Lent 2025 Day 4
Lent 2025 Day 4
Perpetua and Felicity, Early Church Martyrs
2 Timothy 4:6-8 | Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Perpetua and Felicity were two courageous women who gave their lives for Christ in the early 3rd century. Perpetua, a noblewoman, and Felicity, an enslaved woman, were imprisoned together in Carthage for refusing to renounce their faith. Though from different social classes, they were united in sisterhood by their love for Jesus and their unwavering commitment to the gospel.
In prison, Perpetua kept a diary, detailing her visions and deep trust in God. Felicity, heavily pregnant at the time of their imprisonment, gave birth just days before their execution. Despite the suffering they endured—separation from their families, brutal conditions, and the terror of death—they remained steadfast. Their final moments in the arena were marked not by fear, but by courage and faith, embracing martyrdom with peace, knowing they had “fought the good fight.”
The words of 2 Timothy 4:6-8 could have been written for them: they poured out their lives as an offering, finishing their race with endurance and faithfulness. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that every moment—whether joyful or sorrowful, full of life or shadowed by death—has its appointed time. Perpetua and Felicity understood this. They did not shrink back in fear but embraced their season with faith, knowing that death was not the end. Their story reminds us that faith is not about avoiding suffering but trusting in the One who carries us through it.
In modern theology, the relationship between Perpetua and Felicity has been queered—reexamined through a lens that sees in them a model of deep, intimate companionship that transcends traditional categories of friendship and family. Some scholars have argued that their devotion to one another mirrors what we might today recognize as queer kinship—a chosen family bound by love, solidarity, and shared struggle. Their story challenges rigid definitions of relationships, inviting us to see how deep spiritual love can exist outside the confines of heteronormative structures. Whether they were lovers or not is unknown, but their bond was radical: a noblewoman and an enslaved woman defying societal divisions, sharing suffering, and meeting death side by side in unwavering love and faith. Their witness reminds us that love—divine, transformative, and courageous—is always at the heart of our faith.
Lent calls us to reflect on our own journey of faith. While most of us will not be called to martyrdom, we are all invited to live with the same boldness and trust in Christ. In seasons of uncertainty, hardship, or loss, can we, like Perpetua and Felicity, stand firm in the faith, knowing that God holds our time in His hands?
Reflection:
Breath Prayer: Inhale: I trust in Your timing, O Lord… Exhale: …My life is in Your hands.
May the courage of Perpetua and Felicity remind us that faith is not about the length of our days but the depth of our trust in Christ.
Amen.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 | Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Perpetua and Felicity were two courageous women who gave their lives for Christ in the early 3rd century. Perpetua, a noblewoman, and Felicity, an enslaved woman, were imprisoned together in Carthage for refusing to renounce their faith. Though from different social classes, they were united in sisterhood by their love for Jesus and their unwavering commitment to the gospel.
In prison, Perpetua kept a diary, detailing her visions and deep trust in God. Felicity, heavily pregnant at the time of their imprisonment, gave birth just days before their execution. Despite the suffering they endured—separation from their families, brutal conditions, and the terror of death—they remained steadfast. Their final moments in the arena were marked not by fear, but by courage and faith, embracing martyrdom with peace, knowing they had “fought the good fight.”
The words of 2 Timothy 4:6-8 could have been written for them: they poured out their lives as an offering, finishing their race with endurance and faithfulness. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that every moment—whether joyful or sorrowful, full of life or shadowed by death—has its appointed time. Perpetua and Felicity understood this. They did not shrink back in fear but embraced their season with faith, knowing that death was not the end. Their story reminds us that faith is not about avoiding suffering but trusting in the One who carries us through it.
In modern theology, the relationship between Perpetua and Felicity has been queered—reexamined through a lens that sees in them a model of deep, intimate companionship that transcends traditional categories of friendship and family. Some scholars have argued that their devotion to one another mirrors what we might today recognize as queer kinship—a chosen family bound by love, solidarity, and shared struggle. Their story challenges rigid definitions of relationships, inviting us to see how deep spiritual love can exist outside the confines of heteronormative structures. Whether they were lovers or not is unknown, but their bond was radical: a noblewoman and an enslaved woman defying societal divisions, sharing suffering, and meeting death side by side in unwavering love and faith. Their witness reminds us that love—divine, transformative, and courageous—is always at the heart of our faith.
Lent calls us to reflect on our own journey of faith. While most of us will not be called to martyrdom, we are all invited to live with the same boldness and trust in Christ. In seasons of uncertainty, hardship, or loss, can we, like Perpetua and Felicity, stand firm in the faith, knowing that God holds our time in His hands?
Reflection:
- What does it mean to “fight the good fight” in your own faith journey?
- How can you trust God in the different seasons of your life, whether joyful or difficult?
- How does Perpetua and Felicity’s relationship challenge or expand your understanding of Christian kinship and love?
Breath Prayer: Inhale: I trust in Your timing, O Lord… Exhale: …My life is in Your hands.
May the courage of Perpetua and Felicity remind us that faith is not about the length of our days but the depth of our trust in Christ.
Amen.
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