Dear Friend,
Today is the feast day of St.
Agatha, an early Faith Defender, one of the most venerated virgin
martyrs of the early Church. She is one of seven women, who, along
with the Blessed Virgin Mary, are commemorated by name in one of the
Eucharistic Prayers of the Holy Mass.
Growing up in Sicily, with a
wealthy family, Agatha’s beauty caught the eye of a Roman governor who
asked her to marry him. Since Agatha lived a life dedicated to God,
she refused. He tried to break her vow of purity by forcing her to
live in a brothel for a month. She survived by placing all her trust
in God. After that ordeal, she was beaten. Her breasts were crushed
then cut off. In some of the images of St. Agatha, she is holding an
instrument that resembles what was used to violently remove her
breasts.
St. Agatha is the patron saint of:
breast cancer, breast disease,
fire, fire prevention, jewelers, natural disasters, nurses, rape
victims, single laywomen, sterility, torture victims, volcanic
eruptions and wet nurses.
There are seven churches in the US
and Canada that are named after the saint. One in particular, St.
Agatha’s in Saint Louis was assigned to the Polish Catholics in 2005
by our Shepherd, Cardinal Burke, during his time as the Archbishop.
Every year, this parish celebrates three days of prayers, veneration
and then a blessing with the relic of St. Agatha, followed by the
blessing of St. Agatha bread. Many parishes with a Polish, Ukrainian
or Lithuanian history also follow the custom of blessing bread on Feb.
5 in honor of St. Agatha. Some Catholics prepare cupcakes and place a
cherry on top of each one.
The custom of blessing St. Agatha
bread started when the saint was often depicted in images 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. Thus, due to this belief, the tradition of blessing bread on
the feast day is still continuing. Here are photos of Father Stan Poszwa, S.Ch. blessing St. Agatha
bread, veneration of the relic and other photos at St. Agatha Church
in Saint Louis, Missouri.
St.
Agatha’s feast day celebrated in 2021, at St. Agatha Church in Los
Angeles, CA
Let us
invoke the help of this powerful saint!
Lord God, you showered heavenly
gifts on Saint Agatha. Hear the prayers of those who recall her
devoted life and who ask her to intercede for them in their
necessity.
(Reflect for a few moments on your needs, as
well as the needs of Cardinal Burke.)
Help us to imitate her virtues
during our earthly life and enjoy eternal happiness with her in
heaven. Amen.
St. Agatha, pray for us!
Embracing the love of
Christ,
Thomas J. McKenna Founder and President
Catholic Action For Faith And Family https://www.catholicaction.org/
Follow us on:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
|