January 20 — Saint Agnes

What a glory is it not for the Catholic Church, that she alone has the gift of this holy state of Virginity, which is the source of every other sacrifice, because nothing hut the love of God could inspire a human heart to vow Virginity 1 And what a grand honour for christian Rome, that she should have produced a Saint Agnes, that angel of earth, in comparison with whom the Vestals of paganism are mere pretences of devotedness, for their Virginity was never punished by fire and sword, nay, rather, was flattered by the recompense of earthly honours and riches 1

Not that our Saint is without her recompense — only, her recompense is not marred with the flaw of all human rewards. The name of this child, who lived but thirteen short years, will be echoed, to the end of time, in the sacred Canon of the universal Sacrifice. The path trod by the innocent maiden, on the way to her trial, is still marked out in the Holy City. In the Circus Agonalis, there rises the beautiful Church of Saint Agnes, with its rich cupola ; and beneath are the vaults which were once the haunts of infamy, but now are a holy sanctuary, where everything reminds us of her who here won her glorious victory. Further on, on the Nomentan Road, outside the ramparts, is the beautiful Basilica, built by Constantine; and here, under an altar covered with precious stones, lies the Body of the young Saint. Bound this Basilica, there are immense crypts ; and in these did Agnes' Relics repose until the epoch of peace, surrounded by thousands of Martyrs, whose holy remains were also deposited here.

Nor must we pass over in silence the gracious tribute of honour paid by Rome each year, on this Feast, to her beloved Martyr. Two lambs are placed

1 Now, the Piazyt Navona.

(2)

2d on the altar of the Basilica Nomentana ; they are emblems of the meekness of Jesus and the innocence of the gentle Agnes. After they have been blessed by the Abbot of the Religious Community, which serves this Church, they are taken to a Monastery of Nuns, where they are carefully reared. Their wool is used for makimj the Palliuma, which the Pope sends to all Patriarchs and Metropolitans of the Catholic world, as the essential emblem of their jurisdiction. Thus, this simple woollen ornament, which these prelates have to wear on their shoulders, as a symbol of the sheep carried on the shoulders of the good Shepherd, and which the Sovereign Pontiff takes from off the Altar of Saint Peter in order to send it to its destination, carries to the very ends of the world the sublime union of these two sentiments — the vigour and power of the Prince of the Apostles,

We will now quote the beautiful eulogium on St Acnes, written by St. Ambrose in his Book, On Virgins} The Church rives almost the entire passage in her Office of to-day's Feast ; and, assuredly, the Virgin of Christ could not have had a finer panegyrist than the great Bishop of Milan, who is the most eloquent and persuasive of all the Fathers on the subject of holy Virginity. We read, that in the Cities, where Ambrose preached, Mothers were afraid of their daughters being present at his Sermons, lest lie should persuade them to such love of Christ, as to choose the better part.

" Having resolved," says the holy Bishop, " to write " a Book on Virginity, I think myself happy in being " able to begin it on the Feast we are keeping of the " Virgin Agnes. It is the Feast of a Virgin ; let us " walk in the path of purity. It is the Feast of a " Martyr ; let us offer up our Sacrifice, It is the and the gentleness of Aj the Virgin.

1 B jok I., post initium.

JAN. 21. Sr. AGNES.

" Feast of St. Agnes ; let men admire, and children * not despair ; let the married wonder, and the un- ' married imitate. But what can we speak worthy " of this Saint, whose very name is not void of praise ? " As her devotedness is beyond her years, and her "virtue superhuman — so, as it seems to me, her " name is not an appellation, but a prophecy, pre u saging that she was to be a Martyr." The holy Doctor is here alluding to the word Agnus, from which some have derived the name Agnes ; and he says, that the young Saint had immolation in her very name, for it called her victim. He goes on to consider the other etymology of Agnes, from the Greek word ajgnos% which means pure ; and he thus continues his discourse :

" The maiden's name is an expression of purity. "Martyr, then, and Virgin! Is not that praise " enough ? There is no praise so eloquent, as merit M that is too great to need seeking. No one is so praise- " worthy, as he who may be praised by all. Now, all " men are the praisera of Agues, for when they pro- " nounce her name, they say her praise, for they say " A Martyr.

" There is a tradition, that she suffered martyrdom "at the age of thirteen. Detestable, indeed, the " cruelty, that spared not even so tender an age ! but " oh ! the power of faith, that could find even chilu dren to be its witnesses ! Here was a victim scarce " big enough for a wound, for, where could the sword " fall ? ana yet she had courage enough to conquer 44 the s.vord.

" At such an age as this, a girl trembles if she but " see her mother angry, and cries, as though it were a " grievous thing, if but pricked with a needle's point. " And Agnes, who stands amidst blood-stained mur- " derers, is fearless ! She is stunned with the rattle "of the heavy chains, and yet not a flutter in that u heart 1 She offers her whole body to the sword of

44 the furious soldier, for though she knows not what " death is, yet is she quite ready to endure it. Per- 14 chance, they will take her by force to the altars of * their gods ! If they do, she will stretch out her 44 hands to Jesus, and, amidst those sacrilegious fires, "she will sign herself with that blessed sign, the u trophy of our divine conqueror; and then, if they " will, and they can find shackles small enough to fit 44 such tender limbs, they may fasten her hands and 44 neck in their iron fetters !

" How strange a martyrdom I She is too young to 44 be punished, yet she is old enough to win a victory. "She cannot fight, yet she easily gains a crown. 14 She has but the age of a scholar, yet has she mas- 44 tered every virtue. Bride never went to nuptials 44 with so glad a heart, or so light a step, as this young 44 virgin marches to the place of execution. She is 44 decked, not with the gay show of plaited tresses, 44 but with Christ ; she is wreathed, not with flowers, 44 but with purity.

" All stood weeping ; Agnes shed not a tear. Some 44 wondered, how it could be, that she, who had but just 44 begun her life, should be as ready to sacrifice it, as 44 though she had lived it out ; and every one was 44 amazed, that she, who was too young to give evi- 44 dence even in her own affairs, should be so bold 44 a witness of the divinity. Her oath would be in- " valid in a human cause ; vet, she is believed, when 44 she bears testimony for her God. Their surprise "was just: for a power thus above nature could "only come from Him, who is the author of all M nature.

44 Her executioner does all he can to frighttn her \ 44 he speaks fair words to coax her ; he tells her of all M the suitors who have sought her as their bride ; but w she replies : 4 The Spouse insults her Beloved if she 44 4 hesitate. I belong to Him who first betrothed " 4 me : — why, executioner, dost thou not strike ? Boll

" 1 this body, which might be loved by eyes I would " 1 not wish to please.'

"She stood, she prayed, she bowed down her head. " The executioner trembles, as though himself were "going to be beheaded. His hand shakes, and " his cheek grows pale, to strike this girl, who loves " the danger and the blow. Here, then, have we a " twofold martyrdom in a single victim — one for her " chastity, the other for her faith. She was a Virgin " before ; and now, she is a Martyr."

The Roman Church sings, on this Feast, the sweet Responsories, in which Agnes expresses her tender love of her Jesus, and her happiness at having Him for her Spouse. They are formed from the words of the ancient Acts of her Martyrdom, which were long attributed to the pen of St. Ambrose.

RESPONSOBTES.

19. My Spouse has set pre- Dexteram meam et cious collum meum cinxit lapidibus pretiosis ; tradidit auribus meis inaestimabiles margaritas : * Et circuindedit me veruantibns atque coruscantibus gemmis. y. Posuit signuni in facie m meam, ut nullum prater eum, amatorem admittain.* stones on my right hand, and on my neck ; he has hung priceless pearls in my ears : * And he has laden me with ray and glittering gems. f. lie has placed his sign upon my face, that I may have none other to love me but Him. * And he has.

Et circuuidedit me.

I love Christ ; I shall be the spouse of Him, whose Mother is the Virgin, and whose Father begot him divinely, and who delights me with sweet music of organs and singers : * When I love him, I am chaste ; when near fy. A mo Christum in cujus tbalamum introibo, cujus Mater virgo est, cujus Pater feminam nescit, cujus mihi organa modulatis vocibus canUnt: * Quern cum amavero, casta sum, cum tetigero, munda sum,

87* oum accepero, virgo sura. f. Aunulo tidei suae subarrhavit me, et iramensis monilibus ornavit me. * Quern. him, I am purest ; when I possess him, I still wear my Virgin's wreath, f. He has betrothed me with the ring of his fidelity, and has decked me with a necklace of priceless worth. * When.

Mel et lac ex ejus ore tuscepi, * Et sanguis ejus ornavit gen as meas. Ostendit mihi thesauros incomparabiles, quos mihi se daturum repromisit. * Et sanguis.

19. Milk and honey have I received from his lips ; * and his Blood has graced my cheek. f. He has shown me incomparable treasures, and these nas he promised to give me. * And his Blood.

I?. Jam corpus ejus corpori meo sociatum est, et sanguis ejus ornavit genas meas : * Cuius Mater virgo est, cujus Pater feminam nescit. fl. Ipsisum desponsata cui Angeli serviunt, cujus pulchritudinem sol et lunamirantur. * Cujus Mater.

19. Alreadv have I communicated of his sacred Body, and his Blood has graced my cheek : * His Mother is the Virgin, his Father is God. I am espoused to Him whom the Angels obey, and whose beauty is gazed on by the sun and the moon. * His Mother.

St. Ambrose was sure to write a Hymn on the Virgin-Martyr, in whose praise he was so enthusiastic. We almost despair of giving an idea of the .beauty of his verses to such as can read only our version of them.

HYMN.

Agnes beats virginis Natalis est, quo spiritum

It is the blessed Virgin Agnes' feast, for, to-day, she was sanctified by shedding her innocent blood, and gave to heaven her heaven- claimed spirit.

Sbe that was too young to be a bride, was old enough to bo a martyr, and that, too, in an age when men were faltering in faith, and even hoaryheads grew wearied and denied our God.

Her parents trembled for their Agnes, and doubly did thev thus defend the treasure of ner Purity ; but her Faith disdains a silent hiding-place, and unlocks its shelter-giving gate.

One would think it was a bride, hurrying with her glad smiles to give some fresh-got present to ber Spouse ; and so it was : she was bearing to Him the dowry of her martyrdom.

They would fain make her light a torch at the altar of some vile deity they came to : "The Virgins of Jesus,* said Agnes, ''are not wont to hold 44 a torch like this.

44 Its fire would quench one's 44 faith— its flame would put 41 out my light. Strike, strike "me, and the stream of my 44 blood shall extinguish these 44 fires."

They strike her to the ground : and, as she falls, she gathers her robes around her, dreading, in the jealous purity of her soul, the insulting gaze of some lewd eye.

Alive to purity even in the act of death, she buries her face in her hands ; and kneeling on the ground, she falls as parity would wish to fall.

Ccelo refudit debitum, Pio sacrata sanguine.

Matura martyrio fuit, Matura nondum nuptiis, Nutabafc in viris fides, Cedebat et f ess us senex.

Metu parentes territi Claustrum pud oris auxerant:

Solvit fores custodies Fides teneri nescia.

Prodire quis nuptam putet,

Sic laeta vultu ducitur, Novas viro ferens opes, Dotata censu sanguinis.

Aras nefandi numinis Adolere tsedis cogitur : Bespondet: HaucUales faces Sumpsere Christi virgin^.

Hie ignis extinguit fidem, Hsec flamma lumen eripit : Hie, hie ferite, ut profluo Cruore restinguam focos.

Percussa quam pompam tulitl

Nam veste se to tarn teg it, Curam pudoris prssstitat, Ne quis retectam cerneret

In morte vivebat pudor, Vultumque texerat manu ; Terram genuflexo petit, Lapau verecundo cadens.

Gloria tibi Domine, Gloria Unigenito, Una cum Sancto Spiritu In sempitema aaecula. Amen.

Glory be to thee, O Lord ! and glory to thine Only Begotten Son, together with thy Holy Spirit, for everlasting ages. Amen.

Our admirable Prudentius, who visited Rome in the early part of the 5th century, and witnessed the devotion of the Roman people to St. Agnes, consecrated to her sweet memory the following Hymn, which is one of the finest of his poems. Though very long, it is the Hymn used for this Feast, in the Mozarabic Breviary.

HYMIf.

Agnes sepulchrum est Eomulea in domo, Fortis pueliffi, martyria inclyta.

Conspectu in ipso condita turriuin, Servat salutem virgo Quiri- tium :

Nec non et ipsos protegit advenas, Puro, ac fideli pectore sup- pi ices.

Duplex corona est prostita Martyri, Intactum ab omni crimine virginal, Mortis deinde gloria libers. Aiunt, jugah vix habilem toro

Primisin annis forte puellulam,

Christo calentem, fortiter impiis

Jussis renisam, quo minus idolis

Addicta, sacram desereret fidem.

Tentata muUisnam prius artibua,

The tomb of Agnes, the intrepid maiden, the glorious Martyr, is in the City of Romulus. In her restingplace, fronting the ramparts, the virgin watches over the sons of Quirinus ; and to pilgrims, too, that pray to her with pure and faithful hearts, she extends her protection.

She is a Martyr, that wears a double crown ; for she was a spotless, innocent, virgin; and a glorious victim that freely died for Christ. It is related, that when a rl, and too young to be a ride, she loved Jesus with tenderest love, and bravely withstood the impious commands, that bade her offer sacrifice to the idols, and deny the holy faith.

No art was left untried to make her yield : the judge

JAN. 21. I put on the softness of winning words, and the grim executioner blustered out his threats : — but Agnes stood firm in stern courageous ness, bidding them put her body to their fierce tortures, for that she was willing to die.

Then spoke the fierce tyrant : " 1 know thy readiness 41 to suffer pain aud tortures, " and at how low a price thou " settest life ; but there is one "thing thou holdest dear— a " virgin's purity.

"Tis tbis I have resolved " to expose to insult in the 44 common brothel, unless thy " head shall bend before the "altar of our virgin-goddess " Minerva, and thou, a virgjn " that darest to despise a vir- " gin such as she, shalt humbly "crave her pardon. There " shall youthful wantons have " access, and thou be minister " to passion."

"And thinkest thou," said Ajrnes, "that Christ can so " forget his children, as to let " our gold of purity be robbed, "and us be outcasts to his "care) He is ever with the 44 chaste, shielding from injury " the gift he has bestowed of "h«»ly virginity. Thy sword " may drip, if so thou listest, 44 with our blood ; but, con- 44tamination and dishonour, "never!"

Scarce had she said these words, than order was given to expose her in the vaults of the well-known street. A

Nunc ore blandi judicis U- lice,

Nunc sssvientis earning)* minis,

Stabat feroci robore pertinax,

Corpusque duris excrucia- tibus

Ultro offerebat, non renoens mori.

Turn trux tyrannua : Si facile est, ait, Poeuara subactis ferre doloribus,

Et vita vilis spernitur : at pudor

Chai ns dicata virginitatii est

Hanc in lupanar traders publicum

Certum est, ad aram ni caput, applicet,

Ac de Minerva jam veniam roget,

Quam virgo pergit temnere virgiuem. Omnis ju vent us irruat, et novum

Ludibriorum maucipium petat

Haud, inquit Agnes, im- memor est ita Christus suorum, perdat ut aureum Nobis pudorem, nos quo- que deserat. Praesto est pudicis, nec pa- titur sacriB Integritatis munera poUui. Ferrum impiabis sanguine, si voles : Non inquinabis membra li- bidme. Sic elocutam publicitus jubet

Flexu in plate» sister* vir* ginem.

Stantem refugit moesta fre- quentia, A versa vultus, ne petulan- tius

Quisquam verendum conspice ret locum. Intendit unus forte procaciter

Os in puellam, nec trepidat sacram

Spectare formam lumine lubrico. En ales ignis fulminis in modum Vibratur ardens, atque ocu- los ferit : Cttcus corusco lumine cor- roit,

Atque in plate® pulvere palpitat. Tollunt sod alee seminecem solo,

Verbisque deflent exequialibus.

Ibat triumphans virgo,

Deum Patrem, Chriatumque sacro carmine concinens, Quod sub profani labe pe- riculi

Castum lupanar, nec violabile

Experta victrix virginitas furet

Sunt, qui rogatam rettulennt preces Fudisse Chris to, redderet ut reo

Lucem jacenti : turn juveni halituin Vitas innovatum visibus in- tegris.

Primum sed Agnes hunc nabuit graduin Coelestis aulaa, mox alius datur. throng, indeed, was there ; but pity put a veil o'er every eye, ana fear imposed respect

Save one alone, and gaze, he says, he will. He scorns this modest fear, which checks the froward eye. But lo!

an Angel, swift as lightning, strikes and blinds the wanton wretch. He falls, and writhes amidst the dust. His fellows raise him from the ground, lifeless, as he seems to them ; and, weeping and lamenting, bear the corpse away.

Agnes had triumphed : and in anymn of praise, she sings her thanks to God the Father and his Christ, for that they had turned the den of infamy into a shelter for her treasure, and made virginity victorious.

Some say, that she was grayed to pray to Christ, that e would restore the prostrate sinner to the vision he had lost : she did so, and the youth regained his consciousness and sight.

But this was only one advance in heaven for our Saint; a second is to come. The cruel tyrant boils with furious

JAN. 21. 8T. AGNES. wrattr, and cboked with disappointment, exclaims : " Shall 14 1 be baffled by a girl? Draw "thy sword, soldier, and do "the royal biddings of our " sovereign lord.*

Agnes looked np, and saw the savage minion standing with his unsheathed sword, and thus she spoke with beaming face : " Oh ! happy, 44 happy change ! A wild, 44 fierce, boisterous sword- 44 man, for that young love- 44 sick, smooth-faced, soft per- 44 fumed murderer of the 44 chaste soul I

44 This is a suitor that does " please me. I will not run 14 from him, nor deny him 44 what he asks. His steel 44 shall nestle in my bosom, 44 and his sword shall warm in 44 my heart's best blood. Thus 44 wedded to my Christ, I shall 41 mount above this dark world 44 to the realms beyond the 14 clouds.

"Eternal King! the gate "of heaven, closed to men "before thy coming on our " earth, is opened now — ah 1 44 let me enter in. Call to "thyself, my Jesus, a soul "that seeks but thee : thy " virgin -spouse, and thy Fa- 44 ther's martyr— call me, Lord, "to thee."

Accensus iram nam furor incitat

Hostis cruentL Vincor, ait gemens; I, stringe ferrum, miles, et exere

Pracepta summi regia principis.

Ut vidit Agnes, stare truce in virum Mucrone nudo, ltetior hsec ait :

Exsulto, talis quod potius venit

Vesanus, atrox, turbidus armiger, Qnam si veniret languidus, ac tener Mollisque ephebus tinctus aromate, Qui me pudoris funere per deret.

Hie, hie amator jam, fa teor, placet : Ibo irruentis gressibus ob- viam,

Nec demorabor vota caleutia :

Ferrum in papillas omne recepero, Pectusque ad irnum vim gladii traham. Sic nupta Christo trausi- liain poli Omnes tenebras ©there cel- sior. jEterue rector, divide januas

Coeli, obseratas terrigenis prius ;

Ac te sequentem, Christe, animam voca, Quum virginalem, turn Pa- tris hostiam.

S80

Sic fata, Christum vertice cernuo

Supplex adorat, vuluus ut imminens Cervix sabiret proua para- tius.

Ast ille tantam speui pera- git nianu : Uno sub ictu nam caput amputat. Sensum doloris mors cita praevenit. Exutus inde spiritus emi- cat,

Liberque in auras exilit: Angeli

Sepsere enntem tramite candido.

Miiatur orbem sub pedibus situm, Spectat tenobras ardua subditas, llidetque, solis quod rota circuit,

Quod mundus omtiis volvit, et implicar, Kerum quod atro turbine vivitnr, Quod vana secli mobilitas rapit :

Reges, tyrannos, impe- ria et gradus, Fompasque honorum stulta tumentium : Argenti et auri vim, rabida siti

Cunctis petitam per varium nefas,

Splendore multo structa ha- bitacula, lllusa pictae vestis inania, Irani, timorem, vota, peri- cula:

Nunc triste longum, nunc breve gaudium,

Thus did she pray; and then, with bended head, adored her Lord, and in this posture was the readier to receive the uplifted sword. The soldier's hand was raised, and all the hopes of Agnes were fulfilled, for with a single blow he beheads the holy maiden, and death comes speedily to leave no time for pain.

Quickly her spirit quits its garb of flesh, and speeds untrammelled through the air, surrounded, as it mounts, by u choir of lovely Angels.

She sees this orb of ours far f ir below, aud all beneath her seems a speck of dark. All earthly things are now so dwindled to her spirit's eye, that she looks at them and smiles:— yea, all seems poor : the space traversed by the Suu, — the globe with all its system,— all that lives in the stormy whirlwind of creation, and changes with the vain fickleness of the world.

Kings and tyrants, empires and grades, and the pompons pageantry of honours Dig with folly— the sovereignty of gold and silver, which all men seek with rapid thirst, and gain by varied crime— sumptuous dwellings— rich coloured parbs, mere graceful lieswrath and fear, hope and peril— grief so long, and joy ho brief— black envy's smoky flames, which blight men? hopes and fame — and last bat worst of all earth's ills, the gloomy cloud of pagan superstition.

Agnes sees all this, and tramples on them alL She stands, and crushes with her foot the serpent's head. This monster, with his venom, taints all things on earth, and plunges into hell the fools that are his slaves : but, now, he crouching lies beneath a virgin's foot, droops his fiery crest, and dares not raise his vanquished head.

And now, our God girds with two crowns the Virgin- Martyr's brow : one is a sixtyfold of light eternal and reward : the other is the hundredfold of fruit.

O happy Virgin I Singular in thy glory 1 Noble inhabitant of heaven ! Decked with a twofold crown ! Oh ! look upon us who live in misery and sin ; for, to thee alone did our Heavenly Father give the power to change impurity's abode into the shelter of chastity.

Fill my heart with the bright ray of thine intercession, and I shall be cleansed ; for all is pure, that can from

Livoris atri fumificas faces Nigrescit unde spes homi- num et decus, Et, quod malorum tetrius omnium est, Gentilitatis sordida nubila. H«c calcat Agnes, hoec pede proterit, Staus, et draconis calce pre- mens caput : Terrena mundi qui ferus omnia

Spargit venenis, mergit et inferis.

Nunc virginali perdomitus solo,

Cristas cerebri deprimit ignei,

Nec victus audet tollere verticem. Cingit coronis interca Deus

Frontem duabus martyris innubse Unam decemplex edita sexies

Merces perenn I u mine conficit :

Centenus extat fructus in altera.

O virgo felix, o nova gloria,

Coelestis arcis nobilis incola,

Intende nostris colluvionibus

Vultum gemello cum diademate :

Cui posse soli Cunctiparcns dedit

Castum vel ipsum reddere fornicem. Purgabor oris propitiabilis

Fulgore, nostrum si jecur impleaa. cHfiismta

Nil noo pudfcnm est quod pia Tiflere Dignaris, almo Tel peda tangere. thy pity gain a look or taring Tiait

There is still another Hymn to the praise of Agnes. It is from the pen of Adam of Saint- Victor, and is one of the finest of his Sequencer

Animcnur ad agonem, Recolentes passiouem Gloriosee Virginia.

Contrectantea sacrum florem,

Respiremua ad odorem Respers® dulcedinis. Pulchra, prudena et illuatrifl,

Jam duobus Agnes luatria AHdebat triennium. Proles amat hano prefect! :

6ed ad ejus virgo flecti Respuit arbitrium.

Mira vis fidei, Mira virginitas, Mira virginei Cordis integritas.

Sic Dei Filius, Nutu mirabili, Se mirabilius Prodit in fragili.

Languet amans : cubat lecto:

Languor notus fit profecto ; Maturat re media. Oifert multa, spondet plura, Periturus peritura ; Sed vilescunt omnia.

Nudam prostituit Praises flagitiis :

SIQUXNCK.

Let us get courage for our own battle, by honouring the martyrdom of the glorious virgin Agnes.

Let us look at this sweet flower of our feast, and inhale into our souls the virtues of its fragrance.

Agnes was fair, and wise, and rich, and had reached her thirteenth year.

The Prefect's son saw and loved her ; but the maiden could not be induced to grant his suit

How great is the power of faith ! How wonderful is Virginity 1 How admirable the purity of a virgin heart 1

"f is thus that Jesus, by a wonderful dispensation, shows himself strongest in the weakest

Sick, then, with love, the suitor takes to bed ; his sickness is made known to the Prefect ; the cure is prepared.

Gifts in abundance, promises without end ; but, giver and gifts, both are perishable things; and Agnes thought both beneath her.

The Prefect condemns her to the worst of insults ; Jesus

JAN. 21. i protects her with the flowing tresses of her head, and a garment he sends her from heaven.

He sends an Angel to stand by her. The den of infamy becomes a mansion of light ; and consternation checks the wanton crowd.

The blind suitor is angry, and, rushing at his prey, is choked by the wicked spirit.

The father mourns, and all mourn ; Home wept for the death of the young man.

Agnes raises him to life ; the crowd is in confusion, and

Erepares a fire on which to urn the virgin. The fire burns the guilty ; the flame raves against these ravers, and avenges the honours of God.

The Saint gives thanks to her Jesus ; offers her head to the executioner, and dies unfearingly, for her purity was safe.

O Agnes, standing at the right band of the Lamb, thy Saviour, thou art now iu glory, and thou consolest thy parents, inviting them to bliss.

Thou biddest them not mourn for thee as for one that was dead, for that thou wast now united to the heavenly Spouse : and he, under the form of a Lamb, reveals to them his own and tby virginal glory.

Suffer us not to be separated from the Lamb, our Saviour, to whom thou didst consecrate thy whole being ; and by whose r. agnes. 883

Quam Christus induit Comarum fimbrils Stolaque ccalesti.

Ccelestis nuiicius Assistit propius : Cella libidinis Fit locus luminis ; Turbantur incesti.

Caecus amaus indignatur,

Et irrumpens pnefocatur A maligno spiritu.

Luget pater, lugent cuncti : Roma flevit pro defuncti Juveuis interitu.

Suscitatur ab Agnete, Turba f remit indiscrete: Rogum parant Virgini

Bogus ardens reos urit, In furentes flamma furit . Dans honorem Numini.

Orates agens Salvatori, Guttur offert haec lictori, Nec ad horam timet mori, Puritatis conscia.

Agnes, Agni salutaris Stans ad dextram gloriaris,

Et parentes consolaris Invitans ad gaudia. Ne te flerent ut defunctam

Jam coelesti Sponso junctain :

His sub agni forma suam Revelavit, atoue tuam Yirginalem gloriam.

Nos ab Agno salutari Non permitte separari, Cui te totam consecrasti : Cujus ope tu curasti

Nobilem Constantiam.

Vas electam, vas honoris, Incorrupti flos odoris, Angelorura grata choris, Honestatis et pudoris Formam praebes sasculo.

Palma fruens triumphali, Flore remans yirginah, Nos indignos special i Fac sanctorum generali Vel subscribi titulo. Amen. power thou didst heal the lady Constance.

Vessel of election ! vessel of honour 1 flower of unfading fragrance 1 beloved of the choirs of Angels 1 thou art an example to the world of virtue and chastity.

O thou, that wearest a Martyr's palm and a Virgin's wreath ! pray for us, that, though unworthy of a special crown, we may have our names written in the common list of Saints. Amen.

How sweet and yet how strong, O Agnes ! is the love of Jesus, thy Spouse 1 It enters an innocent heart, and that heart becomes full of dauntless courage 1 Thus was it with thee. The world and its pleasures, persecution and its tortures — all were alike contemptible to thee. The pagan judge condemned thee to an insult, worse than a thousand deaths— and thou didst not know that the Angel of the Lord would defend thee ! — how is it, that thou hadst no fear? It was because the love of Jesus filled thy heart. Fire was nothing ; the sword was nothing ; the very hell of men's making, even that was nothing to thee ! for thy love told thee that no human power could ever rob thee of thy Jesus; thou hadst his word for it, and thou knewest he would keep it

Dear Child I innocent even in the capital of pagan corruption, and free of heart even amidst a slavish race, we read the image of our Emmanuel in thee. He is the Lamb; and thou art simple, like Jesus: he is the Lion of the Tribe of Juda ; and, like Him, thou art invincible. Truly, these Christians, as the pagans said, are a race of beings come from heaven to people this earth 1 A family that has Martyrs, and heroes, and heroines, like thee, brave Saint! — that has young virgins, filled like its venerable Pontiffs and veteran soldiers, with the fire of heaven, and burning with ambition to leave a world they have edified with their virtues — is God's own people, and it never can be extinct Its Martyrs are to us the representation of the divine virtues of our Lord Jesus Christ. By nature, they were as weak as we; they had a disadvantage, which we have not — they had to live in the very thick of paganism, and paganism had corrupted the whole earth ; and notwithstanding all this, they were courageous and chaste.

Have pity on us and help us, O tnou, one of the brightest of these great Saints 1 The love of Jesus is weak in our hearts. We are affected, and shed tears at the recital of thy heroic conduct ; but we are cowards in the battle we ourselves have to fight against the world and our passions. The habitual seeking after ease and comfort has fastened upon us a certain effeminacy; we are ever throwing away our interest upon trifles ; how can we have earnestness and courage for our duties ? Sanctity ! we cannot understand it ; and when we hear or read of it, we gravely say, that the Saints did very strange things, and were indiscreet, and were carried away by exag- ferated notions ! What must we think on this thy 'east, of thy contempt for the world and all its pleasures, of thy heavenly enthusiasm, of thy eagerness to go to thy Jesus by suffering ? Thou wast a Christian, Agnes I Are we, too, Christians ? Oh ! pray for us that we may love like Christians, that is, with a generous and active love, with a love which can feel indignant when asked to have less detachment from all that is not our God. Pray for us, that our piety may be that of the Gospel, and not the fashionable piety which pleases the world, and makes us pleased with ourselves. There are somo brave hearts who follow thy example ; but they are few ; (2) * 2o increase their number by their prayers, that so the Divine Lamb may be followed, whithersoever he goeth in heaven, by a countless number of Virgins and Martyrs.

Innocent Saint ! we meet thee, each year, at the Crib of the Divine Babe, and we delight, on thy Feast, to think of the wonderful love there is between Jesus and his brave little Martyr. This Lamb is come to die for us, too, and invites us to Bethlehem ; speak to him for us ; the intercession of a Saint who loved him as thou didst, can work wonders even for such sinners as we. Lead us to his sweet Virgin- Mother. Thou didst imitate her virginal purity; ask her to give us one of those powerful prayers, which can cleanse even worse hearts than ours.

Pray also, O Agnes ! for the holy Church, which is the Spouse of Jesus. It was she that gave thee to be his, and it is from her that we, also, have received our life and our light Pray that she may be blessed with an ever-increasing number of faithful virgins. Protect Rome, the City which guards thy Relics, and loves thee so tenderly. Bless the Prelates of the Church, and obtain for them the meekness of the lamb, the firmness of the Rock, the zeal of the good Shepherd for his lost sheep. And lastly, O Spouse of Jesus ! hear the prayers of all who invoke thee, and let thy charity for us, thy exiled brethren, learn from the Heart of Jesus the secret of growing more ardent as our world grows older.