ST. AGNES VIRGIN AND MARTYR 21ST JANUARY 2013

ST. AGNES VIRGIN & MARTYR 21^ST JANUARY 2013 BY IKECHUKWU OGUN P

The name AGNES means PURITY which implies VIRGIN, ALMA OR NUBILIS. Etymologically, AGNES - is of Greek origin, meaning pure or holy. Is a Latin form of the Greek name Hagnes, from the feminine form of hagnos. Latinized form of the Greek name ‘Αγνη (Hagne), derived from Greek ‘αγνος (hagnos) meaning chaste. Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin agnus - lamb, resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side.  Reflecting on the Spirituality of names and its influence of people bearing the name we see that the power connected in names brings out the deep spirituality therein. This is easily seen when the person that goes with such name have a strong moral cum spiritual virtue. It is the inner conviction of this spirituality that propels the outer manifestation of this virtue through strong faith in God,  who wishes that all should be holy hence He said, Esote vos perfecti sicut et Pater vester caelestis perfectus est – Be you perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect Matt. 5: 48. If the inner conviction is weak, the whole body acts contrary to this inner treasure of divine character and seal. Suffice it to not that being a virgin is implicitly and explicitly a form of martyrdom when you make a sincere effort to remain chaste. It is implicit when the desire and urge comes from your inner self, fighting against your outer nature, as written in Gal. 5: 16-27. The explicit martyrdom is the one that comes from your environment. The environment here implies all external forces (from your moral life and conduct and people’s advances to tempt you) that weighs you down to succumb to the urge and you lose your virginity as seen in Ezek. 23. Once virginity is talked about, very many people think that it is only referred to women. Men can as well be virgin and martyr. In the Church’s liturgical calendar of Hagiography, the Feast of the Passion (Beheading) of Saint John the Baptist commemorated on every 29^th August, is a typical feast of virgin and martyr because his martyrdom was as a result of fighting for virginity of which he was also one, and he met his death (cf. Mk. 6: 17-29; Mt. 14: 1-12) defending this virtue. Virginity is a virtue that brings out your integrity as a man and woman. Once you are a virgin and those around you knows about that, those among them that are not virgins feel uncomfortable at your presence and they make every move and plan to track you down as seen in the Sacred Scripture -  Circumveniamus ergo justum, quoniam inutilis est nobis, et contrarius est operibus nostris, et improperat nobis peccata legis, et diffamat in nos peccata disciplinæ nostræ. Promittit se scientiam Dei habere, et filium Dei se nominat. Factus est nobis in traductionem cogitationum nostrarum. Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum, quoniam dissimilis est aliis vita illius, et immutatæ sunt viæ ejus - Let us, therefore, lie in wait for the just, because he is not for our turn, and he is contrary to our doings, and upbraids us with transgressions of the law, and divulges against us the sins of our way of life. He boasts that he has the knowledge of God, and calls himself the son of God. He has become a censurer of our thoughts. He is grievous unto us, even to behold: for his life is not like other men's, and his ways are very different Wis. 2: 12-15. SS John the Baptist & Agnes Virgin & Martyr, pray for us.