A Sunday Thought About St. Agatha to Help Prepare Us for Lent

We recently observed the feast of St. Agnes (February 5th). In our Traditional Rite, she is mentioned in almost every Mass. Her name in included in the so-called "Roman" Canon, along with a slew of other early martyrs of our Holy Catholic Church. If you are blessed to attend the Traditional Latin Rite Mass, you know the name of St. Agatha. As I did attend this Rite growing up, she's like an old friend. There's a place in my mind and heart for her, along with those other martyrs.

In the Novus Ordo, the Roman Canon can still be used in the Mass, but you hardly hear it anymore. As a result, those early martyrs may not be as well-known and well-loved. That's a shame. Our Roman martyrs show us what it means to really love Jesus Christ. And in our current age that lionizes the secular and oppresses the religious amongst us, we can use their example and inspiration. 

Our current secular, anti-religious culture opposes the public worship and expression of our love of Jesus Christ. To the extent that we are aware of this, we can beg the intercession of our Roman martyrs for the grace to prepare ourselves, to toughen up and join the battle every day. Yes, it's a war. As the Church Militant, we need to take our place each day and engage in battle.

But we must also be aware that this anti-religious secular culture holds an "Ace" weapon that it uses at just the right times to win the crucial battles, sometimes unbeknownst to us. And while the hardiest of us may prove resistant to this weapon, many of us more weak types are not even conscious of it. 

These words from Father William Doyle identify the weapon. Father is meditating on the Nativity here:

“What impressed me most in the meditation on the Nativity was the thought that Jesus could have been born in wealth and luxury, or at least with the ordinary comforts of life, but He chose all that was hard, unpleasant and uncomfortable. This He did for me, to show me the life I must lead for Him. If I want to be with Christ, I must lead the life of Christ, and in that life there was little of what was pleasing to nature. I think I have been following Christ, yet how pleasant and comfortable my life has always been – ever avoiding cold, hunger, hard work, disagreeable things, humiliations, etc. 

‘My Jesus, You are speaking to my heart now. I cannot mistake Your voice or hide from myself what You want from me and what my future life should be. Help me for I am weak and cowardly…O my God, make me a saint, and I consent to suffer all You ask for the rest of my life.’ What is God asking from me now? Shall I go back on that offering?” (Father William Doyle, S.J., 1873-1917)

When I first read this, it really cut me to the quick. While I hadn't especially thought about it, life really has been pleasant and comfortable. I suspect that's true for most of us. 

While I grew up in a family that today would likely be categorized as "poor" these days, even then my life wasn't particularly difficult. Sure, there was a time we had no air conditioning. And in the midst of hot, humid summer days, it could be hard to get to sleep at night. And we didn't always have the virtually unlimited quantity and quality of food that virtually any of us can afford these days. But how much did we suffer as a result of this? Not much, really.

What about Father's comment about how much time he spent avoiding cold, hunger, hard work, disagreeable things, humiliations, etc.? Does any of this ring true for you? It certainly does for me.

And it wasn't more than a few days after reading this that our feast day of St. Agatha came along. 

As the passage from Father Doyle, and our remembrance of St. Agatha intersected last week, we now look forward to Lent, coming up this week. If Father Doyle's words rattled your cage a bit - as it did mine - perhaps you can recognize the importance of our Roman martyrs, St. Agatha being just one. Again, if you attend the Traditional Latin Mass, you are blessed with constant reminders of these precious examples of holiness at each Mass. If not, you might make the the effort to familiarize yourself with this venerable Canon so that you can be more familiar with our early martyrs.

Either way, our early martyrs now lead us into the holy season of Lent. We pray they find us awake and willing to observe a strong and steady Lenten discipline, which will include prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. Each of these requires some thought and planning. This Sunday may provide a good chunk of time for that, if we haven't already considered, even better written down, our plan for a good Lent.

So let's greet our Roman martyrs as the friends and patrons they can be if we let them. From their glorious places in Heaven, they can and will pray for us. Let's let them know we don't want to be soft, weak creatures. Ask for the strength and courage they displayed in declaring their love for Jesus Christ in the face of terrible suffering and, finally, death. 

St. Agatha, pray for us.

Happy Sunday!