Friends at Corut.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5, 1 February 1900, Page 7

Friends at Corut.

GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR.

(Written for the N.Z. Tablet.)

February 1, Sunday.— Fifth after Epiphany. Fe^t of St. Andrew Corsini, Bishop anil Confessor. ."). Monday.— St Agatha. Virgin and .Martyr. „ (>, Tuesday. — St. Hyacinth Mar scuui, \ iighi. 7. Wednesday.— St. Romauld. s, Thursday.— St. John ot Matha, (/onft'^or. „ it. Fuday. — St. Zozinius. Pope and Confessor. „ X), Ha-urday. — St. fcJchclu^tica, Viigin.

ST. AGATHA, VI ltd IN AND MARTYR.

The cities of Pakrmo aDd Catania in Sicily dispute the honour of being the binh-pLae of St. Agatha, but C.tania wai certainly the scene ot her mai t \ rdoin. There, too. her s-acred relics were deposits d and preserved with extraordinary ven< ration, bp'njj regarded as the rafeguard of th" u'ty against the terrible eraptioiih <>t Mo nt Etna which have oft"n t'breUened it- entire do-ti action. Horn of an illustrious and wealthy family, Agatha wa^ consecrated from her infancy to the service ot God. Like St. Acne-, she had chosen Christ for hi r spouse, ar.d consumed by the fire of Divine Love, despised the d.-oi'itful pleasures and einpU honours of the world. When the cruel persecution of Peeiir bioke out, a.d. 2">l. Agatha was appreherdtd at Catania by order of the chief magistrate. Quintianu*, v.ho. knowing the holy maiden to be both rich and beautiful. considered it a favourable opportunity to gratify both bis lust and avarii-e. Seeing herself in the hands of the p< r-ecutors, Agatha prayed thus t«i her h"a\enly i-pouse ■ Jesus Christ, Lord of all things, Thou scest my h-art, Thou knowe«t my desire. Possess. Thyself alone, all that, I am. lam Thy sheep : make me worthy to overcome the devil.' Thus did she continue to pray with many tears during her passage through the streets to the tribunal of the Pro-consul. The first attack made upon her by the wicked judge was directed by" : with a view to undermine her virtue. »For this purpose he delivered her into the hands of Aphrodisia, an abandoned woman who with her six daughters kept a house of ill-fame. Here the chaste virgin was exposed to grievous assaults, more terrible to her pure soul than death itsc If. But all the artifices of her enemies were defeated by the power of her Divine Spouse, to whom she committed herself with entire confidence. Never did she cease, during the four weeks that she remained in this den of infamy, to implore His protection with fervent prayers, accompanied with sighs and tear^. After thirty days had elapsed, Quintianus, who had been informed of her constancy, ordered her to be brought before his tribunal. Upon her arrival he began by exhorting her to renounce her faiih and sacrifice to idols. Among other things he reminded her of her noble biith and illustrious ancestry, to which she replied that to bj a servaut of Je-,u- Christ was true nobility and pjrfect liberty. Enraged at her resolute a'lswer.-^ the judge ordered her to be buffeted and lei bajk to prison. Upon the following day Agatha was again summoned before the judge, who exhorte 1 her to save her life by pro.npt submission To this she replied that Jesus Christ w..s her hf«- and her salvation. Quintiauus then ordered her to be Ptreti he 1 on the rack, a toiinent which was usually accompanied with stripes, the the tearing of the flesh with iron hooks, and the application of lighted torches to the most tender parts of the body. But all these tortuus had no affect upon the unlimited virgin, supported as she was by the invincible grace of Jesus, her Spouse. Having e\hau-ted all the inventions ot cruelty to no purpose. Quintianus oii'ered her to be again c inducted to pri-on, giving strict commands to the gaoler to allow her neither food for her bjdy nor salve or ointment for ht-r wound*. But Almighty God vouched to be Himself hot physician and suppoit, sending St. Peter to heal her wounds and comtort and encourage her in her combat. After an interval of four days Agatha was again summoned before the judge, who. nowise soltened by beholding her miraculous cure, ordeied her to be stripped ot her clothes and roiled to and fro over red-hot cjals mingled with broken potsherds. Being then carried back to piison, slie pr.iy< d?s tollows .l O Lord, my Creator, you have ever protected me fro:n my veiy cndli\ Y<m hive taken from me the love of the world, and given me pain nee to MiiFer. Receive now my soul.' With these *ords she calmly expired. St. Agatha enjoys the special henour or a ( mnmemoratio'i in the Canon of the Mas-, "where she heads 1 he glorious choir ot virgin martyrs. Lucy, Agnes, Cecily, and Anastas;a. ST. UIKIIV, rOl'NnttESS 01' 'I III! OKDKH 01' BKN'KOICTINK NUS\ St Scholastica, sister of Si . Benedict, was born of tfhistriousj parents at Nurcia, a city of Umbria in Italy, towards the close of the fifth century. Tne retirement of her brother Bern diet from the world and the death of her parents left Scholastica In ire^.s oi her father's wealth, with the prospect of every worldly hanpiue^s Guided by the secret in-pirations of God. Scholastica, after distributing her goods among the poor, followed her brother to Ci-mco. accompanied by a single handmaid, in order to be iormed by bis direction to the perfect practice of the maxims of the Go^ d. The fame of the sanctity ot Scho'a-tica and of the perfect m in nn- oi life followed by her and her companion excited the admiration oi the neighbouring inhabitants a, id »ooii attracted to them a number of fervent novice 0 . To afford accommodation for the newcomers it soon became necessary for Hcholastiea ti enlarge her humble dwelling, which gradually grew into a spacious convent, and became the mother-house ot the rising Order. St. Scholastica completed Ler happy course about a.d. si:>. her broMier, St. Benedict, causing her body to be conveyed to his own abbey and laid in the tomb which he had provided for himself.