Saint Who?
Saints Who Lost Loved Ones
Saint Perpetua
Martyr († 203) Feast: March 7
“I was upset, and knew that my brother was in suffering. But I trusted that my prayer would bring help.” Perpetua, a young noblewoman, was a catechumen and a nursing mother when she was arrested for being a Christian. She wrote an account of her experiences while in prison, which was finished after her death by one who had witnessed it.
In this journal, Perpetua recounted the anger of her father over her refusal to renounce her faith, her own suffering on account of her family, especially her little baby, and her relief when the baby was miraculously weaned. She also recorded a number of visions, one of which concerned a deceased relative.
During prayer, the name of Dinocrates, her little brother who had died at seven from a cancer on his face, came to her mind. In a vision she saw him in a gloomy place, his face dirty and wounded. He was thirsty but unable to reach the large fountain which stood nearby. “I made my prayer for my brother day and night,” Perpetua wrote, “groaning and weeping that he might be granted to me.” Soon she was given another vision. Dinocrates was healed and cleaned, and able to drink freely. “And when he was satisfied, he went away from the water to play joyously, after the manner of children.” Perpetua won the martyr’s crown in 203.
Beloved Father, through the prayers of Saint Perpetua, may we always remember to pray
for our departed loved ones.
