Breast Cakes

Appreciating the virginity and martyrdom of St. Agatha

02/05/2019

Luke 9:23-26 Jesus said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

I have a growing conviction that only by seeing the good can we be good. Furthermore, the more good we see the better we can be. What do I mean by “seeing more good”? Well, there are three levels of goodness, and not everyone sees or appreciates all three levels. The lowest level is physical goodness, like when someone is breath-takingly beautiful, like Farrah Fawcett. Everyone see that is good, especially men. Beauty is good stuff. The second level of goodness is the moral level, knowing and choosing right from wrong. This moral goodness is embodied in people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. This second level requires more effort to see the good and therefore to be good. The third level is the spiritually good, the good of faith, the love of God.

I am afraid this third and highest level of the good is slipping through our fingers like sand slips silently through an hour glass. We are becoming an increasingly atheistic culture and we do not really believe in the spiritually good. Because many modern Americans can only see the first two levels of the good - the physically good and the morally good - we limit how good we can be, and I would add, we limit how happy we can be. Goodness and happiness are two interchangeable terms, like two sides of the same coin. He or she who is the most good is likewise the person who is most happy.

Every year on February 5, we celebrate the feast of St. Agatha. By the way, the name “Agatha” comes from Greek and literally means “good.” I would suggest to you that this early Christian woman embodies all three levels of goodness and thereby she obtained the supreme happiness. As a young girl growing up in Sicily in the third century, she was strikingly beautiful, a lot more than Farrah Fawcett. She attracted the attention of a Roman prefect named Quintianus, who wanted to force her to marry him. But Agatha had already made a vow of virginity as a Christian and refused because she was already married to Christ. Quintianus tried to break her resolve by throwing her into a brothel so she would compromise her moral goodness. But she remained steadfast.

Finally, he had her thrown in prison and tortured. One of his more gruesome tortures was having her breasts cut off. Incidentally, Agatha is the patron saint of people with breast cancer, who often lose their own breasts. And a funny custom in many places is the making of small round cakes with a cherry on top to look like breasts and having them blessed by a priest. Man, only Catholics do stuff like that. But can you see the three levels of goodness at work in the life of St. Agatha: the physical goodness (her beauty), the moral goodness (her virtue and purity), and the spiritual goodness (her unwavering faith and love of God)? Because Agatha enjoyed all the levels of goodness, she likewise enjoyed the highest levels of happiness.

My friends, may I give you a little homework assignment today? In honor of St. Agatha, try to see something good in everyone you meet today. Not everyone may be at your level of goodness, but we all chase something that looks good so we can be happy. Try to find something good in a co-worker you don’t like or you think is lazy. Try to find something good in your spouse, with whom you argue and fight. I know it’s a lot easier to find their faults and failings, but try to discover something good instead. Try to find something good in the opposing political party you never vote for. And after you see the good in them – and there is always something good if you look hard enough – take the next brave step and tell them the good you see in them.

Recently a family invited me over for supper. As the dinner conversation continued it became clear to me the parents were worried about their grown daughter who was not going to Mass. They were hoping I would say something to convince her to go to Mass again. There was an agenda for the dinner. But I refrained from criticizing the young lady. Rather, I noticed that she had really good taste in decorating her room. She still had her Christmas tree up and beautifully decorated. I said, “Wow, you have really nice taste in décor, and I hope you will continue to develop that talent.” Her face lit up and she beamed, saying, “Thank you!” The following Sunday, unbeknownst to her parents, she came to Mass, sitting toward the back.

First, we must see the good. Second, the more good we can see, the more good we can be. And third, the more good we are, the happier we are. Just ask St. Agatha, and her little breast cakes.

Praised be Jesus Christ!