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The Christmas Cycle
the desert. “Thou hast given him length of days forever and ever.” At first the life of the
desert was hard and difficult; it required great sacrifice and heroic virtue; but its reward
was the possession of God and the revelation of His beauty. Anthony sacrificed all that
he might gain all. What he lost became his reward. Through his foolishness he gained
eternal wisdom.
“For he that will save his life, shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it.
For what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or
what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Mt 16:25 f.) “Then Jesus said to His disciples: If any
man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mt 16:24).
In the Mass today we surrender all things, following the example given us by St. Anthony. We
wish to be a complete holocaust to God. The more we offer now, the more we shall receive in return
at the time of Holy Communion. We shall enjoy, above all, the eternal communion in heaven.
Prayer
May the intercession of the blessed abbot Anthony, we beseech Thee, O Lord, commend us
unto Thee, that what we cannot have through our own merits, we may obtain through his
patronage. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
January 21, St. Agnes
Agnes, a mere child of thirteen years, when accused of being a Christian, repulsed all attempts
to make her unfaithful to Christ, and for her steadfastness she was beheaded. To earthly lovers
she cried out: “Away from me, for another has become my lover.”
Agnes’ loyalty to her lover, Christ, stirs our admiration. Christ is her world: she lives only to
contemplate Him, and she is loved by Him. “With His ring the Lord Jesus Christ has betrothed
Himself to me” (Antiphon at Vespers). “Honey and milk I have received from His mouth, and with
His blood He has reddened my cheeks.” 7 “When I love Him, I am chaste; when I touch Him, I am
clean; when I receive Him, I am a virgin” (Responsories at Matins). “In Him I have confidence;
to Him I surrender myself with perfect resignation” (Antiphon at Matins). Thus Agnes lives in
heavenly union with the divine bridegroom, not in a temporal union, not occupied with herself,
her health, or her beauty. Agnes knows only Christ and the wonderful works He has accomplished
in her. When she receives Holy Communion, she understands the treasure which she possesses
in her faith in Christ and in the Church, and this consciousness makes her strong and steadfast.
For the liturgy St. Agnes is a type of the Church. In this maiden the Church and the
Christian soul recognize themselves called to a loving union with Christ. Today we approach
the Holy Sacrifice with St. Agnes, leaving behind the things that in this godless world tend to
spoil us. We look upon all that is transitory and frivolous as “the food of death.” With Agnes we
have fixed our gaze on Christ, the heavenly bridegroom, who in Holy Communion daily gives
Himself to us and joins Himself with us, preparing us for our eternal home of love. We look at
7
In early Christian times the newly baptized received milk and honey immediately after
receiving Holy Communion. In former times the Christians also moistened their foreheads
and cheeks with the Eucharistic blood.
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