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On Her Life
Although
we have evidence that Agatha was venerated at least as
far back as the sixth century, the only facts we have
about her are that she was born in Sicily and died there
a martyr.
In the
legend of her life, we are told that she belonged to a
rich, important family. When she was young, she
dedicated
her life to God and resisted any men who wanted to marry
her or have sex with her. One of these men, Quintian,
was of a high enough rank that he felt he could force
her to acquiesce. Knowing she was a Christian in a time
of persecution, he had her arrested and brought before
the judge - - himself. He expected her to give in to
when faced with torture and possible death, but she
simply affirmed her belief in God by praying:
"Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, you know
my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make
me worthy to overcome the devil."
Legend
tells us that Quintian imprisoned her in a brothel in
order to get her to change her mind. Quintian brought
her back before him after she had suffered a month of
assault and humiliation in the brothel, but Agatha had
never wavered, proclaiming that her freedom came from
Jesus. Quintian sent her to prison, instead of back to
the brothel -- a move intended to make her more afraid,
but which probably was a great relief to her. When she
continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had
her tortured. He refused her any medical care but God
gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision
of St. Peter. When she was tortured again, she died
after saying a final prayer:
"Lord, my Creator, you have always
protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the
love of the world and given me patience to suffer.
Receive my soul."
Because one of the tortures she supposedly suffered was
to have her breasts cut off, she was often depicted
carrying her breasts on a plate. It is thought that
blessing of the bread that takes place on her feast may
have come from the mistaken notion that she was carrying
loaves of bread. |
