SAINT AGNES

St. Agnes was only twelve years old when she was led to the altar of the pagan goddess Minerva in Rome to offer incense to her. But she raised her hands to Jesus Christ and made the Sign of the Cross. The soldiers bound her hands and feet. Her young hands were so thin that the chains slipped from her wrists. When the judge saw that she was not afraid of pain, he had her clothes removed, and she had to stand in the street before a pagan crowd. She cried out, “Christ will guard His own.”

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While the crowd wouldn’t look at her, a young man who did look at her with sinful thoughts was struck blind by a flash of lightening.

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Agnes was offered the hand of a rich young man in marriage, but she answered, “Christ is my Spouse. He chose me first and His I will be. He made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue. I belong to Him whom the angels serve.” She prayed and then she was put to death. The name Agnes comes from the Latin word agnus, meaning lamb, and reminds us of the gentleness of this young saint