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Saints Perpetua and Felicitas, Martyrs
from the Liturgical Year, 1870

The real Feast of these two illustrious heroines of the Faith is to-morrow, which is the anniversary of their martyrdom and triumph; but the memory of the Angel of the Schools, St. Thomas of Aquin, shines so brightly on the seventh of March, that it almost eclipses the two glorious stars of Africa. In consequence of this, the Holy See allows certain Churches to anticipate their Feast, and keep it today. We take advantage of this permission, and at once offer to the Christian reader the glorious spectacle, of which Carthage was the scene, in the year 203. Nothing could give us a clearer idea of that spirit of the Gospel, according to which we are now studying to conform our whole life. Here are two women, two mothers; God asks great sacrifices from them; he asks them to give him their lives, nay, more than their lives; and they obey with that simplicity and devotedness which made Abraham merit to be the Father of Believers.

Their two names, as St. Augustine observes, are a presage of what awaits them in heaven: a perpetual felicity. The example they set of Christian fortitude, is, of itself, a victory, which secures to the true Faith, a triumph in the land of Africa. St. Cyprian will soon follow them, with his bold and eloquent appeal to the African Christians, inspiring them to die for their Faith: but his words, grand as they are, are less touching than the few pages written by the hand of the brave Perpetua, who, though only twenty-two years of age, relates, with all the self-possession of an angel, the trials she had to go through for God; and when she had to hurry off, to the amphitheatre, she puts her pen into another's hand, bidding him go on where she leaves off, and write the rest of the battle. As we read these charming pages, we seem to be in the company of the Martyrs; the power of divine grace, which could produce such heroism amidst a people demoralised by paganism, appears so great that even we grow courageous; and the very fact that the instruments employed by God for the destruction of the pagan world, were frequently women, we cannot help saying with St. John Chrysostom: "I feel an indescribable pleasure in reading the Acts of the Martyrs; but when the Martyr is a woman, my enthusiasm is doubled. For the frailer the instrument, the greater is the grace, the brighter the trophy, the grander the victory; and this, not because of her weakness, but because the devil is conquered by her, by whom he once couquered us. He conquered by a woman, and now a woman conquers him. She that was once his weapon, is now his destroyer, brave and invincible. That first one sinned, and died; this one died that she might not sin. Eve was flushed by a lying promise, and broke the law of God; our heroine disdained to live, when her living was to depend on her breaking her faith to Him who was her dearest Lord. What excuse, after this, for men, if they be soft and cowards? Can they hope for pardon, when women fought the holy battle with such brave, and manly, and generous hearts?"

The Lessons appointed to be read on the Feast of our two Saints, give us the principal incidents of their Martyrdom. The passage from the account written by Perpetua herself, which is quoted in these Lessons, will make some of our readers long to read the whole of what she has left us. They will find it in our first volume of the Acts of the Martyrs.

During the reign of the Emperor Severus, several Catechumens were apprehended at Carthage, in Africa. Among these were Revocatus and his fellow servant Felicitas, Saturninus and Secundulus, and Vivia Perpetua, a lady by birth and education, who was married to a man of wealth. Perpetua was about twenty-two years of age, and was suckling an infant. She has left us the following particulars of her martyrdom. "As soon as our persecutors had apprehended us, my father came to me, and, out of his great love for me, he tried to make me change my resolution. I said to him: 'Father, I cannot consent to call myself other than what I am,--a Christian. At these words he rushed at me, threatening to tear out my eyes. But he only struck me, and then he left me, when he found that the arguments suggested to him by the devil, were of no avail. A few days after this, we were baptised; and the Holy Ghost inspired me to look on this baptism as a preparation for bodily suffering. A few more days elapsed, and we were sent to prison. I was terrified, for I was not accustomed to such darkness. The report soon spread that we were to be brought to trial. My father left the city, for he was heartbroken, and he came to me, hoping to shake my purpose. These were his words to me: 'My child, have pity on my old age. Have pity on thy father, if I deserve to be called Father. Think of thy brothers, think of thy mother, think of thy son, who cannot live when thou art gone. Give up this mad purpose, or thou wilt bring misery upon thy family.' Whilst saying this, which he did out of love for me, he threw himself at my feet, and wept bitterly, and said he besought this of me, not as his child, but as his lady. I was moved to tears to see my aged parent in this grief, for I knew that he was the only one of my family that would not rejoice at my being a martyr. I tried to console him, and said: 'I will do whatsoever God shall ordain. Thou knowest that we belong to God, and not to ourselves.' He then left me, and was very sad.

"On the following day, as we were taking our repast, they came upon us suddenly, and summoned us to trial. We reached the forum. We were made to mount a platform. My companions were questioned, and they confessed the faith. My turn came next, and I immediately saw my father approaching towards me, holding my infant son. He drew me from the platform, and besought me, saying: 'Have pity on thy babe!' Hilarian, too, the governor, said to me: 'Have pity on thy aged father, have pity on thy babe! Offer up sacrifice for the Emperors.' I answered him: 'I cannot; I am a Christian.' Whereupon, he sentences all of us to be devoured by the wild beasts; and we, full of joy, return to our prison. But as I had hitherto always had my child with me in prison, and fed him at my breast, I immediately send word to my father, beseeching him to let him come to me. He refused; and from that moment, neither the babe asked for the breast, nor did I suffer inconvenience; for God thus willed it."

All this is taken from the written account left by the blessed Perpetua, and it brings us to the day before she was put to death. As regards Felicitas, she was in the eighth month of her pregnancy, when she was apprehended. The day of the public shows was near at hand, and the fear that her martyrdom would be deferred on account of her being with child, made her very sad. Her fellow-martyrs, too, felt much for her, for they could not bear the thought of seeing so worthy a companion disappointed in the hope, she had in common with themselves, of so soon reaching heaven.

Uniting, therefore, in prayer, they with tears besought God in her behalf. It was the last day but two before the public shows. No sooner was their prayer ended, than Felicitas was seized with pain. One of the gaolers, who overheard her moaning, cried out: 'If this pain seem to thee so great, what wilt thou dowhen thou art being devoured by the wild beasts, which thou pretendedst to heed not when thou wast told to offer sacrifice.' She answered: 'What I am suffering now, it is indeed I that suffer; but there, there will be another in me, who will suffer for me, because I shall be suffering for Him.' She was delivered of a daughter, and one of our sisters adopted the infant as her own.

The day of their victory dawned. They left their prison for the amphitheatre, cheerful, and with faces beaming with joy, as though they were going to heaven. They were excited, but it was from delight, not from fear. The last in the group was Perpetua. Her placid look, her noble gait, betrayed the Christian matron. She passed through the crowd and saw no one, for her beautiful eyes were fixed upon the ground. By her side was Felicitas, rejoicing that her safe delivery enabled her to encounter the wild beasts. The devil had prepared a savage cow for them. They were put into a net. Felicitas was brought forward the first. She was tossed into the air, and fell upon her back. Observing that one side of her dress was torn, she adjusted it, heedless of her pain, because thoughtful for modesty. Having recovered from the fall, she put up her hair which was disheveled by the shock, for it was not seemly that a martyr should win her palm and have the appearance of one distracted by grief. This done, she stood up. Seeing Felicitas much bruised by her fall, she went to her, and giving her her hand, she raised her from the ground. Both were now ready for a fresh attack; but the people were moved to pity, and the martyrs were led to the gate called Sana-Vivaria. There Perpetua, like one that is roused from sleep, awoke from the deep ecstacy of her spirit. She looked around her, and said to the astonished multitude: 'When will the cow attack us? They told her that it had already attacked them. She could not believe it, until her wounds and torn dress reminded her of what had happened. Then beckoning to her brother, and to a catechumen named Kusticus, she thus spoke to them. 'Be staunch in the faith, and love one another, and be not shocked at our sufferings.'

God soon took Secundulus from this world, for he died whilst he was in the prison. Saturninus and Revocatus were exposed first to a leopard, and then to a bear. Saturus was exposed to a boar, and then to a bear, which would not come out of its den; thus was he twice left uninjured : but at the close of the games, he was thrown to a leopard, which bit him so severely, that he was all covered with blood, and as he was taken from the amphitheatre, the people jeered at him for this second baptism, and said: 'Saved, washed! Saved, washed!' He was then carried off, dying as he was, to the appointed place, there to be despatched by the sword, with the rest. But the people demanded that they should be led back to the middle of the amphitheatre, that their eyes might feast on the sight, and watch the sword as it pierced them.

The Martyrs hearing their request, cheerfully stood up, and marched to the place where the people would have them go; but first they embraced one another, that the sacrifice of their martyrdom might be consummated with the solemn kiss of peace. All of them, without so much as a movement or a moan, received the swordman's blow, save only Saturus, who died from his previous wounds, and Perpetua, who was permitted to feel more than the rest. Her executioner was a novice in his work, and could not thrust his sword through her ribs: she slightly moaned, then took his right hand, and pointing his sword towards her throat, told him that that was the place to strike. Perhaps it was that such a woman could not be otherwise slain than by her own consent, for the unclean spirit feared her.


Prayer:

Perpetua! Felicitas! Oh! glorious and prophetic names, which come like two bright stars of March, pouring out upon us your rays of light and life! You are heard in the songs of the Angels; and we poor sinners, as we echo them on earth, are told to love and hope. You remind us of that brave woman, who, as the Scripture says, kept up the battle begun by men: The valiant men ceased: who will follow them? A Mother in Israel (Judges, v. 7). Glory be to that Almighty power, which loves to choose the weak things of the world that it may confound the strong (I. Cor. i. 27)! Glory to the Church of Africa, the daughter of the Church of Rome; and glory to the Church of Carthage, which had not then heard the preachings of her Cyprian, and yet could produce two such noble hearts!

As to thee, Perpetua, thou art held in veneration by the whole Christian world. Thy name is mentioned by God's Priests in the Holy Mass, and thus thy memory is associated with the Sacrifice of the Man God, for love of whom thou didst lay down thy life. And those pages written by thine own hand, how they reveal to us the generous character of thy soul! how they comment those words of the Canticle: Love is strong as death (Cant. viii. 6)! When the hard trial came of resisting a father, who wished thee to lay down the palm of martyrdom,--how bravely didst thou not triumph over thy filial affection, in order to save that which is due to our Father who is in heaven! Nay, when the hardest test came,--when the babe that fed at thy breast was taken from thee in thy prison,--even then thy love was strong enough for the sacrifice, as was Abraham's, when he had to immolate his Isaac.

Thy fellow-martyrs deserve our admiration; they are so grand in their courage; but thou, dear Saint, surpassest them all. Thy love makes thee more than brave in thy sufferings, it makes thee forget them. "Where wast thou," we would ask thee in the words of St. Augustine, "where wast thou, that thou didst not feel the goading of that furious beast, asking when it was to be, as though it had not been? Where wast thou? What didst thou see, that made thee see not this? On what wast thou feasting, that made thee dead to sense? What was the love that absorbed, what was the sight that distracted, what was the chalice that inebriated thee? And yet the ties of flesh were still holding thee,the claims of death were still upon thee, the corruptible body was still weighing thee down (Sermon for the Feast of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas)!" But our Lord had prepared thee for the final struggle, by asking sacrifice at thy hands. This made thy life wholly spiritual, and gave thy soul to dwell, by love, with Him, who had asked thee for all and received it; and thus living in union with Jesus, thy spirit was all but a stranger to the body it animated.

It was impatient to be wholly with its Sovereign Good. Thy eager hand directs the sword that is to set thee free; and as the executioner severs the last tie that holds thee, how voluntary was thy sacrifice, how hearty thy welcome of death! Truly, thou wast the Valiant, the Strong Woman (Prov. xxxi. 10), that conqueredst the wicked serpent! Thy greatness of soul has merited for thee a high place among the heroines of our holy Faith, and for sixteen hundred years thou hast been honoured by the enthusiastic devotion and love of the servants of God.

And thou, too, Felicitas! receive the homage of our veneration, for thou wast found worthy to be a fellow-martyr with Perpetua. Though she was a rich matron of Carthage, and thou a servant, yet Baptism and Martyrdom made you companions and sisters. The Lady and the Slave embraced, for Martyrdom made you equal; and as the spectators saw you hand in hand together, they must have felt, that there was a power in the Religion they persecuted, which would put an end to Slavery. The power and grace of Jesus triumphed in thee, as it did in Perpetua; and thus was fulfilled thy sublime answer to the pagan, who dared to jeer thee,--that when the hour of trial came, it would not be thou that wouldst suffer, but Christ, who would suffer in thee. Heaven is now the reward of thy sacrifice; well didst thou merit it. And that babe, that was born in thy prison, what a happy child to have for its mother a Martyr in heaven! How wouldst thou not bless both it and the mother who adopted it! Oh! what fitness, in such a soul as thine, for the Kingdom of God (St. Luke, ix. 62)! Not once looking back, but ever bravely speeding onwards to him that called thee. Thy felicity is perpetual in heaven; thy glory on earth shall never cease.

And now, dear Saints, Perpetua and Felicitas, intercede for us during this season of grace. Go, with your palms in your hands, to the throne of God, and beseech Him to pour down His mercy upon us. It is true, the days of paganism are gone by; and there are no persecutors clamouring for our blood. You, and countless other Martyrs, have won victory for Faith; and that Faith is now ours; we are Christians. But there is a second paganism, which has taken deep root among us. It is the source of that corruption which now pervades every rank of society, and its own two sources are indifference, which chills the heart, and sensuality, which induces cowardice. Holy Martyrs! pray for us that we may profit by the example of your virtues, and that the thought of your heroic devotedness may urge us to be courageous in the sacrifices which God claims at our hands. Pray, too, for the Churches which are now being established on that very spot of Africa, which was the scene of your glorious martyrdom: bless them, and obtain for them, by your powerful intercession, firmness of faith and purity of morals. Amen




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A Prayer to the Holy Martyrs to obtain their Protection

O ye blessed Martyrs of the heavenly kingdom! ye who sacrificed to the Almighty God the honors, the riches, and possessions of this life, and have received in return the unfading glory and never-ending joys of heaven! ye who are secure in the everlasting possession of the brilliant crown of glory which your sufferings have obtained! look with compassionate regards upon our wretched state in this valley of tears, where we groan in the uncertainty of what may be our eternal destiny. And from that divine Saviour, for whom you suffered so many torments, and who now repays you with so unspeakable glory, obtain for us that we may love him with all our heart, and receive in return the grace of perfect resignation under the trials of this life, fortitude under the temptations of the enemy, and perseverance to the end. May your powerful intercession obtain for us that we may one day in your blessed company sing the praises of the Eternal, and, even as you now do, face to face, enjoy the beatitude of His vision! Amen




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St. Gerasimus, Abbot and Sts. Felicitas and Perpetua, Martyrs
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877

On March 5th, in the year 475, the celebrated Abbot and hermit Gerasimus closed his earthly career. He was a native of Syria. His early years were devoted to the Divine service, for as a child he entered a monastery and passed many years in it, with the reputation of a Saint. Later, he repaired to a monastery on the banks of the Jordan, in the Holy Land. His virtue and sanctity induced the monks to choose him for their Abbot. Reluctantly he accepted the office, and discharged its duties to the spiritual benefit and satisfaction of his inferiors. He was a model of all virtues, and led the monks to perfection by example rather than by exhortation. In some respects he was admirable rather than imitable; for instance, during Lent he did not taste a morsel of food, his whole nourishment being the Blessed Eucharist. This was wonderful indeed.

He merited many special graces and favors by his holy life; and yet God, in His hidden designs, allowed Gerasimus to be led-astray by an Eutychian heretic, named Theodosius; for he embraced and tenaciously held a great error against the Faith. However, this was the result only of simplicity and inexperience. As soon as the holy Abbot Euthymius represented his error to him, he instantly submitted his judgment. He bewailed his sin long and bitterly, and humbly thanked Euthymius for bringing him back to the path of truth. From this moment the penitent Gerasimus redoubled his fervor in the service of God, striving to retrieve what he had neglected during his erroneous course. He continued this zealous mode of life until death transferred him to a better life.

The history of his life contains, as an undoubted fact, the following wonderful event: One day as, the Saint was walking along the banks of the Jordan, meditating on the Divine Mysteries, he was met by a lion, howling fearfully. The beast held up one of his paws, in which there was a long thorn, which caused the foot to swell and fester, and occasioned intense pain. When quite near the Abbot, the lion lifted his foot as if to show it to the holy man and to ask for relief. Gerasimus sat down, and tenderly taking hold of the injured limb, he extracted the thorn, cleansed the wound and bound a cloth around it, and bade the lion to depart in the name of God. The lion, however, would not leave his benefactor, but followed him like a dog. The Abbot considered this a proof of Divine Providence, in order to teach us gratitude to the Lord, our greatest benefactor. He therefore brought him to the monastery and supplied him daily with food. Later, a still more strange occurrence happened with regard to this same lion. The monastery possessed a beast of burden, which was accustomed to carry the water from the river to the monastery. Gerasimus had trained the lion to guard this animal while pasturing. One day a driver of camels was passing along, and noticing the ass, at a distance from the lion, secretly carried him away. When the Abbot saw the lion returning home alone, he thought the poor ass had been devoured by the lion. He therefore imposed upon him the task formerly performed by that animal, to which he patiently submitted. One day, when the thievish driver was leading some camels and other beasts of burden, laden with provisions, to Jerusalem, the lion espied his old companion, who had been stolen. He ran forward, and, seizing the bridle, led back the ass to the Abbot. His innocence being proved, he was released from the labor imposed on him. The lion was absent when St. Gerasimus died, and on his return sought his benefactor everywhere, but not finding him he howled piteously. The monks offered him his ordinary food, but he would not touch it, but continued searching and howling. At last one of the monks said to him: "Come, I will show you where our dear father lies buried." The lion followed, and on reaching the spot, the monk knelt down to pray for the dead. He said to the animal: "Look, here lies our holy Abbot, who fed you until now." The lion, as if he understood every word, sank down on the grave, and, howling, lowered his head to the ground and died.

The writer who related these occurrences heard them from the monks, and adds that God ordained these events to glorify his Saint and to instruct us. The lessons contained in them are obedience and gratitude to God for the many favors received from His bountiful hand; for if a brute showed such obedience and thankfulness for one favor received from a human being, what should not our conduct be? An irrational animal obeys man and is faithful to him; why should not man, endowed with reason, be faithful and obedient to an all-merciful God? A wild beast shows its gratitude for one small service. What is the reason that man does not return thanks for the numberless and immense benefits received from God? Is it not a shame that man should act more unreasonably than a brute?

I will now subjoin a short account of the holy martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas. They lived, during the reign of Septimus Severus and Antoninus, in Mauritania, a country of Africa. Both were married and remarkable for their holy lives. They were unexpectedly arrested and thrown into prison with four other Christians--Satirus, Saturninus, Revocatus, and Secundulus. St. Felicitas was soon to be a mother, whilst Perpetua was nursing an infant. They all prepared themselves by prayer for their approaching martyrdom, and besought the Lord for His powerful assistance. During the night, St. Perpetua beheld a golden ladder extending from the earth to the sky, but bristling with sharp knives and swords, so that it was almost impossible to mount it without injury. At the foot lay an enormous dragon, breathing fire, who obstructed the approach to the ladder. She also noticed that Satirus, her fellow-martyr, was safely mounting, though not without receiving some wounds, and when he had reached the summit was crying out, not to fear the dragon, but to advance boldly. She related her dream the next day, and all concluded that they would conquer heaven by martyrdom. This caused them great joy, and whilst thanking God, they incessantly begged of Him to assist them in their trials.

They were shortly afterwards brought before the judge, who commanded them to worship the idols or suffer the most cruel torments. They were not frightened, but showed themselves ready to undergo all for the love of Christ. As St. Felicitas was near her time, she was led back to prison, and her sentence was postponed until after her confinement. The judge employed promises and caresses, and even sent her grey-Headed father to St. Perpetua, in order to weaken her resolution, and bring her over to the service of the gods. The father did his utmost: falling at her feet, he conjured her to pity his grey hairs by obeying the imperial mandate. He took her babe, and holding it up before her, besought her to have mercy on this innocent being. She remained unshaken, and replied: "Dearest father, in everything else I owe you obedience, but in the present affair, I must obey God rather than you." When the judge saw that every effort was vain, he ordered Perpetua to be stripped and most cruelly scourged, and then to be cast again into a dungeon. The holy matron returned thanks to God for his support in this first trial, and begged for renewed constancy for the future tortures. The others also were arming, by prayer, for the storm, and asked the favor of not being separated from one another in their martyrdom. They petitioned the Lord to hasten the confinement of St. Felicitas, that she might belong to their band. Their prayers ,were heard, and St. Felicitas was safely delivered. During the throes of childbirth, the sufferings drew forth groans from her. On hearing them, the prison-keeper said: "If you cannot bear this pain, how will you be able to undergo the tortures of tomorrow?" She replied: "Today I am suffering, but tomorrow Christ will surfer in me and with me. Today nature struggles with natural pains, but tomorrow the grace of God will overcome all suffering and torments." The sequel proved the truth of her words.

The six martyrs were again brought before the judge, and as they steadfastly refused to deny Christ, he ordered them to be led naked through the streets, and then to be given a prey to the wild beasts. This order was fulfilled. The Saints, gladdened by the approach of their execution, sang, in a clear voice, the verses of the Psalmist: "The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the work of the hands of men; the gods of the Gentiles are devils, but the Lord made the heavens. They have mouths and speak not, they have ears and hear not, etc., etc." The judge, enraged at their singing, commanded it to be stopped by blows and cuffs. But it was in vain, for they continued praising God until they reached the place of their martyrdom. The wild beasts were let loose, and the two holy matrons, with St. Satirus, were torn to pieces; St. Saturninus and Revocatus perished by the sword; whilst Secundulus died in prison. The holy martyrs Felicitas and Perpetua are frequently mentioned in terms of praise by the Fathers of the Church.


Practical Consideration

I. St. Gerasimus takes no nourishment during the fast of Lent. The Lord does not exact the same of you. He only expects of you the faithful observance of the fast of Lent and the other prescribed days, according to the commands of his holy Church. This obligation binds you under the penalty of eternal damnation. Do not fancy yourself unable to comply with the fast; for what thousands before you have done you also will have the strength to perform. Do not believe heretics, when they assert that the Church has no authority to impose fasting. The Church is your mother and lawful spiritual superior, and therefore can enjoin what is necessary or advantageous for your salvation. Do not give ear to those who would persuade you that the violation of the fast is only a venial offence : because the precepts of the Church, say they, are only the laws of man. You commit grievous sins by breaking the laws made by man, as St. Paul teaches in his Epistle to the Romans. Besides, Christ Himself has commanded us to hear and obey the Church. Hence, when you transgress one of the precepts of the Church, you also offend against the Divine commands, which certainly is sinful. Obedience to the Church is obedience to God. "You know," says St. Paul, "what precepts I have given you . . . for he that despiseth these things, despiseth not man, but God, who also hath given His Holy Spirit in us" (Thess., chap, iv.). But what does such contempt of God deserve? Of what is it the sure mark? St. John gives the answer: "He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (I. John, iv.). The spirit of error, that is Satan, teaches us to disobey the Church, and reject her precepts, because they are the laws of man. Now, whoever is swayed by this spirit does not acknowledge God for his master--he is not of God: he belongs not to God, but to the devil, the spirit of error. Moreover, it is a sure mark of eternal damnation to disobey the precepts of the Church: "He that is not of God heareth us not."

II. The holy Perpetua and Felicitas led a most exemplary life, even in their childhood. St. Gerasimus dedicated his early years to the Almighty in a monastery, in the practice of the fear of the Lord, and of all virtues. How did you spend the years of youth? What was your I course of life? Reflect on the past. Have you not reason to cry out, with David: "The sins of my youth and I my ignorance do not remember" (Ps. xxiv.). Awaken in your heart, today and for the future, sincere contrition for the sins of your youth. Be sorry for your sloth in the Divine service, and ask pardon. Still this is not sufficient, but, like St. Gerasimus, who endeavored to satisfy for what he had neglected while in his heretical errors, do you strive to make amends for your negligence in the things of God. Serve the Lord more faithfully, be zealous in the performance of good works, and neglect nothing that may be conducive to your eternal welfare. Perhaps the end of your days is nigh, and then comes the night in which you are unable to work for salvation. A traveller who has tarried too long at some spot, when he perceives the approach of night, quickens his step to make up for the time lost and reach his destination. Imitate his example. Make haste on your road to heaven. Gain what you have lost. For a long time you have overlooked your sloth, or perhaps imagined that you might secure heaven, even in your negligence. But you will be terribly deceived. Remember the dream of St. Perpetua. The ladder reaching up to heaven is not covered with roses, but with knives and swords. Blood is the price of its ascent, that is to say, we must exert ourselves, and suffer, if we desire to be saved. Salvation is not obtained by quietly reposing and doing nothing. St. Perpetua and St. Felicitas mounted the ladder without being frightened at the dragon of hell, and the threats of cruel tortures. This was their way to heaven. If you wish to enter there, renew your fervor in the service of Jesus Christ, bear patiently the trials sent from above, and let there be no delay. Let us hasten, therefore, as St. Paul says, to enter into that rest.



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