Lenten Reflection: Meet/Salute The Seven Women Saints Named In The Eucharistic Prayer At Mass

March 8, 2024 Friday Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: Meet/Salute The Seven Women Saints Named In The Eucharistic Prayer At Mass

The early Christians were persecuted, throughout the Roman Empire. Seven Women Saints stand out and are often venerated during Mass.

"One day, however, I realized something incredible: In this long Eucharistic Prayer, several women are mentioned. Stunned, my thoughts crowded together. This prayer has been around since th" early days of the Church. For CENTURIES, in societies where women were looked down upon, Catholic priests have been mentioning specific women right after the Consecration!"' AnneMarie Miller. The Women of the Canon (and why they’re awesome)









In Day 187 of Father Mike Schmitz's CIY podcast titled Sacrificial Unity, he covers paragraphs 1369 to 1372 of the Catholic Catechism. The Catholic Catechism Part Two, paragraphs 1322 - 1419 covers the Celebration of the Christian Mystery


Originally the Roman Empire was polytheistic and emperors were deified. As Christianity spread through the empire, it came into ideological conflict with the imperial cult of ancient Rome. Pagan practices such as making sacrifices to the deified emperors or other gods were abhorrent to Christians as their beliefs prohibited idolatry. The state, the elites and other members of civic society punished Christians for treason, rumored crimes, illegal assembly, and for introducing an alien cult that led to Roman apostasy. The first, localized Neronian persecution occurred under Emperor Nero (r. 54–68
According to Tacitus, Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome in 64,  which destroyed portions of the city and economically devastated the Roman population.

During this period, anti-Christian activities were accusatory and not inquisitive. Christians were accused and prosecuted through a process termed cognitio extra ordinem. Trials and punishments varied greatly, and sentences ranged from acquittal to death. Many early Christians were jailed or exiled and some, refusing to renounce their faith, were tortured and killed in public stadiums for all to see.

The names of some of these saints, and specifically seven women are mentioned as part of the First Eucharistic Prayer of the
Mass known as the Roman Canon. The Canon of the Mass is the first of four general eucharistic prayers in the Roman Missal from which the priest may select. More commonly called Eucharistic Prayer 1, it is also known by its former title, “the Roman Canon,” and it served as the only eucharistic prayer in the Roman rite for more than a thousand years. Regarding mentioning the saints, the final seven names listed in the Roman Canon, each Eucharistic Prayer has its own characteristics. Before Pope John XXIII added St. Joseph, the Roman Canon traditionally listed 24 saints (12 apostles and 12 martyrs) in two separate groups.

The full list is:

First: Peter and Paul, Andrew, (James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude [apostles], Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, [5 Popes] Cyprian [bishop of Carthage], Lawrence [deacon], Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian [5 laymen]).

Second: John the Baptist, Stephen [deacon protomartyr], Matthias, Barnabas [apostles], (Ignatius [bishop of Antioch], Alexander [Pope], Marcellinus [priest, Peter [exorcist], Felicity, Perpetua [2 married laywomen of Carthage], Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia [4 virgins], Anastasia [laywoman of Sirmium]).


The final seven names listed in the Roman Canon (the “First Eucharistic Prayer” or “Eucharistic Prayer I”) are women saints of the Church. Sts. Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia are all saints of the Roman Empire in the early Church. Of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary is also mentioned by name in the Roman Canon;

Sts. Felicity and Perpetua

St. Felicity was the pregnant servant girl of St. Perpetua. They were both thrown to the lions in the Roman province of Carthage in Africa in the very early third century. A high-born noblewoman, Perpetua cared for her young infant while in prison. She was 22 years old at the time.

St. Felicity gave birth just days before her martyrdom. Despite the torrent of suffering at the end of their young lives, these women exuded the care of a mother’s heart. St. Perpetua and her servant St. Felicity were martyred by beheading for refusing to denounce Christ.

St. Agatha was a third-century Sicilian woman who was accused of being Christian and imprisoned. As a young girl, she was said to have chosen Jesus as her spouse. A martyr, St. Agatha finally gave up her spirit in prayer while being horrendously tortured.


St. Lucy, like St. Agatha, was a Sicilian noblewoman. She was blinded, and was also pulled by oxen, covered in pitch, resin, and hot oil, and then died by having her throat cut. She died along many other Christian martyrs under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

St. Agnes was the daughter of a wealthy Roman in the fourth century. She was a twelve-year-old girl whose name means “Lamb” in Latin. St. Jerome writes of her: “Agnes is praised in the literature and speech of all peoples, especially in the Churches, she who overcame both her age and the tyrant, and consecrated by her martyrdom to chastity.”

St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, married a pagan man named Valerian. Seeing her love of the Lord, her husband and his brother converted to Christianity. The pagan prefect of the city learned this and ordered that she be killed in her own home. She survived and was stabbed in the neck; according to legend, she lived for three more days building others up in the faith and asking that her home be converted into a church. Her husband and his brother also met the death of a martyr.

Anastasia, which in Greek means “to rise again” or “resurrection” was from Rome and was martyred in modern-day Serbia in 304 A.D. along with 270 other men and women. She was known to be a miraculous healer and an exorcist.






In Catholic Mom, AnneMarie Miller in her piece
"The Women of the Canon (and why they’re awesome)," writes:


"One day, however, I realized something incredible: In this long Eucharistic Prayer, several women are mentioned. Stunned, my thoughts crowded together. This prayer has been around since the early days of the Church. For CENTURIES, in societies where women were looked down upon, Catholic priests have been mentioning specific women right after the Consecration! As I think about these women of the early Church, I’m touched by what I can learn from them. First off, there’s the Blessed Virgin Mary. Next, there’s Felicity and Perpetua. Then, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, and Cecilia. Finally, there’s Anastasia. All of these women gave their lives completely to God. Mary said “yes” to becoming the mother of our Savior, and she continued offering this “yes” all throughout her life. The other women followed Mary’s example in their own lives of service to others and dedication to God. For example, before she was tortured and killed, St. Anastasia would visit and feed imprisoned Christians. Perpetua, while being imprisoned, cared for her young baby, and Felicity gave birth just before she was killed. Lucy, Agnes, Agatha, and Cecilia were all very young when they were martyred. All of these women were bold, courageous, and loving. Mothers and virgins, married and unmarried, they embodied sacrificial love in their lives. The eight women of the Roman Canon remind me that we all may have different lifestyles and vocations, but all of us are called to be holy in a radical way. St. Perpetua wrote an account of her imprisonment in 203 A.D., and after recounting a vision she had, makes a declaration that throbs with hope:

And I awoke; and I understood that I should fight, not with beasts but against the devil; but I knew that mine was the victory. (The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity)

As AnneMarie so aptly puts it: Let’s ask them to help us as we pursue God, and as we struggle to accept His will in an increasingly secular culture. Mary, Mother of God, pray for us! Sts. Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia, pray for us!

More Selected Lenten Reflections

Selected Lenten Reflections: Mother St. Joseph , Noblewoman sold it all



Selected Lent Reflections: 40 Hours of Devotion

March 7, 2024 Thursday of Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: 40 Hours Devotion

March 5, 2024 Tuesday of Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: 24 Hours for the Lord

Pope Francis will open the 11th edition of the "24 Hours For The Lord" Lenten initiative this Friday, March 8, at the Roman parish of San Pio V.

March 4, 2024 Monday of Third Week of Lent Selected Reflections: Eucharistic Miracle

Eucharistic Miracle findings presented March 4 1971: Dr. Linoli concluded the "miraculous flesh and blood," were of human origin. He presented his findings on March 4, 1971 and published in "Quaderni Sclavo di Diagnostica Clinica e di Laboratori" the same year.

March 4, 2024 Monday of Third week of Lent - Selected Reflections: See a need, fill a need, Myrtilla Miner

"If God allows me to live, I will devote my entire life to teaching slaves" - Myrtilla Miner

March 2, 2024, Third Saturday of Lent - Selected Reflections: The Power of Prayer, Padre Pio

February 29, 2024, Thursday, the Second Week in Lent - Selected Reflections: Leap for Joy!

The only Leap Year Pope is Pope Paul III, born on Italy on February 29, 1468

February 28, 2024, Wednesday the Second Week in Lent - Selected Reflections: Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican


When my neighbor fails to kill my family, then calls me to visit him in prison. What do I do?


February 26, 2024, Monday of the Second Week in Lent - Selected Reflections

"The only time our Lord asked the apostles for anything was the night He went into agony. Not for activity did he plead but for an hour of companionship." - Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

February 23 2024 Friday, First Week of Lent, Selected Lenten Reflections: Servant of God Julia Greely


February 22 2024 Thursday, First Week of Lent, Selected Lenten Reflections: Blessed Carlo Acutis Highway to Heaven
RELATED


Eucharistic Miracles of the World by Servant of God Carlo Acuti