Saint of the Day: St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr


Agatha was born in Sicily, the daughter of rich and pious parents, who was consecrated to God as an infant. Agatha was a virtuous Christian woman known for her remarkable beauty. The Roman Senator Quintianus, who governed Sicily under the Emperor Decius, had heard of her beauty and wealth, and he made laws against the Christians, which served as an effective guise to summon her to Catania, where he was at the time.

When she was apprehended, Agatha prayed: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all things, you see my heart, you know my desire-possess alone all that I am. I am your sheep, make me worthy to overcome the devil." She wept, and prayed for courage and strength.Quintianus made advances toward her, and when she refused them, he ordered her to be put into the hands of Aphrodisia, a woman who ran a house of ill repute. Agatha refused to be influenced by the seductiveness of this wicked woman and her environment.

Quintianus then had her beaten and imprisoned, where she was subjected to various cruel tortures. Quintianus ordered that her breasts be cut off and that she receive neither food nor medical care for four days. But the holy virgin was consoled by a vision of St. Peter, who miraculously healed her.

Quintianus, not the least bit moved by the miraculous cure of her wounds, ordered that she be stretched out on a rack and rolled naked over live coals mixed with broken glass. Dying, she prayed: "Lord, my Creator, you have ever protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world, and given me patience to suffer: receive now my soul."

St. Agatha is an excellent model of chasity and purity for us today. We live in a society of sensuality and "prostitution" where Christians are persecuted for their morality and struggle to defend that which is sacred. Through our media, we are constantly bombarded by the sensual temptations of our society – almost as if we are living in a house of ill repute. We do not suffer the physical torture that Agatha did, but most of us do experience the spiritual and psychological torment of living in a decadent culture.

Like St. Agatha, prayer and consecrating our lives to Jesus through Mary will help us to remain strong. The Holy Eucharist and the rosary are also very powerful weapons in the Spiritual Battle. If we follow the example of our crucified Lord, seek the solace of the Good Shepherd, and look to Him for all our needs, we will receive the strength we need to endure all of life’s daily trials and not grow weary on the way.

~ An adaptation of an earlier post, Copyright 2007, Jean M. Heimann
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