re: How much worse do you think Sodom and Gomorrah were than today’s world?

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The Bible does not mention to pray for the dead.

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But there is certainly this tradition of remembering the lives and bravery of the Saints. In everyway they were just like us - mothers, fathers, businessmen and women, young and old, rich and poor, marginalized, banished (like the ritually unclean woman with the bleeding affliction), the homeless, and people of every race and ethnicity.

With that I would urge you to read the Lives of the Saints. You will be inspired and your own faith will grow.

Today (March 6th) we remember the martyrdom of SS Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions. They were martyred during the reign of Roman Emperor Severus in the year 203 AD. Perpetua was a young mother with a baby - the wife of a man of good position. Her parents were well off, her father a pagan but indications are her mother was probably Christian.

She embraced Christianity and her story is an inspiration to all Christians. She was imprisoned and suffered terribly - the heat and crowded prison taking its toll on everyone. As a result she could not suckle her baby. Luckily through the actions of two deacons, who convinced the authorities to move her to more pleasant prison surroundings, she was able to suckle her baby. She faced a hearing even as her pagan father pleaded with her to renounce her Christianity - she refused and held fast to her Lord and Master.

She and her companions were marched to the market-place, where a large crowed had gathered, and questioned by the Judge Hilarian, procurator of the province. When Hilarian demanded she offer a sacrifice for the prosperity of the emperors, Perpetua replied,"NO". To which Hilarian asked,"Are you a Christian?" Perpetua answered,"Yes, I am." All this tense exchange occurred while her father pleaded with her to renounce her faith and pay homage to the emperors. So distraught and desperate to convince his daughter to turn away from her faith, Hilarian ordered him struck with a rod and pulled away from his daughter. Throughout this scene, and even though the scene so agonized her, Perpetua NEVER waivered from her Christian faith.

Ultimately, Perpetua and her companions were sentenced to be eaten by the lions in the Coliseum of Rome. The spectacle of their brutal death reserved for an exhibition for the soldiers in the camp on the festival of Geta. She never wavered in her faith and her love for her God.

Reflecting on the example of St.Perpetua's unwavering love for God, you may argue our prayers for the dead may not help them (I would argue they do) but I believe the intercessory prayers of the Saints in heaven, including Saint Perpetua, helps us. I include in that - the prayers of my own Saintly Mother.

St. Perpetua, Pray for us.