Born into a rich and noble family, she was pursued by the prefect Quintianus, but she rejected his advances. He retaliated by having her persecuted for her Christian faith. When she was threatened because she did not acknowledge the pagan Roman gods, she responded:
"My courage and my thoughts are so firmly founded upon the first stone of Jesus Christ, that for no pain it may not be changed; your words are but wind, your promises are but rain, and your menaces are as rivers that pass, and how well that all these things hurtle at the fundament of my courage, yet for that it shall not move."
She was tortured by the cutting off of her breasts, and then, martyred. Before she died, her breasts were miraculously restored to her. Hence, St. Agatha is the patroness of women with breast cancer.
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| Icon of St. Agatha written by Charles Rohrbacher |
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| Icon prayer shrine of St. Agatha |
If any of you are interested in purchasing a print of St. Agatha, or a St. Agatha prayer shrine for someone you know living with breast cancer, let me know. 100% of the proceeds go to Team Perseverance, a local support organization for women with breast cancer.
Through the intercession of St. Agatha, virgin and martyr,
may God console, heal and deliver
all women with breast cancer.
St. Agatha, pray for us!
All these years and I didn't know that sufferers of Breast Cancer had a patroness. My mom was diagnosed twice (survived both times, praise God!), and my grandmother died from it. I may need this saint more than I could know right now.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this!
yes...she is a wonderful patron saint!
ReplyDeleteHello, my Dear! As a breast cancer survivor, this is such a good post for me to introduce meyself on! I've come to you from The "Grow Your Blog" party...it was over before I knew about it, but it was so nice of Vicki to leave the list up! Anyway, I always welcome new blogs to enjoy, and yours is delightful! I am now following you ~ please come and visit me if you get a chance!
ReplyDeleteSo nice to "meet" you!
Hugs,
Anne