I Have Chosen My Servant

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

By Beth DeCristofaro

Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” … Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.  (1 Samuel 16:7, 13)

Then (Jesus) said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.  That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”  (Mark 2:28)

Piety

I have chosen David, my servant;

with my holy oil I have anointed him.

  My hand will be with him;

my arm will make him strong.

  No enemy shall outwit him,

nor shall the wicked defeat him.

  I will crush his foes before him,

strike down those who hate him. …

  Forever I will maintain my mercy for him;

my covenant with him stands firm.

 (Psalm 89:21, 27)

Study

St. Agnes, chosen by God, witnessed to her faith and trust in God by refusing to worship the Roman Gods and even refusing a Roman husband who might well have been able to rescue her from martyrdom.  Her fidelity and courage moved even those who were vehement Christian haters.   I recently heard the story of an African American man who served 30+ years in prison, many of them in solitary confinement on death row, for the murder of two policemen.  If it were not the Deep South he might have been found guilty for a lesser crime because the two officers were Klansmen who threatened him, a mitigating circumstance which finally led to his release.  This man, however, always held hope that he would someday be freed.  He told an interviewer that he had been called to by God to help others even during his incarceration.  He bears no ill-will nor does he see himself as a victim.

In the Collect of today’s Mass we pray:  “Almighty ever-living God, who chooses what is weak in the world to confound the strong, mercifully grant, that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of your Martyr Saint Agnes, may follow her constancy in the faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”  May our constancy follow us in our moments of greatest weakness for it is our need that we experience God’s greatest strength.

Action

In a recent homily “Pope Francis invited the faithful to ask for the grace to be docile to the Word of God, a Word that ‘discerns the feelings and thoughts of the heart’.” (www.Zenit.org)   The church offers many opportunities to be chosen.  Tonight at 6:30 is Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for an end to abortion.  February 2-6 Catholics will gather to discern how to be a “poor church for the poor” at the Social Ministry Gathering.  This is the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  See the USCCB website for more information.