[Rank]
S. Agnetis Virginis Martyris;;Duplex;;3.1;;vide C6b

[Rule]
vide C6b;
9 lectiones

[Capitulum Vespera]
!Sir 51:1-3
v. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my~
Saviour.I will give glory to thy name: for thou best been a helper and protector~
to me. And hast preserved my body from destruction
$Deo gratias

[Ant 1]
The blessed Agnes * stood in the midst of the fire, and stretched forth her~
hands, and prayed, saying O Father! Who Alone art Almighty! Who Alone art to be~
adored! Who Alone art to be worshipped! Who Alone art to be feared! I thank thee~
because that through thy Holy Son Thou hast delivered me from the threatenings~
of the godless tyrant, and hast made me to walk with clean feet over the filthy~
slough of fleshly sin and now, behold, I come unto thee, unto thee Whom I have~
loved, Whom I have sought, Whom I have ever desired.

[Oratio]
O Almighty and everlasting God, Who hast chosen the weak things of the world to~
confound the things which are mighty, mercifully grant unto us that we who keep~
the solemn feast of thy blessed Virgin and Martyr Agnes, may feel the power of~
her intercession with thee.
$Per Dominum

[Ant Matutinum]
I will none of thee, prey of death, for I am prevented by another Lover;;1
My right hand and my neck hath He clasped with precious stones, and put pearls beyond price in mine ears;;2
He hath sealed me in my forehead that I may let in no other lover but Him;;3
V. In thy comeliness and thy beauty.
R. Go forward, fare prosperously, and reign.
The Lord hath clothed me with a vesture of wrought gold, and adorned me with a necklace of great price;;4
I have sucked honey and milk out of His Mouth, and His Blood is red on my cheeks;;5
I keep my troth to Him alone, and commit me altogether to Him;;8
V. God shall help her with his strength
R. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.
I keep my troth to Him Alone, at Whose beauty the sun and the moon do wonder;;14
Christ hath crowned me with the bright and priceless blossoms of the eternal spring-time;;44
I am wedded to the Lord of Angels, at Whose beauty the sun and the moon do wonder;;45
V. God hath chosen her and fore-chosen her.
R. He hath made her to dwell in His tabernacle.

[Lectio1]
Lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus
!Sir 51:1-7
1 A PRAYER of Jesus the son of Sirach. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King,~
and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour.
2 I will give glory to thy name: for thou best been a helper and protector to~
me.
3 And hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an unjust~
tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies, and in the sight of them that~
stood by, thou hast been my helper.
4 And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy of thy~
name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour.
5 Out of the hands of them that sought my life, and from the gates of~
afflictions, which compassed me about:
6 From the oppression of the flame which surrounded me, and in the midst of the~
fire I was not burnt.
7 From the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue, and from~
lying words, from an unjust king, and from a slanderous tongue:

[Responsory1]
R. Let us keep with joy and gladness the feast of this most saintly maiden, let~
us call to mind the holy passion of the blessed Agnes in her thirteenth year she~
conquered, losing death and finding life
* Because she loved the Only Giver of Life.
V. Reckoned but a child in this world, she understood more than the ancients.
R. Because she loved the Only Giver of Life.

[Lectio2]
!Sir 51:8-12
8 My soul shall praise the Lord even to death.
9 And my life was drawing near to hell beneath.
10 They compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would help me. I~
looked for the succour of men, and there was none.
11 I remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy works, which are from the beginning~
of the world.
12 How thou deliverest them that wait for thee, O Lord, and savest them out of~
the hands of the nations.

[Responsory2]
R. My right hand and my neck hath He clasped with precious stones, and put~
pearls beyond price in mine ears,
* And hath crowned me with the bright blossoms of the eternal spring-time.
V. He hath sealed me in my forehead, that I may let in no other lover but Him.
R. And hath crowned me with the bright blossoms of the eternal spring-time.

[Lectio3]
!Sir 51:13-17
13 Thou hast exalted my dwelling place upon the earth and I have prayed for~
death to pass away.
14 I called upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he would not leave me in~
the day of my trouble, and in the time of the proud without help.
15 I will praise thy name continually, and will praise it with thanksgiving, and~
my prayer was heard.
16 And thou hast saved me from destruction, and hast delivered me from the evil~
time.
17 Therefore I will give thanks, and praise thee, and bless the name of the~
Lord.

[Responsory3]
R. Christ is my Lover, and I am entering with Him into the marriagechamber. His~
Mother is a Virgin, and His Father knoweth not a woman. The instruments of His~
music sound sweetly together in my ears.
* If I love Him I shall be chaste, if I touch Him I shall be clean, if I embrace~
Him I shall be a virgin indeed.
V. He hath espoused me with a betrothal ring, and adorned me with a necklace of~
great price.
R. If I love Him I shall be chaste, if I touch Him I shall be clean, if I~
embrace Him I shall be a virgin indeed.
&Gloria
R. If I love Him, I shall be chaste, if I touch Him I shall be clean, if I~
embrace Him I shall be a virgin indeed.

[Lectio4]
From the Book of St Ambrose, Bishop (of Milan,) on Virgins.
!Bk. i. Chap. 2.
This is a virgin's birthday; let us then follow the example of her chastity. It~
is a Martyr's birthday; let us then offer sacrifices. It is the birthday of the~
holy Agnes; let men then be filled with wonder, little ones with hope, married~
women with awe, and the unmarried with emulation. But how shall I set forth the~
glory of her whose very name is an utterance of praise? It seemeth to me that~
this being, holy beyond her years, and strong beyond human nature, received the~
name of Agnes, not as an earthly designation, but as a revelation from God of~
what she was to be. For this name Agnes is from the Greek, and being interpreted,~
signifieth Pure. So that this saintly maiden is known by the very title of~
Chastity and when I have added thereto the word Martyr, I have said enough. She~
needeth not the praise which we could utter, but do not. None is more~
praiseworthy than she for whose praise all mouths are fitted. As many as name~
her, so many praise her, by the noble title of martyr.

[Lectio5]
We learn by tradition that this holy martyr testified in the thirteenth year of~
her age. We will pass by the foul cruelty which did not spare her tender years,~
to contemplate the great power of her faith, whereby she overcame the weakness~
of childhood, and witnessed a good confession. Her little body was hardly big~
enough to give play to the instruments of their cruelty, but if they could~
scarce sheathe their swords in her slight frame, they found in her that which~
laughed the power of the sword to scorn. She had no fear when she found herself~
grasped by the bloody hands of the executioners. She was unmoved when they~
dragged her with clanging chains. Hardly entered on life, she stood fully~
prepared to die. She quailed not when the weapons of the angry soldiery were~
pointed at her breast. If they forced her against her will to approach the~
altars of devils, she could stretch forth her hands to Christ amid the very~
flames which consumed the idolatrous offerings, and mark on the heathen shrine~
the victorious Cross of the Lord. She was ready to submit her neck and hands to~
the iron shackles, but they were too big to clasp her slender limbs. Behold a~
strange martyr! She is not grown of stature to fight the battle, but she is ripe~
for the triumph; too weak to run in the race, and yet clearly entitled to the~
prize; unable from her age to be aught but a learner, she is found a teacher.

[Lectio6]
She went to the place of execution a virgin, with more willing and joyful~
footsteps than she would have gone with to the nuptial chamber as a bride. The~
spectators were all in tears, and she alone did not weep. They beheld her with~
wonder, laying down that life of which she had hardly begun to taste the sweets,~
as freely as though she had drained it to the dregs and was weary of its burden.~
All men were amazed when they saw her whose years had not made her her own~
mistress, arise as a witness for the Deity. Consider how many threats her~
murderer used to excite her fears, how many arguments to shake her resolution,~
how many promises to bribe her to accept his offers of marriage. But she~
answered him It is an insult to Him Whom I have wedded to expect me to comply.~
He That first chose me, His will I be. Headsman, why waitest thou? Perish the~
body which draweth the admiration of eyes from which I would turn away. She~
stood, prayed, and then bent her neck for the stroke. Now mightest thou have~
seen the murderer trembling as though he himself were the criminal, the~
executioner's hand shake, and the faces of them that stood by turn white at the~
sight of her position, and all the while herself remain without fear. This one~
victim brought God a double offering, that of her purity, and that of her faith.~
She preserved virginity and achieved martyrdom.

[Responsory7]
R. I am wedded to the Lord of Angels, at Whose beauty the sun and the moon do~
wonder.
* I keep my troth to Him alone, and commit me altogether to Him.
V. My right hand and my neck hath He clasped with precious stones, and put~
pearls beyond price in mine ears.
R. I keep my troth to Him alone, and commit me altogether to Him.

[Responsory8]
R. O Thou Who Alone art Almighty! Who Alone art to be adored! Who Alone art to~
be worshipped! Who Alone art to be feared! I bless thee,
* Because that through thine Only-begotten Son Thou hast delivered me from the~
threatenings of wicked men, and hast made me to walk with clean feet through the~
filthy haunts of devils.
V. My lips praise thee, my heart and all that is within me do long after thee.
R. Because that through thine Only-begotten Son Thou hast delivered me from the~
threatenings of wicked men, and hast made me to walk with clean feet through the~
filthy haunts of devils.
&Gloria
R. Because that through thine Only-begotten Son Thou hast delivered me from the~
threatenings of wicked men, and hast made me to walk with clean feet through the~
filthy haunts of devils.

[Ant Laudes]
Agnes entered * the place of shame, and found the Angel of the Lord ready
For I have with me * an Angel of the Lord to keep my body
My Lord Jesus Christ hath espoused me with His ring, * and hath set on my head a crown as the crown of a bride
I bless thee, O Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because through thy Son the fire is quenched around me
Rejoice with me * and make merry, because I also have received a throne in light among all these

[Capitulum Laudes]
!Sir 51:1-3
v. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my~
Saviour.I will give glory to thy name: for thou best been a helper and protector~
to me. And hast preserved my body from destruction
$Deo gratias

[Ant 2]
Behold, now I see that * which I have desired; now I possess that for which I~
have hoped now am I united in heaven to Him Whom I loved with my whole heart~
upon earth.

[Capitulum Tertia]
!Sir 51:1-3
v. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my~
Saviour.I will give glory to thy name: for thou best been a helper and protector~
to me. And hast preserved my body from destruction
$Deo gratias

[Capitulum Sexta]
!Sir 51:4-5
v. And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy of thy~
name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour.Out of the hands of them that~
sought my life, and from the gates of afflictions, which compassed me about:
$Deo gratias

[Capitulum Nona]
!Sir 51:8; 51:12
v. My soul shall praise the Lord even to death. How thou deliverest them that~
wait for thee, O Lord, and savest them out of the hands of the nations.
$Deo gratias

[Ant 3]
The blessed Agnes stood in the midst of the fire * and stretched forth her hands~
unto the Lord, and prayed, saying O Thou Who Alone art Almighty! Who Alone art~
to be adored! Who Alone art to be worshipped! Who Alone art to be feared! I~
bless thee, and glorify thy Name for ever and ever!

[Ant Vespera 3]
Agnes entered * the place of shame, and found the Angel of the Lord ready;;109
For I have with me * an Angel of the Lord to keep my body;;110
My Lord Jesus Christ hath espoused me with His ring, * and hath set on my head a crown as the crown of a bride;;111
I bless thee, O Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because through thy Son the fire is quenched around me;;112
Rejoice with me * and make merry, because I also have received a throne in light among all these;;147

[Lectio94]
From the book of St. Ambrose, Bishop, on Virgins
!Book I near the beginning
Today is the birthday of a Virgin; let us imitate her virginal innocence. It is~
the birthday of a Martyr; let us also bring sacrifice. It is the birthday of St.~
Agnes; let men look up in admiration and children not be disheartened. You~
married, be filled with wonder; .you unmarried, follow in her footsteps. But~
where shall we find words of adequate praise, since her very name bespeaks her~
glory and renown? In her we see a devotion that far surpasses her age. a virtue~
that exceeds all Power of nature. Hence, it seems to me that she had not merely a~
human name, but, prophetically, she *'as given the name of a Martyr to indicate~
beforehand what she was to be. The name of our Virgin to a guarantee of her~
Purity. If I call her Martyr, already I have Praised enough. For, that is great~
Praise indeed. which one does not need to seek but is freely given by others. No~
one can be more praised than one who is praised by all. As many men, so many~
encomiums. They have only to mention her name to praise he as a Martyr.~
According to tradition, it was in her thirteenth year that she suffered~
martyrdom. How despicable the cruelty that sparred not even this tender age! But~
how great the power of faith that found even that age its witness
&teDeum
