|
I Am a Christian! Making connections—among parishioners and between the parishioners and their church—is important to Monsignor Robert Slipe of St. Peter the Apostle parish in River Edge, New Jersey. When the parish expanded their church, the pastor found documents saying that relics of St. Perpetua are in the church’s altar stone. St. Perpetua, a young wife and the mother of an infant son, was martyred in Carthage in the third century. She died because she would not give up her identity as a Christian, even though she understood the price she would pay—death by wild animals, viewed by cheering crowds in the amphitheater. Her name, coupled with that of her servant, Felicity, is familiar to many Catholics from the First Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass, which is said in some parishes on Sundays or on special feast days. Perpetua and Felicity are also named in the Litany of the Saints. But who were these women? It would seem there is little connection between their lives and the lives of contemporary Americans. Monsignor Slipe researched the life of St. Perpetua and found otherwise. She was a devoted mother to her son; she was a dutiful daughter until her aged father urged her to give up her faith. We have her story in great personal detail in a document, “The Passion of SS Perpetua and Felicity,” which is the oldest known writing of a Christian woman. Perpetua describes the persecutions she and other Christians endured, but she also tells of her personal torments as a mother until her son was allowed to remain with her in prison. Felicity, her servant, was pregnant when sent to prison; her baby was delivered there and adopted by a member of their local Christian community. Perpetua’s journal was finished by someone else—a witness to their deaths—who described not only the faith and courage of these two women but also their final kiss of peace. The story of St. Perpetua is not as remote from our lives as it would seem. Monsignor Slipe writes, “Perpetua and Felicity and their companions stand as wonderful models of faith for all of us at a time when it seems so hard to stand up for what we believe.” He also suggests that St. Perpetua can be a patron for expectant mothers, for young parents, and for grandparents “who pray for both the physical and spiritual health of their children and grandchildren.” Monsignor Slipe and pastoral associate Mary Bertani composed a prayer to St. Perpetua (click here). They then distributed to the parish a handsome fold-over card, approximately 4 inches by 5 inches (click here for photo), which contains a brief life of St. Perpetua and the prayer. The cover is a beautiful icon depicting Sts. Perpetua and Felicity embracing in a final kiss of peace. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The prayer card and the homily Monsignor Slipe has preached on the Sunday closest to March 7, St. Perpetua’s feast day, make important connections between the life of one saint and one contemporary Christian community. Click here for Suggestions on Making Connections to saints in your parish |