Those who
attend Mass on a daily or frequent basis are
rewarded by becoming familiar with the beauty of
the liturgical seasons and the celebrations of
saints throughout the year. Besides the beginning
of Lent this month on March 5, we Poor Clares will
celebrate the feast of St. Agnes of Prague on
March 2nd. Her life sounds like one of the fairy
tales we read in our youth and holds many
challenges for us during Lent.
Agnes, born in 1206, was a princess, the
daughter of Premislaus, king of what was then
Bohemia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia). Because
she was both beautiful and rich, along with being
the daughter of a king, she was much sought after
in marriage. However, she turned down all marriage
proposals, including one from Frederick II, the
emperor. Enamored by the stories told of Clare of
Assisi and her followers at San Damiano, Agnes
built a monastery in Prague for women who wanted
to follow Clare’s way of life. On Pentecost in
1234, Agnes received the habit in this monastery
and later became its abbess. Although Clare had
sent some of her sisters to guide Agnes and her
sisters, there was a close friendship established
between her and Clare through letters. Four of
these letters are still in existence and they tell
us a great deal about the spirituality of both of
these women.
Agnes was canonized by Pope John Paul II in
November, 1989 to become St. Agnes of Prague.
Devotion to Agnes had continued in secret even
through the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
Pope John Paul, in the canonization process, spoke
of her as "the light of dawn for the
liberation of the people of Czechoslovakia."
Agnes was indeed an advocate for people who were
caught in a political system that denied them
freedom of worship. Because she was a woman in the
thirteenth century, her father, King Premislaus
expected Agnes to marry into another royal family
to seal a political union advantageous to both her
own country and that of her spouse. It took great
courage for Agnes to refuse to bow to the wishes
of her father and her social milieu to devote her
life to prayer as a Poor Clare Nun. Just as in our
own day, few people turn aside from power and
wealth very easily.
On Wednesday, March 5, as we enter the
liturgical season of Lent, it may be profitable to
take time to examine our own priorities.
Surrounded as we are with material things, it is
sometimes difficult to realize what it is that
matters most in our lives. What is "the pearl
of great price" in our lives, the thing that
we pursue with all our heart and soul? In the
gospel parable that Jesus told, the man sold all
he had to preserve this "pearl" once he
had found it. This is what Agnes of Prague did for
the Kingdom of God. How many of us, in truth, are
willing to do the same?
Sister Maryalice Pierce, OSC
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