- Romans 10:9-15 -
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is
with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who
trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses
all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved."
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how
can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they
hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless
they
are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news!"
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We must take God's great message of salvation to others so that they can
respond to the Good News. How will your loved ones and neighbors hear it
unless someone tells them? Is God calling you to take a part in making his
message known in your community? Think of one person who needs to hear the
Good News, and think of something you can do to help him or her hear it.
Then take that step as soon as possible.
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January 21st - St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Biographical selection from St. Ambrose, On Virgins, Book II:
St. Ambrose speaks with great admiration of St. Agnes, who was martyred at
the tender age of 12. In his work, On Virgins, he wrote: "This is a new
kind
of martyrdom! One not yet of fit age for punishment, but already ripe for
victory. One unready for combat, but able to win the crown. One who has
not
yet reached the age of judgment but who has mastered virtue ....
"Joyfully she advances with unhesitating step to the place of punishment,
her head not adorned with plaited hair, but with Christ. All weep; she
alone
is without a tear. All wonder that she is so ready to deliver her life,
which she has not yet enjoyed, but which now she gives up as though she
had
lived it fully. All are astounded that she stands forth as God's witness
although at her age she could not yet decide about herself! And so it came
about that what she said regarding God was believed, although what she
said
about man would not be accepted. For that which is beyond nature is from
the
Author of nature. ....
"She stands, she prays, she bends down her neck. You can see the
executioner
tremble, as though he himself has been condemned. His right hand is
shaking,
his face grows pale. He fears the peril of another, while the maiden fears
not for her own danger. You have then in one victim a twofold martyrdom,
of
chastity and religion. She both remained a virgin and she obtained
martyrdom."
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
St. Ambrose's commentary on St. Agnes has a literary value that is both
profound and very beautiful because it is all composed of contrasts.
Through
the use of these contrasts, St. Ambrose shows the points he wants to
emphasize.
First, there is the contrast between her age and the martyrdom. She is too
young to be condemned to death because at such a young age no one can
deserve such a punishment. And yet she is already ripe for the victory.
The
one who is not mature in years is nonetheless ripe to win the victory. It
is
a glory. The immaturity of the years and maturity of the virtue.
The second contrast: She is unready for combat, but ripe for the crown. A
young girl at that time did not have any conditions to fight, yet she won
the highest of all the laurels, which is the crown of martyrdom.
The third contrast: She is so young that she is still under the
guardian****p
of others. The law does not consider her capable of governing herself. All
present admired her because she was a witness of the Godhead, even though
she was still a minor who could not be a witness of anything in a court of
human law. Her word would not have any value in a normal process of law,
yet
she has impressed everyone with her defense of Our Lord.
In addition to this, there are the contrasts that one can find in the
actual
martyrdom. She advances joyfully, with unhesitating step, to the place
from
which all people naturally flee.
Another contrast: her adornment is not artificially plaited tresses but
rather Jesus Christ, because He is the true adornment, the real beauty of
the soul who consecrates itself to Him.
Another contrast: she is not crowned with flower wreaths like the other
young Roman girls of her time, but with purity. That purity in her is
splendorous and makes a kind of halo around her head.
There are still other contrasts. All are weeping to see a young girl who
will be killed. But she is not. It is a glorious contrast, because she is
thirsting for Heaven, and not for earth. Along those lines, everyone is
astonished that she can so easily give up a life that has hardly begun.
Yet
she sacrifices this life as if she had already lived and enjoyed it fully.
And what is the reason for all these contrasts? It is because St. Ambrose
is
trying to emphasize that there is something absurd in her martyrdom. For
it
would be natural for her to do the very opposite of what she is doing. The
reason that she acts as she does with a strength that is beyond nature is
because such strength can only come from the Author of nature itself. What
is beyond nature is what is more that the merely natural. What is more
than
nature here is the One who is its author. God revealed Himself in the
sanctity of St. Agnes and in the miracle of her death.
She goes forward and bends her head. She sees the executioner trembling as
if he were the one who was condemned. But she - the condemned one - is
calm
and steady.
His right hand is shaking, his face pale. He fears the peril of another,
while the maiden fears not for her own danger. The executioner trembles
with
fear to use the tools of punishment. But she has no fear of the
executioner.
You have then in one victim a twofold martyrdom, of chastity and religion.
She both remained a virgin and she obtained martyrdom.
This is the magnificent commentary of St. Ambrose on St. Agnes.
Saint Quote:
Lord God almighty, Father of Jesus Christ, your dear Son through whom we
have come to know you, God of the angels and powers, God of all creation,
God of those who live in your presence, the race of the just: I bless you.
You have considered me worthy of this day and hour, worthy to be numbered
with the martyrs and to drink the cup of your Anointed One, and thus to
rise
and live forever, body and soul, in the incorruptibility of the Holy
Spirit.
--Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, Bishop and Martyr, his prayer before his
martyrdom.
Bible Quote:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. St.
Matthew 5:9
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Official Prayer for the Church Unity Octave | (to be recited each day)
ANTIPHON: That they may all be one, as Thou, Father, in Me and I in Thee;
that they may also be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast
sent Me. - (John 17:21)
V. I say unto thee that thou art Peter,
R And upon this Rock I will build My Church
Let us pray: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who saidst unto Thine Apostles: Peace I
leave with you, My peace I give to you: regard not our sins, but the faith
of Thy Church, and vouchsafe to grant unto Her that peace and unity which
are agreeable to Thy Will. Who livest and reignest God forever and ever.
Amen.
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