The Gift of God
From a homily on Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr by Saint Methodius of Sicily, bishop (d. 847)
Saint Agatha suffered martyrdom at Catania in Sicily, probably during the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius. Her name was inserted into the Roman Canon of the Mass from the earliest days of the Church. Early accounts relate Agatha was born at Catania, Sicily of a wealthy family and had dedicated herself to God and a life of chastity. During the persecution of the Church, Quintian, a consul who desired her, used the persecutions as a pretext to possess her. When she refused he subjected her to horrible tortures, including the rack, cutting off her breasts, and rolling her over red-hot coals until she died. She if often depicted in art holding a pair of pincers or holding a tray containing her breasts. These were later mistaken by some to be bread leading to the practice of blessing bread on St. Agatha’s day.
The gift of God, the source of all goodness
Narrated by Frank Dugan, Huntington Beach, California
My fellow Christians, our annual celebration of a martyr’s feast has brought us together. She achieved renown in the early Church for her noble victory; she is well known now as well, for she continues to triumph through her divine miracles, which occur daily and continue to bring glory to her name.
She is indeed a virgin, for she was born of the divine Word, God’s only Son, who also experienced death for our sake. John, a master of God’s word, speaks of this: He gave the power to become children of God to everyone who received him.
The woman who invites us to this banquet is both a wife and virgin. To use the analogy of Paul, she is the bride who has been betrothed to one husband, Christ. A true virgin, she wore the glow of a pure conscience and the crimson of the Lamb’s blood for her cosmetics. Again and again she meditated on the death of her eager lover. For her, Christ’s death was recent, his blood was still moist. Her robe is the mark of her faithful witness to Christ. It bears the indelible marks of his crimson blood and the shining threads of her eloquence. She offers to all who come after her these treasures of her eloquent confession.
Agatha, the name of our saint, means “good.” She was truly good, for she lived as a child of God. She was also given as the gift of God, the source of all goodness to her bridegroom, Christ, and to us. For she grants us a share in her goodness.
What can give greater good than the Sovereign Good? Whom could anyone find more worthy of celebration with hymns of praise than Agatha.
Agatha, her goodness coincides with her name and way of life. She won a good name by her noble deeds, and by her name she points to the nobility of those deeds. Agatha, her mere name wins all men over to her company. She teaches them by her example to hasten with her to the true Good, God alone.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
Saint Methodius, (d. 847) the author of the above homily was born at Syracuse, Sicily. Highly educated, he went to Constantinople in quest of a position at the imperial court, but instead became a monk. He built a monastery on the island of Chios but returned to Constantinople to assist Patriarch Nicephorus in opposing iconoclasm. Emperor Leo the Armenian had launched a persecution of opponents of that heresy in 815. The Emperor exiled Bishop Nicephorus. In 821 Emperor Michael the Stammerer was enthroned replacing Leo. Methodius traveled to Rome and returned with a letter from Pope Paschal to the new Emperor requesting Bishop Nicephorus be allowed to return to his Diocese. The Emperor had Methodius scourged and exiled to prison for seven years. On his release Methodius continued his opposition to iconoclasm and ultimately prevailed. He was named Patriarch of Constantinople and convoked a synod that endorsed the second Council of Nicaea’s decrees permitting icons. He died in 847 at Constantinople. Only a few of his writings have survived.