Feast Day: February 05
Profile
We have little reliable information about this martyr, who
has been honored since ancient times, and whose name is included in the canon of the Mass.
Young, beautiful and rich, Agatha lived a life consecrated to God. When Decius announced
the edicts against Christians, the magistrate Quinctianus tried to profit by Agatha's
sanctity; he planned to blackmail her into sex in exchange for not charging her. Handed
over to a brothel, she refused to accept customers. After rejecting Quinctianus' advances,
she was beaten, imprisoned, tortured, her breasts were crushed and cut off. She told the
judge, "Cruel man, have you forgotten your mother and the breast that nourished you,
that you dare to mutilate me this way?" One version has it that Saint Peter healed
her. Imprisoned further, then rolled on live coals, she was near death when an earthquake
stuck. In the destruction, the magistrate's friend was crushed, and the magistrate fled.
Agatha thanked God for an end to her pain, and died.
Her prayer on
being arrested: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all things! You see my heart, you know my
desires. Possess all that I am - you alone. I am your sheep; make me worthy to overcome
the devil." And in prison: "Lord, my creator, you have protected me since I was
in the cradle. You have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to
suffer. Now receive my spirit."
Legend says that
carrying her veil, taken from her tomb in Catania, in procession has averted eruptions of
Mount Etna. Her intercession is reported to have saved Malta from Turkish invasion in
1551.
Born
in prison @ Catania or Palermo, Sicily (sources vary)
Died
martyred c.250 @ Catania, Sicily by being rolled on coals
Name Meaning
good
Patronage
bell-founders, breast cancer, breast disease,
Catania Italy, against fire, earthquakes,
eruptions of Mount Etna, fire, fire prevention, jewelers, martyrs,
natural disasters, nurses, Palermo Italy, rape victims,
single laywomen, sterility, torture victims, volcanic eruptions,
wet-nurses, Zamarramala Spain
- Reading
- Jesus Christ, Lord of all things! You see my heart, you know my
desires. Possess all that I am - you alone. I am your sheep; make me
worthy to overcome the devil.
-Saint Agatha
My fellow Christians, our annual celebration of a martyr's feast has
brought us together. Agatha achieved renown in the early Church for
her noble victory. For her, Christ's death was recent, his blood was
still moist. Her robe is the mark of her faithful witness to Christ.
Agatha, the name of our saint, means "good." She was truly
good, for she lived as a child of God. Agatha, her goodness coincides
with her name and her way of life. She won a good name by her noble
deeds, and by her name she points to the nobility of those deeds.
Agatha, her mere name wins all men over to her company. She teaches
them by her example to hasten with her to the true Good, God alone.
from a homily on Saint Agatha by Saint Methodius of Sicily
Prayer to Saint Agatha
Dear Virgin and Martyr, whom the Church recalls in her liturgy, you
heroically resisted the temptations of a degenerate ruler. Subjected to
long and horrible tortures, you remained faithful to your heavenly
Spouse. Saint Peter, we are told, gave you some solace and so you are
invoked by nurses. Encourage them to see Christ in the sick and to
render true service to them. Amen.
|
