Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr

Readings: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Psalm 31:3-4.6.16-17; Luke 9:23-26

Along with Felicity, Perpetua, Lucy, Cecilia, and Anastasia, Agatha is one of the six women, apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is always invoked in Eucharistic Prayer I. Eucharistic Prayer I is also known as the Roman Canon.¹

Prior to the liturgical uniformity that started at the Council of Trent and reached its apex with the First Vatican Council, the Roman Canon, as you might guess, was only used in Rome. These six women, along with Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, are all martyrs venerated highly by the Church in Rome.²

For the Church’s first several centuries, the only saints who were venerated were her martyrs, those who died in Odium Fidei, because of hatred of the faith. Their witness was their shed blood, given, not taken, in unwavering fidelity to Christ.

In his defense of the faith entitled Apologeticum, the Church Father Tertullian points out: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”³ But to paraphrase Oscar Wilde (who converted on his deathbed): just because someone is willing to die for something doesn’t mean it is true. Therefore, what precedes Tertullian's assertion about the blood of the martyrs is very important:

We are not a new philosophy but a divine revelation. That's why you can't just exterminate us; the more you kill the more we are⁴

In imitation of her Lord, the Church walks the via crucis'- this is today’s Gospel in a nutshell. The worst eras of Church history are those times when the Church was politically powerful and wealthy. That’s when comfort led the Church not only to be complacent but even unfaithful at times. Such situations do not produce martyrs, like Agatha.

But the Bridegroom is eternally faithful to his Bride. The Church is not holy because her members are holy but because Christ is holy. Whatever sanctity Christians attain comes from, through, and in Christ by the Holy Spirit’s power. It is through the sacraments, which have been called masterworks of the Holy Spirit, that Christ seeks to imbue us with holiness, that is, with his very self.

Indeed, there are people who willingly forfeit their lives for many causes, some quite significant and some rather trivial. If we’re being honest, Christian martyrs both in ancient Rome and in our own day are often seen as delusional. But if Christianity really is “a divine revelation,” this makes all the difference in the world.

One must have eyes to see that in a world that is increasingly seen by many as devoid of any transcendent meaning, the Christian martyrs, placing their hope in Christ, stand as beacons for the safe harbor of God’s love, pointing toward the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ. They demonstrate that each and every person is not only created but is redeemed in order to realize her/his destiny, the end for which each of us exists. And so, the martyrs point us to the One who is our origin and our destiny.

Depiction of Saint Agatha's martyrdom, by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1520

Born around AD 230, Agatha, who lived on the island of Sicily. Like quite a few women martyrs of the early Church, she died to defend her virginity, something about which many get rankled today. In some instances, this is warranted. Known to be physically attractive, she drew the attention of a high Roman official in Sicily- Quintianus.

It wasn’t just the case that Agatha was a virgin because she happened to be a young woman with no carnal experience. Heeding Saint Paul’s exhortation that “An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit,” she consecrated herself wholly to Christ, choosing celibacy and virginity.⁵

But Quintianus was persistent in his pursuit of Agatha. She was persistent in spurning him. When the persecution of Christians under the emperor Decius broke out in AD250, Quintianus saw his opportunity. Knowing Agatha was a Christian, he had her arrested and brought a judge. He was the judge.

Agatha’s choice was simple, marry Quintianus, which meant effectively renouncing Christ through the violation of her complete consecration to him, or be executed for being a Christian. Her reply, as it has come down was:

Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil⁶

Agatha saw there was no profit in forfeiting herself to gain the world. After all, to be the wife of a Roman official of high standing would be quite cushy. Instead, she denied herself, took up her cross, and followed Christ. The martyrs show us that hope lies on the other side of optimism. Or, as Saint Paul put it: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.”⁷

Her martyrdom is triumph, not tragedy, which is why we can pray- Sancta Agatha, ora pro nobis.

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1 Roman Missal. The Order of Mass. Eucharistic Prayer I, sec. 96.^↩
2 Ibid., sec. 86.^↩
3 Tertullian. Apologeticum.^↩
4 Ibid.^↩
5 1 Corinthians 1:34.^↩
6 Catholic Online. “Saint Agatha”.^↩
7 1 Corinthians 15:19.^↩