Authors-choice: Hope & Revival

The city of Palermo and Catana, a rich and illustrious family had a daughter called Agatha. She was beautiful beyond compare and her parents who were Christians consecrated her to God from her tender years. The adolescent girl, Agatha triumphed over many men who wanted to assault her sexually and she kept her virginity pure. But Quintianus, the Governor of Catana, a man of great power, was bent on gratifying both his lust and avarice with Agatha so he imagined and came up with a plan to fulfill his wicked designs.  Christianity was illegal  then, thus by means of the emperor’s edict against the Christians, he had her and her parents arrested and put in jail. Then at his leisure, he had Agatha brought before him at Catana so that he might do with her as he pleased.

But Agatha, seeing herself in the hands Quintianus, prayed: “Jesus Christ, Lord of all things, you see my heart, you know my desire-possess alone all that I am. I am your sheep; make me worthy to overcome the devil.” She wept, and prayed for courage and strength all the way she went.

On her appearance, Quintianus asked her for sex. When she refused, he gave orders for her to be handed to Aphrodisia, a most wicked woman, who, with six daughters, all prostitutes, kept a common brothel. Agatha, by placing her confidence in God, never ceased with sighs and most earnest tears to implore his protection against all their hellish attempts to push her to have sex with men.

When Quintianus was informed of her obstinate refusal to be corrupted, after thirty days, ordered her to be brought before him. Agatha in her first interrogation told him that to be a servant of Jesus Christ was the most illustrious nobility and true liberty. Quintianus was offended at her resolute answers, and commanded her to be savagely beaten, after which she was thrown back into prison. The next day she was arraigned a second time before him, and answered with equal constancy that Jesus Christ was her life and her salvation. Quintianus then ordered her to be stretched on the rack and her sides  burnt with torches . Agatha suffered all these things cheerfully. The governor, enraged to see her suffer cheerfully, commanded that her breast be torn and cut off with iron shears. At which she pleaded with him tearfully saying, “Are you not ashamed to despoil a woman of that by which your own mother nursed you?”

But her tearful pleas fell on deaf ears. After they cut off her breasts, they threw her back into to prison, with a severe order from the governor that neither salves nor food should be allowed her.

Four days after, Quintianus ordered her rolled naked over live coals mixed with broken potsherds, at last Agatha cried out: “Lord, my Creator, you have ever protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world, and given me patience to suffer: receive now my soul.” And she died. Today she is venerated as a saint by millions of people.