21 January 2022
Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Agnes of Rome (d. 304) was a great saint, and she remains so even to this day. Times have changed, it’s true, but her glory, which has become united with God’s glory, remains undimmed. It is we who have become dim. Few of us look up to her the way our ancestors did. They built magnificent churches in her honor, named their children after her, venerated her relics, and told her story. For us, though, there’s not much interest. Too bad.
A point from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola can help us recover fitting admiration for St. Agnes, virgin and martyr. The sixth rule for thinking with the Church reads: “We must praise highly religious life, virginity, and continency; and matrimony ought not be praised as much as any of these.”
Agnes of Rome is one of the great virgin martyrs of our Church. Having vowed herself to virginity for the sake of the kingdom of God, she refused all the men who sought her hand. She even refused a man who was so powerful that he gotrevenge by punishing her with execution. In her brief span life on this earth, she had known the joy that comes from God alone, and she was inspired by that joy to dedicate herself to God alone. The subsequent conflicts, the show trial and even the execution could not take her joy from her. It only made her more happy, knowing that she was being called from this world into the hands of the God who loved her. “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven” (Matt 5:11-12). Those who witnessed Agnes’ integrity and joy were inspired to imitate her, each in their own way, and to proclaim the goodness her God. Let us join their number