SIXTY-NINTH SERMON
ON ST. AGNES AS A LAMB AMONG THE WOLVES.
Subject.
St. Agnes was: 1. A lamb of the fold of Christ; 2. She was a lamb in the midst of wolves. Preached on the feast of St. Agnes.
Text.
" Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves." (Luke 10:3)
Introduction.
So spoke Christ to His apostles and disciples when He was sending them into the world to preach the gospel; and at the same time He foretold them the terrible and manifold persecutions they would have to suffer for His name's sake from the infidel and the wicked. They will bind you, said He, with chains and fetters; they will drag you before the judges and condemn you; they will scourge you with rods, and drive you out of one city into another; in a word, they will treat you as wolves treat lambs. And such was the experience of the apostles, as we know from the Acts of the Apostles. Most extraordinary is the might of divine grace by which, although they were innocent lambs, they were enabled to endure all this with undisturbed serenity, and to overcome it. Yet what do I wonder at? At any rate they were men, and mostly poor men, who from their youth upwards were accustomed to hard work and discomforts, and who, more over, had been already trained in the school of Christ. But weak women, tender virgins, and young children learned afterwards to imitate them. We need not read the Lives of the Saints to have a proof of this, we need only consider her whose feast we celebrate to-day St Agnes. Her very name shows her to have been a lamb. But she proved herself such, not merely in name, but in reality; and she proved herself to be not merely a lamb, but a lamb among wolves, as I now mean to show, to her undying praise.
Plan of Discourse.
St. Agnes was a lamb of the fold of Christ; the first part. St. Agnes was a lamb among the wolves; the second part. A short lesson for our own profit will form the conclusion.
Christ Jesus, Thou good Shepherd of souls, who didst preserve Agnes unhurt in the midst of the wolves, give us the grace to live so that we may be counted in the number of Thy lambs! This we beg of Thee through the intercession of Mary, of her child Agnes, and of the holy angels.
Of all four-footed animals there is none more innocent, pure, meek, patient than the lamb. Therefore we are wont to say of one who has either inherited such qualities from nature or who has gained them by the practice of virtue: That man is a lamb: he is as innocent as a lamb; as quiet and meek as a lamb. It seems, too, that the Almighty God, though He has no need of any creature, has a special pleasure in this creature; for, as we know, He commanded in the Old Law that a lamb of a year old should be offered to Him as a most agreeable sacrifice, and as a figure and symbol of that unspotted Lamb of whom St. John said: "Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world. " As a figure, I say, of Jesus Christ, His eternal Son, who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and did not open His mouth, as Isaias prophesied, and who was sacrificed on the gibbet of the cross to the eternal Father, and who is still offered daily in the Holy Mass.
My dear brethren, if all faithful and just souls are sheep under the one Shepherd, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, as He calls Himself so often in the gospel: "I am the Good Shepherd; and I know Mine, and Mine know Me, then all virgins, and those who have preserved their purity untouched for God's sake, must justly be reckoned among the purest lambs of the fold of Christ; " The noblest part of the flock of Christ, as St. Cyprian calls them; whom Christ, as the Lover and Spouse of chaste souls, embraces with special fervor, and wishes to have nearest Himself. These are they of whom St. John, in the Apocalypse, says that they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth: " They are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were purchased from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb, ... for they are without spot before the throne of God."
What a dear lamb, then, Agnes must have been in the sight of God; for she was one of the purest virgins whom, after Mary, the Mother of God and the Virgin of virgins, the world ever saw. St. Ambrose does not hesitate to give her the glorious title that is otherwise given to Mary alone; for he always calls her most blessed. "Let us remember," he says, "how the most blessed Agnes suffered." It is a thousand pities that of the lives of the martyrs hardly anything is known to the world except their glorious triumph of martyrdom. St. Chrysostom complains that what we now read in histories of the merits and virtues of the saints is the least part of the good works they performed. And that arises from the fact that either the saints themselves knew how to hide their virtues from the world, through humility, or the enemies of Christ hid them, that they might not appear, or the lapse of time caused them to sink into oblivion. The time that Agnes spent in this mortal life was indeed short, for she was butchered and slain for Christ in her thirteenth year; but if we knew all she did during those years how she lived, how zealously she served her God we should have to ad mire in this child many extraordinary and sublime virtues that are now known to God alone. " In years," says St. Ambrose, "she was a child, but in wisdom she was a very old woman; in body she was a young maiden, but she was old in mind, prudence, holiness, and merits."
And truly, when we consider all the circumstances, Agnes must indeed have been a pure and innocent lamb. This is proved by her age so young as to be hardly apt for vice; it is shown by her name, Agnes, which in Greek signifies one who is pure, chaste, and undefiled; it is proved by the crown of martyrdom, which, as St. Thomas teaches, is one of the greatest graces, that God seldom gives unless to one who has already made himself worthy of it by many and great merits; it is proved by the angel who was always with her besides her ordinary angel guardian, whom she often saw and conversed and spoke with in a most friendly manner, as she herself says: " I have as the guardian of my body an angel of the Lord, who clothed me with this garment." And we read, too, in the history of her life that when, during prayer, she was dissolved in tears, an angel of the Lord appeared, raised her from the ground, and consoled her. Now the angels, those most pure spirits, cannot, according to St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, have friendly intercourse unless with souls that are as pure as themselves, with souls who lead an angelic life. And, finally, this is seen from the extraordinary favor and love of Our Lord for this virgin, who showed in a wonderful manner the great pleasure He had in the innocence and purity of Agnes, inasmuch as He espoused her as His dear est bride in her childhood, as she again confesses, in the words used by St. Ambrose in the history of her life: " He has espoused me with the ring of His fidelity; He has surrounded my right hand and my neck with precious stones; He has put in to my ears inestimable jewels; He has set a sign on my face, that I should allow of no other lover but Himself."
Of all animals sheep are those which allow themselves to be guarded, guided, and governed with the least trouble. If the shepherd makes a sign with horn or staff it is enough to gather them together, no matter how far they may have strayed; at the first signal, the first call they run together at once. If the shepherd goes in front, they follow him, without caring where he leads them, while the guardians of other animals have to labor and toil, to shout and scream, to throw stones and rain down blows before they can keep their flock in good order. This is what Our Lord exults in when speaking of His sheep: "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me " wherever I wish to bring them.
What trouble or labor did it cost Our Lord to bring Agnes to love and follow Him? As we know, He called Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles,, but had, as it were, to employ violence with him; for He first threw him down from his horse by a flash of lightning, and then spoke to him in a terrible voice. In the same manner He called the great St. Augustine, whose heart was afterwards changed into a burning furnace of divine love; but this was after. He had, so to speak, pursued Augustine for seventeen years, during which the holy mother of the latter was constantly sighing, weeping, and praying for her son. And in our days the Lord calls all men to His love; but how few there are who hear His voice and follow Him! How very few who follow at once when they hear His call! And still fewer are they who remain with Him constantly! What a great number there are who, in spite of the divine calls, run wild, and never come back to the true fold! Agnes, like a lamb, obeys the first sign of the Shepherd. When? At once, without delay. As soon as she began to know God by the first dawn of reason she at once commenced to love Him, and betrothed herself to Him alone; so she says herself: " He has guarded my body, which was consecrated and offered to Christ from my cradle. How did she love Christ? She loved Him alone, and no one except Him, as St. Ambrose tells us: " She found life because she loved no one but the Author of life." In what degree did she love Him? Of this again she herself is the best witness: Her parents sat day and night weeping at the grave of their dear little daughter; Agnes appeared to them, accompanied by a great number of other virgins; weep not, said she, on account of my death, but rather rejoice and congratulate me: " For I am now united to Him in heaven whom while on earth I loved with all the strength of my heart." How long did she so love Him? To her latest breath, till by martyrdom she offered herself as a holocaust to her Beloved. Thus, my dear brethren, you see in Agnes a true lamb of Christ; let us now consider her as a lamb in the midst of wolves.
Second Part.
There are two kinds of wolves: some, raging with hunger, openly fall upon the sheep and devour them, unless they are prevented by force from so doing; others attack the flock secretly and slyly, creeping up to it as if they were quite tame and harmless, to see if they may not carry off something by deceit and treachery. Such is the sense in which Our Lord speaks of those wolves that attack His beloved flock; and of the first ravening sort He says, by the apostle St. Peter: " Watch, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion goeth about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist ye strong in faith." Of the other sort He says, in the Gospel of St. Matthew: " Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
The innocent lamb Agnes was surrounded by both kinds of wolves during her life. The devil, a sworn enemy of chaste and pure hearts, cannot see, without the bitterest envy and rage, young, tender, and weak children in their first innocence and purity, and often does he succeed in carrying away a portion of their hearts. Yet he did not dare to tempt the young Agnes because he foresaw that he would only be put to shame by her, and knew well that she was protected by an angel much more powerful than he. So that he employed all his skill in urging on other wolves to take his place, and either clad in the clothing of sheep to endeavor to win her heart by flattery and craft, or else by open rage and violence to undermine her virtue.
Amongst the first was the son of the then chief magistrate of Rome, who followed her everywhere about the streets, and visited her constantly at her house, paying all sorts of compliments, making costly presents of rare jewels and pearls, and promising all the joys of the world; he left none of the allurements untried that a foolish love could invent to gain her heart; but all to no purpose. I told you last year how Agnes, that wisest of children, ridiculed all the attempts of this wolf, turned him away, appealing to her only Love in heaven. He went off crestfallen, and driven to despair; his angry father Symphronianus takes his part, and tries on another most vile plan with Agnes. After having in vain employed promises and threats, he caused her to be stripped of her clothing and brought to a house of ill fame, where she might be exposed defenceless to the rage of the most wicked. Oh, truly, a lamb among the wolves! But what had she to fear when she was protected by the Good Shepherd? The same God who clothes the sheep with wool covered Agnes in a miraculous manner with her own hair, and after, by means of His angels, with a snow-white garment; so that not an eye could see her without being at once dazzled by the splendor of her purity, and no one approach her without being illumined by the wonderful light that emanated from her, so that they who came near her abjured the false gods, adored the true God, and, as we read in her Life, came away from her purer than they were before. The magistrate's son alone, who ventured in his despair to treat her with disrespect, was strangled by the demon, and fell dead at her feet, but being recalled to life by the prayers of Agnes, he cried, out: " The God of the Christians is the only God! " Thus Agnes, in the midst of the wolves, not only escaped all harm, but even turned them into meek sheep of the fold of Christ.
Meanwhile there was not yet an end of the wolves. Others
cam forward, whetting their fangs against the lamb of Christ; those, namely, whom Christ has told us not to fear, since they can only hurt the body: "Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul." The idolatrous priests, and all the rest of the people, seeing the wonder, cried out: Away with the witch who has befooled the minds of the people! To the fire, to the stake with her! Hear how Agnes was frightened by these wolves. When the judge told her that she should either sacrifice to the gods or be put to a cruel death after having been violated, " Ha! ha!" said the undaunted child, "what a foolish man you are! What are you thinking of? I could not even bear to look at your son, so determined was I to remain true to Christ; although that son is a living man who can see and hear and walk. Do you think, then, that I shall renounce my God to bow the head and bend the knee to a senseless and lifeless image that cannot even move itself? Let your gods them selves grow angry with me; let them speak to me and command me to adore them; but that they cannot do. Miserable gods that they are, made of clay and copper, out of which you have made, much more to your advantage, pots and pans for the use of man; or else your gods are made of stone that you pave the streets with to keep down the dust and mud! And you think you can persuade me to adore them? Threaten me as you please; do with me what you will; I will adore and love only Him who can give eternal life after death."
Finally the threats were fulfilled. The judge, moved by the raising of his son from the dead, entered into himself, and went away quietly, so that Aspasius pronounced sentence. He caused a great fire to be kindled, and Agnes to be thrown into it alive. But the fire had more respect and reverence for innocence than men had; it flew out on all sides against the wicked men, while Agnes sat in the midst of it unhurt, lifting her folded hands to heaven, and her only cry was a joyful hymn in which she praised God and blessed Him: " Behold, my God, now I see what I have believed; now I have what I hoped for; I embrace what I desired. Behold, I come to Thee, the only true God." While intoning this song of joy, since the fire had become extinguished, Agnes was at last put to death by the sword. Thus, like the paschal lamb that God commanded the people in the Old Law to sacrifice to Him, Agnes, after having immolated her body by uncontaminated virginity, and having given her soul and life by the martyr's death to her beloved Spouse, came to the place in which she now follows the Lamb of God wherever He goes.
My dear brethren, Agnes was a true lamb of the fold; wo to us if we are not sheep of the same flock! Whether we have been so always, whether we are so now, is a question that each one must ask himself. The innocent lamb Agnes was never stained by any grievous sin; if we are sheep of Christ we must also be innocent. But, alas! what am I saying? In that case neither I nor many others belong to the fold of Christ! How often have I not lost my innocence by mortal sin! Can I then hope to have a place among the blessed ones of the flock? Eh! better is the opinion and the hope I have of the mercy and goodness of the Shepherd who ran over hill and dale to seek the lost sheep, and brought it back on His shoulders. If, then, I have erred I will return in humility; if my baptismal innocence is gone I will wash away my guilt by true contrition, and will in future guard most carefully against sin. Agnes was a pure and holy lamb; if we are sheep of Christ we must lead chaste lives; we must be chaste in heart and thought, chaste in eye and behavior, chaste in speech and conversation, chaste in our whole bodies and in all our senses. Agnes, a dutiful and obedient lamb, always folio wed the first sign given her by the Shepherd, whom alone she loved with all her strength, above all things, to the end; if we are sheep of Christ we must hear His voice, obey His will in all things with contentment, and never leave Him, whether He leads us through thistles and thorns, through the contradictions of this life, or through flowers and roses and temporal prosperity, which latter, however, He is not wont to do long with His sheep. If we are sheep of Christ we must, like St. Agnes, love Him above all things, with all our hearts, so that we are determined to lose everything in the world rather than forfeit His friend ship by sin. If we are not honestly so minded we do not belong to His fold. Oh, what great reason for repentance we have, my dear brethren, when we think of our past lives! How necessary for us to resolve to amend when we think of the future!
Agnes was a lamb among the wolves; if we belong to the flock of Christ we must not expect to be free from the attacks of the wolves, nay, for that very reason we shall be all the more exposed to them. The Wise Man gives us this warning: " Son, when thou comest to the service of God . . . prepare thy soul for temptation." Truly, we must do our best to live as piously as we can, and we must be on our guard as well as possible; yet in spite of all that there are too many wolves lying in wait for our souls, and trying with all their might to get possession of them. The devil never rests; he is always prowling about, seeing if he may not snatch up one of the sheep of Christ. The world puts for ward its false doctrine, and appeals to custom, according to which most people imagine they must order their lives; and even one man is often a danger and an occasion of fall to another. If we all went into a cloister, or hid ourselves in caves, still we should bring ourselves with us, and our own flesh is always obstinate and unwilling to submit as a servant to reason. What else are these enemies but ravening wolves that try to lead us away from God and heaven, to bring us into sin, to destroy our souls for ever, and to deliver us up to the fangs of the hellish wolf? But let us not lose heart; the same almighty, good God still lives who preserved the child Agnes unhurt in the midst of the fierce wolves; He can, with His powerful grace, protect us in the midst of temptations, no matter how great, how violent, how hideous they may be. He will never refuse to help us if only, like the holy virgin Agnes, we place in Him a childlike confidence, fly to Him by prayer, and remain true to Him by constant service. Let us all resolve to do this, my dear brethren, that, after having been here true sheep of Christ among the wolves, we may one day be elect sheep, and, with St. Agnes, rejoice forever in the company of the angels. Amen.