"Feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity"
By Fr. Jacob Boddicker, SJ
Noble-born Perpetua, child at breast,
Taken first by Christ, then by jealous Rome
Who sought from Heaven her heart to wrest;
Bound was she in chains, taken from her home.
Too was brought Felicity, round with child,
And bore him ‘fore her own labor began,
From “blood to blood” down the wedding aisle
To the Spouse of Martyrs, the God-Made-Man.
Two sisters in Christ stood before the crowd,
Stripped, then robed to satisfy false dismay
Before they battled with a wild cow,
Their sex mocked; yet manly faith won the day.
Treading the Serpent’s head, spurning his hiss,
Rose they to Heaven’s perpetual bliss.
Painting: Perpetua refusing her father's pleas to deny Christ. Artist unknown.
