Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity (203)
March 7

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10

In the year 203, two women named Perpetua and Felicity were martyred in the amphitheater at Carthage. Their crime was professing faith in Jesus Christ. Perpetua was a wealthy noblewoman, the mother of a young son; Felicity a humble slave girl, who gave birth to a daughter just a few days before her death. These women, so different in their circumstances, were united in their death. “They marched from their cells into the amphitheater, as if into heaven, with cheerful looks and graceful bearing,” wrote one of their contemporaries; “if they trembled it was for joy and not for fear.” The names of these heroic women were included in the first Eucharistic Prayer, called the Roman Canon, alongside the names of the apostles and doctors of the Church.

In Her Words

“Stand firm in faith, love one another, and do not be tempted to do anything wrong because of our sufferings.” St. Perpetua

Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary
March 19

Is he not the carpenter’s son? Matthew 13: 55

On this day, the Church gives honor to St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. We don’t know much about St. Joseph from the scriptures, but we know enough. We know that he listened to God’s voice, even when it told him something unheard of: that Mary, his betrothed wife, was with child by the Holy Spirit. We know that he was a “just” man, that he cared for his family with tender concern. And we know that he was a quiet man—he never speaks a word in the Gospels. But (as Shakespeare says) “silence is the perfectest herald of joy”: “this holy man possesses an inward joy, and joy surrounds him and engulfs him like an infinite abyss” (St. Bernardine of Siena).

The Angel’s Words to Joseph
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The Annunciation of the Lord
March 25

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

In this great feast, which takes place exactly nine months before Christmas, the Church celebrates the incarnation, when, at Mary’s “yes,” the eternal Word took on flesh in her womb. The early Church Fathers made the most of the contrasts of this “marvelous exchange.” St. Leo the Great wrote, “invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death.” This is a feast of holy paradoxes.

In Her Words
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1: 46-49)

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