Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Brief Background:

St. Agnes was a young Christian girl who lived in Rome around 291–304 AD, during the time of the Emperor Diocletian’s persecutions. Even as a teenager, she had vowed her life to Christ, and when she refused to marry and would not renounce her faith, she was arrested and chose martyrdom rather than deny the Lord. She is honored as a virgin and martyr and is the patron saint of young girls, purity, chastity, and victims of sexual assault.



REFLECTION:

Whenever I read this story from the Book of Samuel, one detail always catches my attention. David doesn’t take just one stone—he takes five. And I’ve often wondered: Why five? Why not three? Why not just one, since only one stone was needed to bring Goliath down?

That detail matters.

David knows he only needs one stone. And indeed, only one stone will be used. But he still takes five. Not because he doubts God, but because faith is not careless. David trusts the Lord completely, yet he also prepares. He brings what he has, what he knows, what he has used before. He does not walk into the battle with arrogance or presumption, but with humble confidence in God.

Those stones come from a stream—shaped, smoothed, and formed over time. Just like David himself. His faith was not built in a moment. It was formed in the hidden years, in quiet battles with lions and bears, in ordinary days of being faithful when no one was watching. Now, in front of Goliath, what is revealed is not just courage, but a history of trust.

The number five also reminds us of something very human: our five senses, our weakness, our limitations. God does not wait until we are perfect or powerful. He works with what is human, what is small, what is available. David does not defeat Goliath by becoming someone else. He defeats him by being who he is, and by letting God work through that.

Goliath comes with sword, spear, and armor. David comes with a sling, some stones, and something far greater: the name of the Lord. The real weapon in this story is not the stone. It is trust.

And that is the lesson for us. We all face giants—fear, discouragement, temptation, exhaustion, grief. We prepare, we plan, we gather our “stones.” But in the end, our confidence cannot rest in what we carry. It must rest in who goes with us.

Because the truth is simple: David carried five stones, but trusted in one God.

May we do the same.