St Agatha — Strength That Does Not Compromise

Today’s readings place before us
a very clear question:

What kind of strength lasts?

Is it the strength of power, position, and control?

Or is it the strength that comes from fidelity and trust in God?

In the first reading from 1 Kings, David is dying.

He gathers Solomon and gives him final instructions.

These are not the words of a strategist.
They are the words of a man who has learned what matters.

“Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways.”

David does not say, “Be clever.”
He does not say, “Secure alliances.”
He does not say, “Protect your image.”

He says: be faithful.

David knows now what he did not always know earlier:
that kingship is sustained not by strength alone, but by obedience.

Only then does the kingdom endure.

David dies. Solomon reigns.

The passage reminds us
that authority passes,
but fidelity remains.

This prepares us
for the Gospel from Mark.

Jesus sends out the Twelve.

He gives them authority —
but strips them of security.

No bread.
No bag.
No money.

Only sandals,
a staff,
and trust.

They are sent not as controllers,
but as witnesses.

Their power is not in what they carry.
It is in whom they serve.

They preach repentance.
They cast out demons.
They anoint the sick.

And they accept rejection.

“If any place will not receive you…
shake off the dust.”

Faithfulness does not require success.
It requires obedience.

This brings us directly
to St Agatha,
whose feast we celebrate today.

Agatha was young.
She was consecrated to Christ.
And she refused to compromise.

When a powerful Roman official
sought to possess her,
she said no.

Not loudly.
Not violently.

But firmly.

Her refusal cost her everything.

She was imprisoned.
Tortured.
Killed.

Agatha did not resist with force.
She resisted with fidelity.

She had no army.
No influence.
No protection.

But she knew whom she belonged to.

That is why Agatha endures
as a witness to the Gospel.

She shows us
that strength is not dominance.

Strength is the courage
to remain faithful
when compromise would be easier.

Like David at the end of his life,
Agatha understood
that obedience to God
is what endures.

Like the apostles,
she went out with nothing
but faith.

She did not calculate the cost
and then decide.

She had already decided.

This is what makes St Agatha
so unsettling for every age.

She cannot be reduced
to admiration.

She demands imitation.

Her life asks us:

Where are we tempted to compromise?

Not always dramatically.
Often quietly.

In what we tolerate.
In what we excuse.
In what we avoid saying
or doing.

The Gospel today reminds us
that Jesus sends us out
not to be impressive,
but to be faithful.

David hands on a kingdom.
The apostles hand on the Gospel.
Agatha hands on her life.

Each trusts
that obedience is stronger than fear.

Today, we do not ask
for Agatha’s courage
in its most extreme form.

But we do ask
for her clarity.

To know who we belong to.
To travel light.
To rely on God rather than security.

May St Agatha intercede for us,
that we may keep the charge of the Lord,
go where we are sent,
and remain faithful —
whatever the cost.