   |
|
Handout #32 |
|
Felicity, martyred at Carthage in 203 A.D. |
| Felicity was a slave, who was a companion
to the noble lady Perpetua in her imprisonment and martyrdom. This passage
from the long account of their arrest and execution is often quoted; it
evokes the presence of Christ in those who die for their faith.
Felicity obtained great grace from the Lord. She was eight months pregnant at the time of her arrest. When the day of the games approached, she was saddened by the thought that they would put off her martyrdom because of her state, since the law prohibited the execution of pregnant women. She was also afraid that she would later have to shed her pure and spotless blood among a horde of criminals. Her companions in martyrdom were saddened by the thought of leaving such a good companion alone, a friend who was journeying with them towards the same hope. So three days before the games, all together in common supplication, they addressed their prayers to the Lord. Hardly had they ended their request than Felicity was racked with labor pains. By reasons of the natural difficulties of a delivery in the eighth month, she suffered much and groaned. One of the jailers said to her, 'If you groan like that now, what will you do when you are handed over to the wild animals which you have braved by refusing to sacrifice?' Felicity said to him, 'Now it is I who am suffering what I am suffering. But there another will be in me who will suffer for me, because it is for him that I shall be suffering.' Felicity brought a girl into the world, whom a Christian woman adopted as her child. |
