A Tale of Two Mothers: St. Julietta & the Maccabean Matriarch

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In the Old Testament, we read the soul-piercing account of a Jewish mother in 2 Maccabees 7 who watched each of her seven sons suffer martyrdom rather than break God's law. She stood firm, encouraging each child to embrace death rather than betray the Lord — a mother whose heart broke but never wavered. Her heroic words:

“It was not I who gave you life and breath... Therefore, the Creator... will give you back both breath and life, since you now disregard yourselves for the sake of His law.” (2 Maccabees 7:22-23)

Centuries later, St. Julietta, a Christian widow during Diocletian’s brutal persecution, stood before a Roman governor with her 3-year-old son Quiricus. When the child cried out, “I am a Christian too!”, he was murdered before her eyes. Rather than despair, she praised God, knowing her son had earned a martyr’s crown — and she soon followed him in martyrdom.

Both mothers:

• Witnessed their children suffer and die for the faith.

• Encouraged holy courage rather than worldly survival.

• Believed in the resurrection and trusted God more than human threats.

• Prefigured the ultimate example of Mary at the foot of the Cross.

True motherhood is not merely biological — it is profoundly spiritual. As a parent, you’ve cooperated with God in the creation of a soul destined for eternity with Him. To be a parent is to shoulder the sacred responsibility of forming that soul to stand firm in holiness, no matter the cost.

Evangelization begins in the home.

Catechesis begins in your arms.

And often, the first lessons in courage are whispered from a mother’s embrace.

May we raise a generation like Quiricus… like the seven sons… like Christ.