IWD: #BalanceTheScales for Gender Equality
With International Women's Day celebrated last week, we are invited to consider the courageous women in our lives who model and challenge our commitment to the dignity and value of all people worldwide. On Saturday 7 March, we celebrated the feast day of Perpetua and Felicity, who are listed in the Eucharistic Prayer No. 1. May the example and intercession of Sts Perpetua and Felicity, and of those living ‘saints’ in our community, guide our thoughts, words and actions.
Sts Perpetua and Felicity (c. 182–203 CE) - 7th March
Perpetua and Felicity were early Christian martyrs who died in Carthage in 203 CE during the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus. Perpetua was a young noblewoman and new mother, while Felicity was an enslaved woman who was also pregnant at the time of their arrest. Both were imprisoned because they refused to renounce their Christian faith. While in prison, Perpetua recorded parts of her experience in what became known as The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, one of the earliest surviving writings by a Christian woman. Shortly before the day of execution, Felicity gave birth to a daughter. The two women remained steadfast in their faith and were eventually martyred in the arena. Their story has been remembered in the Christian tradition as a powerful witness to courage, faith, and solidarity across social divisions.
God, whose love and goodness gathers us in:
we pray for women all over the world,
especially those challenged by poverty and other injustices.
Stir us to know women’s dignity.
Quieten us so we can listen to women’s voices.
Awaken us to see women’s realities.
Strengthen us to stand for women’s rights.
Fill us with hope to make a better future together.
We make this prayer in God’s holy name.
Amen.
Prayer shared by Caritas Australia.
Image from https://www.catholic.org/saints