, both in Rome
FEAST 21 January; before Pope John XXIII revised the calendar, there was a second feast on January 28
ATTRIBUTES a lamb, martyr’s palm
PATRONAGE Betrothed couples; chastity; Children of Mary; Colegio Capranica of Rome; crops; gardeners; Girl Guides; girls; rape victims; virgins; the diocese of Rockville Centre, New York; the city of Fresno.
For other uses, see Saint Agnes (disambiguation).

Agnes of Rome (c. 291 – c. 304) is a virgin–martyr, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. She is one of seven women, who along with the Blessed Virgin, are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. She is the patron saint of chastity, gardeners, girls, engaged couples, rape survivors, virgins, and the Children of Mary.

Agnes is depicted in art with a lamb, as the Latin word for “lamb”, agnus, sounds like her name. The name “Agnes” is actually derived from the feminine Greek adjective hagnē (ἁγνή) meaning “chaste, pure, sacred”.

Agnes’ feast day is 21 January. In pre-1970 versions of the General Roman Calendar an additional feast of the same saint is given one week later, on 28 January (see Tridentine Calendar). The 1969 revision removed this as a duplication of the 21 January feast.[1]

Biography[edit]

According to tradition, Agnes was a member of the Roman nobility born in AD 291 and raised in a Christian family. She suffered martyrdom at the age of twelve[2] or thirteen during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, on 21 January 304.

Agnes was a beautiful young girl of wealthy family and therefore had many suitors of high rank. Details of her story are unreliable, but legend holds that the young men, slighted by her resolute devotion to religious purity, submitted her name to the authorities as a follower of Christianity.[3]

The Prefect Sempronius condemned Agnes to be dragged naked through the streets to a brothel. Various versions of the legend give different methods of escape from this predicament. In one, as she prayed, her hair grew and covered her body.[4] It was also said that all of the men who attempted to rape her were immediately struck blind. In another the son of the prefect is struck dead, but revived after she prayed for him, causing her release. There is then a trial from which Sempronius excuses himself, and another figure presides, sentencing her to death. When led out to die she was tied to a stake, but the bundle of wood would not burn, or the flames parted away from her, whereupon the officer in charge of the troops drew his sword and beheaded her, or, in some other texts, stabbed her in the throat. It is also said that her blood poured to the stadium floor where other Christians soaked it up with cloths.

Agnes depicted on the Royal Gold Cup

Agnes was buried beside the Via Nomentana in Rome.[3] A few days after her death, her foster-sister, Saint Emerentiana, was found praying by her tomb; she claimed to be the daughter of Agnes’ wet nurse, and was stoned to death after refusing to leave the place and reprimanding the pagans for killing her foster sister. Emerentiana was also later canonized. The daughter of Constantine I, Saint Constance, was also said to have been cured of leprosy after praying at Agnes’ tomb. She and Emerentiana appear in the scenes from the life of Agnes on the 14th-century Royal Gold Cup in the British Museum.

An early account of Agnes’ death, stressing her young age, steadfastness and virginity, but not the legendary features of the tradition, is given by Saint Ambrose.[2]

Veneration[edit]

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Agnes was venerated as a saint at least as early as the time of St. Ambrose, based on an existing homily.

Agnes’s bones are conserved beneath the high altar in the church of Sant’Agnese fuori le mura in Rome, built over the catacomb that housed her tomb. Her skull is preserved in a separate chapel in the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone in Rome’s Piazza Navona.

Patronage[edit]

Agnes is the patron saint of young girls. Folk custom called for them to practise rituals on Saint Agnes’ Eve (20–21 January) with a view to discovering their future husbands. This superstition has been immortalised in John Keats‘s poem, The Eve of Saint Agnes.[5]

Santa Inés, Guarino, 1650.

Churches[edit]

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The purported skull of Saint Agnes, as displayed in the Sant’Agnese in Agone church in Rome

Schools[edit]

Legacy[edit]

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes is a Roman Catholic religious community for women based in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1858, by Father Caspar Rehrl, an Austrian missionary, who established the sisterhood of pioneer women under the patronage of Agnes, to whom he had a particular devotion.

It is customary on her feast day for two lambs to be brought from the Trappist abbey of Tre Fontane in Rome to be blessed by the Pope. On Holy Thursday they are shorn, and from the wool is woven the pallium which the pope gives to a newly consecrated metropolitan archbishop as a sign of his jurisdiction and his union with the pope.[3]

Iconography[edit]

Since the Middle Ages, Agnes has traditionally been depicted as a young girl in robes, with a lamb, the symbol of her virginal innocence,[9] and often, like many other martyrs, with a palm branch.

In popular culture[edit]

Hrotsvitha, the tenth-century nun and poet, wrote a play about Agnes. Grace Andreacchi wrote a play based on the legends surrounding Agnes’s martyrdom.[citation needed]

In the historical novel Fabiola or, the Church of the Catacombs, written by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman in 1854, Agnes is the soft-spoken teenage cousin and confidant of the protagonist, the beautiful noblewoman Fabiola.[citation needed]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Jump up^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 114
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b “NPNF210. Ambrose: Selected Works and Letters – Christian Classics Ethereal Library”. Ccel.org. 2005-06-01. Retrieved2009-01-21.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c “St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr”.
  4. Jump up^ “St. Agnes of Rome”.
  5. Jump up^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). “Agnes, Saint“. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 377.
  6. Jump up^ “Saint Agnes Catholic Church, Nashville, Indiana (Brown County, Indiana)”.
  7. Jump up^ “Arch. Lwanga Consecrates Sh1.51b Church”. www.newvision.co.ug.
  8. Jump up^ “Parròquia de Santa Agnès de Barcelona”.
  9. Jump up^ “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Agnes of Rome”.

External links[edit]

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