Tuesday Reflection from Sr. Rosemary Finnegan, O.P.
Readings from: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030723.cfm
Isaiah has a way of keeping things simple. We heard Isaiah give us, with clear certainty, these instructions:
- Wash yourselves clean!
- Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
- Cease doing evil; learn to do good.
- Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
- Hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
And Jesus is also very clear in the gospel today about our role and responsibilities. He is the Master, and we are the students. We are learning from him, watching what he does, and striving to imitate his humility and service. What Jesus often said to the crowds was also direct and challenging:
- Love one another and your enemies
- Forgive one another
- Seek justice
- Be merciful and compassionate
- Do unto others and do not be afraid
Jesus didn’t fault the Pharisees for their zeal for the things of God, but rather for focusing too much on small matters of observance and not enough on God’s command to love and serve others.
Jesus is teaching not only the Pharisees, but us as well, that the key to the spiritual life is not the law, the food we eat, or the rules and regulations we follow. Rather, the key to spiritual life lies in the desires of our heart.
We see that desire so profoundly in the lives of our honored saints, Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs who died for the faith around the year 203.
St. Perpetua was a young, well-educated, noblewoman and mother of an infant son living in the city of Carthage in North Africa. Her mother was a Christian and her father was a pagan. Perpetua followed the example of her mother. Despite the pleas of her father to deny her faith in order to save her life, Perpetua did the very opposite, and fearlessly proclaimed her faith. At the age of 22, she was imprisoned. While there, Perpetua wrote about the circumstances leading up to their death in a diary that was later published as The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity – one of the earliest writings by a Christian woman. She continued to care for her infant child in prison and endured the tortures designed to make her renounce her faith. Perpetua remained steadfast until the end. She was beheaded publicly for her faith.
St. Felicity was a pregnant enslaved girl who was imprisoned with St. Perpetua. Little is known about the life of St. Felicity because, unlike Perpetua, she did not keep a diary of her life. After imprisonment and torture, Felicity was also condemned to die at the amphitheater by wild animals. Only a few days before her execution, Felicity gave birth to a daughter, who was secretly taken away to be cared for by some of the Faithful.
May we, like Perpetua and Felicity, continue to practice turning our hearts to God and fashioning them after the heart of Jesus.
