Dear Fathers, Friends in Christ,
Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24
Psalm 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 9, 10-11
Mark 6:7-13
Psalm 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 9, 10-11
Mark 6:7-13
Today we remember St. Agatha who suffered martyrdom during the Roman persecutions of the 3rd century. She has been honoured in both the Latin and Greek Church, and since then, her name is still invoked liturgically in the Litany of the Saints, sung on special occasions. Agatha suffered a cruel and savage martyrdom, yet was able to withstand it heroically in the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Alban Butler, in his "The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints," published in 1864 and popularly known as "Butler's Lives of the Saints," provided an exhortation based on the witness of St. Agatha, whom we continue to acclaim and cherish:
"We profess ourselves ready to die for Christ, yet cannot bear the least cross or humiliation. How agreeable to our Divine Spouse is the sacrifice of a soul which suffers in silence, desiring to have no other witness her patience than God alone, who sends her trials."
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church / Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo Australia
Anglican Catholic Church / Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo Australia