Sts. Perpetua and Felicity- March 7th
Have you ever noticed that the normal
trials of life are always worse when you have children? Back when
I was single, or newly married, getting sick wasn't so bad. To take a
day off of work and curl up with a good book, a cup of tea and a
touch of the flu was almost pleasant. But dealing with the same flu
when you have a newborn and a preschooler to manage, let alone a
flock of homeschoolers—it's horrible.
Or think about your car breaking down
on the highway. Never any fun under the best circumstances. But when
there's a two year old in a car seat and no more spare diapers, the
situation becomes a hundred times more desperate.
Sts. Felicity and Perpetua are the
patrons of Women in Bad Situations Complicated Further by Children.
Both were imprisoned and facing martyrdom. Normally not a pleasant
situation, but had they both been childless, it might not have been
so bad. They were in prison with four other devout Christian friends. They could all encourage one another, pray together, and help one another
to stay focused on their heavenly reward. But thanks to being
mothers, Felicity and Perpetua them had an additional problem. Perpetua had a
baby at staying at home with her extended family. And she was a nursing mother.
Any mother can imagine her misery: in pain from engorgement, probably a soaked, leaking mess, and worst of all, heartbroken
from the separation. Her family brought the baby for her to nurse
when they visited her each day, but that was hardly adequate.
Her friend, Felicity, had a different
kind of baby trouble. Felicity, you see, was a pregnant widow. She
was due pretty soon, but not soon enough. Romans, for all their
pagan cruelty, did have some feeling for the unborn. The rule was
that a condemned pregnant woman was not to be executed until after
giving birth. Felicity was sick with worry that her friends would
be martyred ahead of her. She was frightened at the idea of possibly
having to face death all alone.
We know the story has a happy ending
because Perpetua kept a diary in prison. It's a remarkable document.
“Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but then I obtained
permission for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and, being
relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my
health, and my prison suddenly became a palace to me and I would
rather have been there than anywhere else.”
Felicity's problem was solved as well.
The group prayed for her, and God granted her a slightly early
delivery. The baby was adopted immediately by a Christian couple, and
Felicity was able to face martyrdom with her friends, “rejoicing to
come from the midwife to the gladiator, to wash after her travail in
a second baptism.”
So, next time your find yourself
spending your own 24 hour virus lugging a bucket, mop, and basket of
soiled bedding as you struggle to care for other sick family
members—ask these two martyrs to help you get through it. They are
sure to understand.
The diary of St. Perpetua to which is added commetary from a Christian observer of their martyrdom, is a remarkable document. You can read it here. Excerpts from it appear in tomorrow's Office of Readings. Felicity and Perpetua are among the handful of women martyrs mentioned at Mass in the Roman canon. (First Eucharistic Prayer)
