|
 On
the eve of the feast of the holy virgin and martyr Agnes, in the year 1205, a
daughter was born to the king of Bohemia, Primislaus Ottokar I. She also
received the name Agnes in baptism. Her mother, who was an aunt of St.
Elizabeth of Hungary, rejoiced when she noticed an admirable seriousness in
her infant. At times she saw how the child folded its little hands in the form
of a cross, and then, as if absorbed in deep devotion, would lie quite
still.
According to the custom of the time, the king's
daughter was betrothed at the age of three years to the son of the duke of
Silesia, and hence was sent to the Silesain convent at Trebnitz, where St.
Hedwig was superior at that time, to be educated there. Her betrothed died
after three years, and she was then taken to the convent at Doxan in Bohemia,
where the seeds of sanctity which had been sown by St. Hedwig budded forth in
marvelous bloom. The child appeared to be destined for the heavenly Spouse
rather than for an earthly one; but earthly monarchs renewed their suit for
her hand.
Emperor Frederick II desired to secure her as the
bride of his son and successor to the throne, Henry, and Agnes, who was now a
mature young woman, was sent to the court of the German emperor. But when the
union with Henry came to naught as the result of the prayers of the virgin,
King Henry III of England sought her hand in marriage, and finally, even
Emperor Frederick II himself, whose consort had meanwhile died. All the
opposition raised by Agnes, who desired to belong entirely to the Divine
Bridegroom, seemed in vain. Then she begged Pope Gregory IX to intervene, and
as a result she obtained her freedom. The emperor declared himself satisfied
since Agnes chose not a human being but the God of heaven in preference to
him.
Now, however, Agnes strove to embrace the religious
state in order to achieve her union with the Divine Bridegroom. The fame of
Poor Clare convents had reached Bohemia, and Agnes resolved, with the
assistance of her brother, who had meanwhile ascended the royal throne, to
establish a convent of Poor Clares in the capital city of Prague. Pope Gregory
cheerfully gave his consent, and, at his command, St. Clare sent five sisters
from the convent of St. Damian in Assisi, to Prague. Agnes and seven other
young women of the highest ranks of society entered the new convent together
with these sisters.
Within a short time Agnes distinguished herself
among them as a model of virtue; in fervor at prayer, in obedience, in
religious discipline, in self-denial, and in humility. The command of the pope
to accept the position of abbess was a great trial for her humility; however,
she obtained permission not to carry the title, but rather to be known as the
"senior sister." Holy zeal, similar to that of her holy mother St. Clare,
characterized her vigilance regarding the observance of holy poverty; she
declined the royal gifts sent to her by her brother, and would not tolerate
that any sister possess anything of a personal nature. God blessed her with
the gift of miracles; she recalled to life the deceased daughter of her
brother.
Enriched with heavenly merits, she departed from
this life in the odor of sanctity, to enter into eternal union with her Divine
Bridegroom, on March 6, 1282, having served Him for forty years in the
religious state. Devotion to her, which has existed since time immemorial,
received apostolic sanction from Pope Pius IX, and her feast, which has long
been celebrated in Prague on March 2nd, has been extended to the entire
Franciscan Order.
SPOUSE OF CHRIST
1. Consider how Blessed Agnes
treasured the honor of being chosen by Christ as His spouse. She rejected the
crowns of emperors, and kings, the emperor himself admitted that he could not
take it ill of her to prefer the King of heaven to himself. Indeed, there can
be no other honorable union, and every Christian family should consider itself
highly honored if one of its members is called to this distinction. One may
not, however, choose the vocation arbitrarily and from any human
considerations, for here the word of the Apostle is applicable: "Neither does
any man take the honor to himself, but he who is called by God as Aaron was"
(Heb 5:4). -- Let no one insist on following the vocation without being called
to it, and on the other hand, let no one who is called be prevented from
following it.
2. Consider that every Christian should, in a certain sense,
be a spouse of Christ. By the mouth of the prophet the Lord says to every soul
devoted to Him: "And I will betroth you to Me in faith" (Os 2:20), and
concerning heaven, to which every one of us is called. He speaks in terms of
the parable of the ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom (Matt
25:1). No matter in what state you are living, or what your associations are
with other people, your soul is a spouse of Christ ever since the day of your
baptism, and it must persevere until death in fidelity to Him. All the love
and attachment we feel for human beings must be idealized and ennobled by out
love for Christ, and at no time may human affections make us swerve in out
fidelity to Him. -- Have you persevered in your loyalty to Him?
3. Consider
how easily the glamor, the honors, and the riches of the world delude us and
shake our fidelity towards Christ. We are not all so strong as Blessed Agnes
was. Hence, we should be on guard, and not direct our glance to this alluring
glamor. Rather, we should pray with the Psalmist: "Turn away my eyes that they
may not behold vanity" (Ps 118:37), and if the devil endeavors to lure us, and
if he offers all the riches of this world as a reward for yielding to him,
then we should say with Christ: "Begone, Satan, for it is written, the Lord
you God shall you adore and Him only shall you serve" (Matt 4:10).
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
O God, who didst raise the
virgin, Blessed Agnes, to the heights of heaven through her contempt of the
pleasures of life at the royal court and her humble following of Thy cross,
grant, we beseech Thee, that by her intercession and imitation, we may merit
to be partakers of eternal glory. Who livest and reignest forever and ever.
Amen.
from:
The Franciscan Book
of Saints, ed. by
Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald
Press
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