So revered is St. Agatha that she is one of only seven women to be commemorated in the Roman Canon. She alone is celebrated in frescoes, mosaics and Sacramentaries of such disparate locales as Rome, Ravenna and Paris. Yet we know little else about this third century Sicilian, except that she died a martyr.
Not that we lack the sources, mind you, but as in the case of most of our venerated forebears, her passio is unremarkably similar to most others in the genre and the earliest manuscript can be dated no earlier than the tenth century.
So why do we venerate a woman whose image is so heavily veiled in the ancient past? Precisely because we know the single fact that has made her memory worthy of preservation.
She was a martyr. She gave her life for Christ. In imitation of the Divine Victim, she offered not just what she possessed or loved or hoped for. She offered her life, her very breath and beating heart. And in the offering, she invites us to do the same.
The ancient Collect we just prayed says as much: that Agatha found favor with God “by the courage of her martyrdom.”
As does The Council’s degree on the Ministry of Priests, recalling that in imitation of our Great High Priest, who emptied himself and took the form of a slave for our salvation, gave himself in sacrifice for our sins, and gives his own Body and Blood as our food, we are called to ‘offer ourselves entirely to God.’ Entirely.
It’s so simple, Agatha. Look down on us and pray, that God may give us the same grace.
