St Agnes as a prototype for our journey

 Celebration of St Agnes as a martyr of the church often only occurs when there is a building named for the saint. In this case the church in Glen Huntly celebrates this day as a reminder of the name and the dedication of the church. But for most St Agnes is perhaps only a footnote in the history of the saints and perhaps the diocese of Melbourne. Yet in a similar fashion to Jonah as well as all of those called by God, the forgotten saints and others, all have something to tell us about how we should be living. Just like Jonah (Jonah 1-2) many of us seem to have a reluctance to take up that call which is from God in our lives. Yet when we take up that call we manage to make a change in the community to which we have been sent as a martyr - witness (Jonah 3).

We rarely discuss this in our communities or even interrogate ourselves about the possibility of being called into a ministry by God. Often times we are given examples of a call from scripture which gives the understanding of either an epiphany or an immediate response from those in question. Take for example the disciples in Mark's gospel who hear the call and immediately leave everything to follow Christ (Mk. 1.16-20). With this as our model of discipleship or at least a call from Christ it is not that surprising that we are negligent with regards our own perceptions of God's call upon our lives and in neglecting our listening for that very thing. It appears to be too easy and it does not really resonate with our own state of being. If it was that simple surely more people would be lining up to fulfil God's purposes. The problem for us is that we are not fully embedded within a world view that regards the spiritual as something relatively commonplace. In fact that side of our lives has been obscured by the mundane and brutally specific requirements the modern mind has had instilled into its operation.

Is our faith outlook a brutal norm or the beauty of holiness?

In some respects it is awfully similar to the way our artistic endeavours have tended in the lived world of house and home. Have you noticed that most modern houses have a brutal exterior which does not really have any "soul" but rather a modern façade of utility. This then is what life as we perceive it around us would have us be. Blank slates of non-entity and so we miss the beauty that is present when the spiritual life calls, through God's call upon our lives. We are resistant to anything other than that which is in front of us and like Jonah we have a tendency to run away as far as possible often into the suburbia of our ordinary lives surrounded by the brutal aspects of modernity that we unconsciously accept. 

The saints are not always the best examples for us to follow considering that many of them ended up brutally murdered for their faith, including St Agnes. It is not so much their ending, though this needs to be understood, but rather their persistence in belief and living out that belief in the face of the world's cruelty. It is this aspect that we need to focus on as we tend not to be persistent with our faith but rather cower in the confines of our lives presenting the brutal face of modernity to outsiders while inwardly stating our true being of beauty. This is not what we are called into for we are called by God into the beauty of holiness to be a shining beacon in the world; a different architecture that glorifies love even if we have to undergo the trials of rejection (although not as severe as in the past).