Two of the seven female martyrs whose names are in the Roman Canon (First Eucharistic Prayer), Ss Felicity and Perpetua, grace this coming Monday, March 6 in the traditional calendar and March 7 in the newer.
In the 3rd century there was widespread corruption and decadence in the ruling Roman aristocracy. Persians were menacing the eastern borders. Germanic barbarians pressed on the north. The economy was a disaster. From the pagan point of view, something had upset the proper order of society and the relationship of the state with the gods, the pax deorum. A new religion was taking hold in great numbers. Sporadic and sometimes savage persecutions of Christians flared up. The aim was to cut down the leaders of the troublemaking Christian sect. The result, however, was that the Church grew stronger through the blood of martyrs (from the Greek word for “witness”).
