Felicity (Felicitas) of Rome was blessed by God with seven sons. She was a rich widow, a devout Christian and a zealous missionary within her locality. Her virtuous life coupled with effective proselytization attracted many gentiles to the Church. This alarmed the pagan priests who took up the issue with the Roman Emperor, Antoninus. Felicity and her seven sons were summoned before Publius, the Roman Governor. When all inducements to sacrifice to the pagan gods failed, the Governor is reported to have shouted: “Unhappy woman, if you wish to die, die! But do not destroy your sons.” The response of the heroic mother was: “My sons will live for ever…if they die for their God.” The consequence was brutal martyrdom for every one. Like the mother of the Maccabees of the Old Testament, brave Felicity was forced to see her seven sons tortured and butchered before her very eyes and then finally she herself was beheaded in 165 AD
Reflection: The martyrs were neither fantasy figures nor superhuman heroes, rather they were mere mortals, who were made of flesh and blood, who shed real tears and who experienced physical pain and mental anguish like any one of us. It is faith in Jesus Christ that fortified them in their hours of tribulation. Their life challenges us to deepen our commitment to the Lord.
Give up your life willingly and prove yourself worthy of your brothers, so that by God’s mercy I may receive you back with them at the resurrection. (2 Macc.7: 29)
