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Feast Day: January 21
Profile
Martyr.
At age 12 or 13 she was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods and lose her
virginity. One report says she was taken to a Roman temple to Minerva
(Athena), and when led to the altar, she made the Sign of the Cross. She
was threatened, then tortured when she refused to turn against God.
Several young men presented themselves, offering to marry her, whether
from lust or pity is not known. She said to do so would be an insult to
her heavenly Spouse, she would keep her consecrated virginity intact,
accept death, and see Christ. Buried beside the Via Nomentana in Rome.
Mentioned in first eucharistic prayer. On her feast day two lambs are
blessed at her church in Rome, and then their wool is woven into the palliums
(bands of white wool) which the pope
confers on archbishops
as symbol of their jurisdiction.
"Christ made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue. I
belong to Him whom the angels serve. -Saint Agnes
Died
beheaded and burned, or tortured and stabbed to death, or stabbed in the
throat (sources vary); 21 January 254 or 304 @ Rome (sources vary)
Name
Meaning
pure one; chaste; lamb
Patronage
affianced couples,
betrothed couples,
bodily purity,
chastity, Children of Mary,
Colegio Capranica of Rome,
engaged couples,
gardeners,
Girl Scouts,
girls,
rape victims,
virgins
Representation
lamb; woman with long hair and a lamb, sometimes with a sword at her throat;
woman with a dove which holds a ring in its beak; woman with a lamb at her
side
Reading
Today is the birthday of a virgin; let us imitate her purity. It is the
birthday of a martyr;
let us offer ourselves in sacrifice. It is the birthday of Saint Agnes,
who is said to have suffered martyrdom at the age of twelve.
There was little or no room in that small body for a wound. Yet she shows
no fear of the blood-stained hands of her executioners. She offers her
whole body to be put to the sword by fierce soldiers. She is too young to
know of death, yet is ready to face it. Dragged against her will to the
altars, she stretches out her hands to the Lord int he midst of the
flames, making the triumphant sign of Christ the victor on the altars of
sacrilege. She puts her neck and hands in iron chains, but no chain can
hold fast her tiny limbs.
In the midst of tears, she sheds no tears herself. She stood still, she
prayed, she offered her neck.
You could see fear in the eyes of the executioner, as if he were the one
condemned. His right hand trembled, his face grew pale as he saw the
girl's peril, while she had no fear for herself. One victim, but a twin
martyrdom, to modesty and religion; Agnes preserved her virginity and
gained a martyr's crown.
from an essay On Virgins by Saint Ambrose
Prayer
re Agnes of Rome
All-powerful and ever-living God,
You choose the weak in this world to confound the powerful. When we
celebrate the memory of Saint Agnes, may we like her remain constant in
our faith. Amen.
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