St Agnes — Small Faith, Great Courage

Today’s readings place before us a contrast that runs through all of Scripture:

the power of faith versus the fear of losing control.

It is a contrast lived perfectly by
Agnes of Rome,
a young girl whose courage still speaks clearly to the Church.

In the first reading, the odds are obvious.

Goliath is enormous, armed, experienced.
David is young, untrained, and unprotected.

By human standards, the contest is absurd.

But David understands something Goliath does not.

He says:

“You come against me with sword and spear,
but I come against you in the name of the Lord.”

David does not deny the danger.
He simply refuses to measure the situation without God.

Faith does not remove difficulty.
It reorders it.

What looks impossible
becomes possible
when God is trusted.

The Gospel shows a different kind of battle.

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath.

The miracle is undeniable.
The mercy is obvious.

But instead of rejoicing,
the Pharisees harden their hearts.

Mark tells us: “They watched Him to see if He would cure on the Sabbath.”

They are not seeking truth.
They are guarding authority.

Jesus exposes the real issue with one question:

“Is it lawful to do good or to do evil?”

They refuse to answer.

Silence becomes resistance.

David’s courage is loud and visible.

Agnes’ courage was quiet, interior, and just as costly.

She was very young — probably no more than twelve or thirteen.

She refused to renounce Christ
or accept a marriage that would deny her faith.

She had no army.
No weapon.
No protection.

But she knew whom she belonged to.

And like David, she trusted God more than fear.

Agnes did not fight an enemy with a sword.

She faced pressure, threats, and the demand to conform.

Her witness reminds us that martyrdom is not always dramatic.

Sometimes it is simply refusing to yield
when the world insists we compromise.

Agnes did not argue.
She did not negotiate.

She remained faithful.

And that fidelity changed the Church.

Placed together, today’s readings ask us something direct.

Where do we place our confidence?

In what looks strong —
approval, power, comfort?

Or in God —
even when faith makes us appear small?

The Pharisees feared losing control.
Agnes feared losing Christ.

Only one of those fears leads to life.

Jesus looks at the man with the withered hand
and calls him forward.

Faith always requires movement.

The hand is healed
because the man obeys.

David steps forward.
Agnes stands firm.
The man stretches out his hand.

Faith acts.

David trusted the Lord
and the giant fell.

Agnes trusted Christ
and death could not defeat her.

The Pharisees clung to control
and their hearts grew harder.

Today the Church places the choice before us.

Will we trust God
when faith makes us look small?

Or will we cling to what feels safe
and lose what truly matters?