a certain sister brought up as her daughter
Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, chapter 5, §2 (standard Passion §15)
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity records a birth amid imprisonment. Felicity gave birth to a daughter, and the ancient narrator tells us that a Christian sister received the child and brought her up as her own daughter. This brief sentence places continuing care beside the account of martyrdom. Someone would have to love and provide for the little girl after her mother’s death. Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, chapter 5, §2 (standard Passion §15)
The caregiver is unnamed in this passage. We are not told her household’s history or the arrangements through which she received the child. The detail the narrator preserves is already substantial: she brought the girl up as her daughter. We can honor that act without supplying a name, an invented conversation or a legal procedure absent from the source. Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, chapter 5, §2 (standard Passion §15)
St. James places care for orphans and widows within his description of pure religion before God the Father. In the surrounding passage, hearing the word must become doing it. The sister’s care offers an ancient narrative example through which we can contemplate that command. James is the biblical foundation for the reflection, rather than independent evidence for her biography. James 1:27
St. John likewise asks what love means when someone sees a brother in need but withholds help. He calls Christians to love through deeds and truth. Raising a child makes the practical dimension especially clear: the account describes care that extended beyond a single moment of sympathy. Food, shelter and continuing attention belong to the ordinary needs of a child, though the text does not inventory what this sister supplied. 1 John 3:16–18
This account can direct a congregation’s attention toward children whose families need help. The response will depend on actual needs and responsible arrangements. What the witness gives us is the purpose: allow professed love to become continuing care. The unnamed sister’s place in the narrative reminds us that the Christian community’s fidelity can be carried by a person whose name the surviving story never records. Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, chapter 5, §2 (standard Passion §15)
For prayer, use the Lord’s Prayer given by Christ in Matthew 6:9–13.
Sources and edition notes
- Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Translated by R.E. Wallis. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0324.htm.
Scripture references link to these comparison editions: NKJV. Biblical passages are paraphrased. Biblical language within a patristic quotation follows the identified historical English translation.