By DEB PIROCH
“What threats the executioner used to make her fear him, what allurements to persuade her, how many desired that she would come to them in marriage! But she answered: ‘It would be an injury to my spouse to look on any one as likely to please me. He who chose me first for Himself shall receive me. Why are you delaying, executioner? Let this body.’ She stood, she prayed, she bent down 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. You have then in one victim a twofold martyrdom, of modesty and of religion. She both remained a virgin and she obtained martyrdom” — St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church; De Virginibus, regarding St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr).
There are three callings in life: to be single, to live the consecrated life, or to marry. All three equally demand a life of chastity as the station in life demands. We are to live a life of purity. To be chaste is to follow the life of our Lord, the Ten Commandments, and the lives of religious. Sisters are married to Christ, priests to Holy Mother Church, and spouses of the opposite sex to one another. They are protected by the sacraments they undergo that help them live their sacred calling.
But singles — including those who are divorced — are often uniquely challenged in that we have been sent off into a secular world that assumes we should be sexually active. That there is no responsibility tied to sexuality. That chastity is not sacred, and that the destruction of the bond of family is not responsible for the mess the world is in today.
If you are single — as I am — do not give up. To be pure and chaste is to honor our bodies, the vessels of our souls, which rise up at the Last Judgment Day. We are meant to cherish our virginity for one spouse, be it our Lord or an earthly one. If you are seeking a spouse now, women have traditionally been urged to pray to St. Joseph but he is not the only option. Many men are seeking actively, too, and it can be a great cross for some to be single. Consider turning to the intercession of St. Agnes. She is the patron saint of purity, young girls, and even of rape victims.
Her parents were wealthy Romans during the reign of Emperor Decius (some claim Diocletian). As with so many, she was denounced as a Christian. In this case, the perpetrator was either a prefect or the son of a governor. Agnes means “lamb,” from the Latin, and is symbolic for Christ, the Lamb of God. She was only twelve or thirteen at the time, which actually was old enough to marry, but she had promised to remain a virgin consecrated to Christ. Because she was so young and pretty, no one wished to kill her and bring this young life to an end. They asked her to renounce the faith, but she would not.
Then they dragged her into a brothel, but St. Ambrose reports that the man who tried to rape her was struck blind. One version of her story reports she was forced to appear naked in public but her long tresses — naturally or possibly miraculously — managed to cover her nudity. Another account by Pope Damasus states she hastened to go to her martyrdom from the lap of her mother or nurse, to be executed by the sword.
Since the sixteenth century, two lambs are taken to the Pope on the Feast of St. Agnes, January 21, to be blessed. Wool from these lambs is then made into palliums, bands about two inches wide, worn about the neck of archbishops, signifying their unity with Rome. The wearing of the pallium is ancient and dates to at least the fourth century, the same century as St. Agnes.
Who were some of the saints who have mentioned her? St. Ambrose, for one, whom we have already cited. There are also St. Augustine and St. Jerome. She is one of only seven women alluded to in the canon of the old rite of the Mass and among the most ancient of saints. This means, as I understand it, that she has been in the Mass since the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great in the sixth century. For those who may be unfamiliar with it, this section reads:
Priest: To us, also, your servants, who, though sinners, hope in your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and all your Saints; admit us, we beseech you, into their company, not weighing our merits, but granting us your pardon, through Christ our Lord.
St. Thomas Aquinas had a great love of St. Agnes and kept a relic on his person at all times. He claimed that she had healed a friend from a fever and had dinners in her honor. (In our family we would honor St. Joseph at dinner each year on his feast.) What a lovely tradition! We have also mentioned Constantina, daughter of St. Constantine, who reverenced Agnes so much that she built a basilica for her relics and had herself buried there, as well. She later became known as St. Constance.
Today the relics of Agnes lie in this church built upon the ruins of the ancient basilica, but her skull is also in Rome, at a different church named for her, in a location called Agone. Examination of the skull venerated has indeed shown it to be that of a girl about the age of 12.
We end with beautiful words attributed to the saint. Let’s pray them, that we may be at peace with our lives, wherever or however Christ wishes to grow:
Christ is my spouse,
He chose me first and His I will be.
He made my soul beautiful
With the jewels of grace and virtue.
I belong to Him whom the angels serve.
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