My apologies for my long-standing silence. I've been extraordinarily busy as of late (more on that in a forthcoming post...), and I'm afraid my blog has suffered for it, such as it is.
In any case, I'm breaking said silence to draw your attention to the beautiful saint of today's feast, St. Agatha (Feb. 5th). St. Agatha has been one of my all-time favorite saints, and probably my favorite female saint, second only to Our Lady. In an age when the kick-butt chick is glorified as what it means to be a strong woman, there is no one (short of Our Lady) who to me best exemplifies the true beauty, strength, and heroism of a woman more than St. Agatha.
St. Agatha was born into a rich family in Sicily and from a very early age resolved to dedicate herself to Christ and to remain pure for His sake. The governor of Sicily heard how rich and beautiful Agatha was, and since Christianity was outlawed at the time, he used this as a reason to imprison her, in the hope that she would eventually give herself to him in order to be released. She remained imprisoned for a month but remained faithful to her true lover, Jesus Christ. (WARNING: The next sentence is somewhat graphic.) The governor had Agatha horribly tortured and eventually even had her breasts torn off, but St. Peter appeared to her and healed her. The governor continued to torture her until she died and returned to the arms of her one true Love, for whom she had suffered so much.
It is precisely for this cruel violence specifically directed towards her femininity that my heart goes out to her so much, as the heart of femininity continues to be under such violent attack at the hands of cruel, selfish men. St. Agatha offered her body to God in the most perfect and beautiful way possible, both by sexually preserving herself for Him and by dying for Him. As a soon-to-be priest and already a deacon who has promised celibacy for the rest of my life, St. Agatha remains the ultimate model how I want to offer myself to God and why I am forsaking marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
Don't get me wrong. I like female superheroes like Wonder Woman, Black Widow, and any number of X-Men. I like TV shows like "Agent Carter". I like Katniss Everdeen. But I LOVE Agatha.
Pax Vobiscum
