Perpetua, a young noble woman, along with her husband, infant son, and her slave, Felicity who was pregnant, were all arrested and condemned to death for their faith. They were only catechumens but were baptized in prison. Felicity gave birth prematurely three days before the execution. Both mothers were parted from their babies, flogged, exposed to wild beasts and then beheaded. The diary of Perpetua and accounts of some of the eye-witnesses give us a vivid picture of their sufferings.
I am just back after having spent part of Spring Break with a friend whose children rent a condo for her on the ocean. It was beautiful and I enjoyed being with her and just being away from the computer for a few days. Now to catch up! I was struck by the opening prayer for today's Liturgy:
"Father, our source of life,
you know our weakness.
May we reach out with joy
to grasp your hand
and walk more readily
in your ways.
We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever." Amen.
The first reading from the book of Wisdom is amazingly prophetic about Christ and what He would suffer.
No comments:
Post a Comment