Here is a story of a courageous woman and her seven sons who fought to the death against a government law that compelled them to act against their conscience.

Shortly before the revolt of Judas Maccabeus, Antiochus IV Epiphanes arrested a mother and her seven sons, and tried to force them to eat swine flesh. When they refused, he tortured and killed the sons one by one. One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, “What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers.”

The king fell into a rage, and gave orders that pans and caldrons be heated. These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers…

One day, a little girl whose name was Agnes was coming home from school and a boy met her and asked her for sex. He promised, if she consented, to give her valuable jewels. But Agnes at once rejected the temptation, and told him to go away, for she would never consent to offend her God for anything that the world could give her.

The young man was angry. He later discovered that Agnes was a Christian.This was the year 200 when Christians were considered Criminals in Rome. The young man was determined to make Agnes yield to his wishes, or to accuse her to the pagan judge as belonging to that faith, and so she would be put to death.

When he told her what he intended to do, Agnes boldly answered, ” Never will I consent to offend my God by sin, and joyfully will I suffer the…