Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” Thus begins our first reading today, and interestingly, that verse concluded the passage from Hebrews that we read yesterday. It’s unusual that the Church repeats a verse from one day to the next. Perhaps they’re trying to get our attention. Today is the Memorial of St Agatha, Virgin and Martyr. Hers is a horrific and tragic story of violent abuse. You can read about her here. We can learn a lot from her courage and unwavering love and fidelity to our Lord.
St Agatha is mentioned, along with several other saints, in Eucharistic Prayer I of the Mass. It is one of the Eucharistic prayers that the priest can choose when he celebrates Mass. The language of this prayer is particularly sublime and inspiring. If you’ve paid attention to this prayer, you may have wondered who these selected saints are and why they were chosen. You can read a helpful explanation here. I encourage you to pause for a moment and read that brief blog post – I think you’ll find it aids your reflection and might help you enter in more fully the next time you pray Prayer I during Mass.
I’d like to highlight this paragraph from the blog:
“All these saints are important because they were among the many early witnesses to Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. These are our spiritual fathers, our older brothers and sisters in Christ, who showed us that our faith was worth living and dying for. They showed us that, strengthened by the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, they could overcome any persecutions and sufferings, even to the point of being killed. These saints give us great hope, and their prayers for us give us confidence that we, too, can live out the faith as they did, that we can live our life in Christ every day and look forward to the glory of heaven!”
You and I might ask ourselves, what are the persecutions and sufferings that we’re currently facing or undergoing? How might the witness of these great saints and martyrs inspire us to deeper faith, hope, and confidence in God? Is there a particular saint today upon whose intercession I might rely? In what specific ways does the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist strengthen you each week? Do you know the presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart? How does the Spirit’s comforting presence help you in your day-to-day discipleship
“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” This scripture statement is true for each of us. Indeed, we likely may never be in a position to shed our blood and die for the faith. I feel challenged, however, to look deep within my heart and soul and ask myself to what extent I’m willing to be a “dry martyr.” You might ask yourself the same challenging question today. God calls every Christian to a “dry martyrdom” – to lovingly and courageously bear witness to Christ in the face of social persecution.
Not all of us will die a martyr’s death, but we are all called to be a loving and courageous witness to Christ and to glorify God by our lives. Come, Holy Spirit! St Agatha, pray for us!
I’ll see you in the Eucharist,
Elizabeth Wells