St. Agnes

So popular was St. Agnes that her name is still included in the first Eucharistic Prayer at Mass. From the Acts of St. Agnes, we learn that she was martyred under Emperor Diocletion (around 304 AD) after staunchly adhering to her desire to remain a virgin whose only spouse was to be Jesus Christ. Evidently a young woman of great wealth and beauty, she was sought after for marriage by many young Roman men, but her refusal to accept their offers led her suitors to accuse her of being a Christian. She was physically tortured and even placed in a brothel where it was hoped that she would be violated. The story goes that her radiant beauty and holiness alone dissuaded the men who had come for pleasure from pursuing their objective. One man, who advanced further than the others was struck blind, and left the premises trembling. Ultimately, she was beheaded. St. Ambrose wrote that she went to the place of her execution "more cheefully than brides go to their wedding."
What an example St. Agnes provides in a society in which all restraints on sexual expression seem to have disappeared. Sex has been divorced from love and hence has become a pleasure game akin to a video game that is played at will. The results of this separation are appalling and can be reversed only by prayer, education and a restoration of values. May St. Agnes help us find the way.
Bro. Rene