Oct 14 – Memorial for St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr
St. Callistus (d. 223) was born a slave, owned by Carpophorus, a Christian in the household of Caesar. His master entrusted a large sum to Callistus to open a bank, which took in several deposits, made several loans to people who refused to pay them back, and went broke. Knowing he would be personally blamed and punished, Callistus fled, but was caught and returned to his owner. Several depositers begged for his life, believing that he had not lost the money, but had stolen and hid it.
They were wrong; he wasn’t a thief, just a victim, but he was sentenced to work the tin mines. By a quirk of Roman law, the ownership of Callistus was transferred from Carpophorus to the state, and when he was later ransomed out of his sentence with a number of other Christians, he became a free man. Pope St. Zephyrinus put Callistus in charge of the Roman public burial grounds, today still called the Cemetery of Saint Callistus. He later became an archdeacon and the 16th pope.
Most of what we know about him has come down to us from his critics, including an anti-Pope of the day. He was, on more than one occasion, accused of heresy for such actions as permitting a return to Communion for sinners who had repented and done penance, or for proclaiming that differences in economic classes were no barrier to marriage.
This last put him in conflict with Roman civil law, but he stated that in matters concerning the Church and the sacraments, Church law trumped civil law. In both cases he taught what the Church has taught for centuries, including today, and though a whole host of schismatics wrote against him, his crime seems to have been to practice orthodox Christianity. He was martyred for his faith.
- Patron Saint Index
Rm 1:16-25
Lk 11:37-41
You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too?
I often cringe when reading about the Pharisees, because they always seem to be presented as the ‘baddies’. (Perhaps it is also because I feel as if I can identify more closely with them as I age, though I hope this is due more to growing self-awareness and not growing stubbornness!) Yet the Pharisees were supposed to be the religious authorities and (presumably) intended to adhere to the teachings of scripture and uphold the laws, which should have helped them align themselves with the straight and narrow path. When and how did they go astray to be ‘filled with extortion and wickedness’?
I gained some insight on this listening to a friend share about his World Youth Day trip to Lisbon, as well as his ‘pre-pilgrimage’ trip to Rome to prepare for the event. I found both accounts fascinating since I had never been to World Youth Day (and doubt I will have the energy required, by the time the next one comes round, though I find Seoul more accessible). I was also quite intrigued by the role that a pre-pilgrimage trip played in preparing one’s mind and heart for the actual pilgrimage. My friend commented that the contrast between the beautiful, carefully restored churches and desolate ruins he visited made him realise how all of us needed to constantly restore or even rebuild parts of our lives. Are there areas in our lives (even the pristine ones) we need to renew, relationships we need to restore, habits we should relook? These are questions we can only fully reflect and work on when we have the safe space of a pilgrimage or a retreat. But we first need to acknowledge our need to go for such a pilgrimage/retreat, and remain sufficiently sincere and committed to prepare well for it, as well as ensure we participate fully in it. Perhaps constant reflections would have helped the Pharisees be more aware of and track their own spiritual development, before they became too focused on ‘cleaning the outside’.
Nonetheless, it is always easier to make resolutions than to carry them out, and I am all too aware that I generally give retreats/pilgrimages a lower priority when planning my holidays; I even find it hard to set aside time to pray the Examen daily, though it seems much easier to scroll through social media! But as my friend remarked when he visited the Colosseum, just as the Colosseum consists of maze-like structures and served many purposes throughout its long history, we all meander through our own mazes, sometimes growing closer to God and sometimes encountering dead ends; but as long as we keep going, hopefully, we can grow through our own experiences. I also do not think our Lord expects us to make drastic changes overnight.
Ultimately, I remain grateful that God is always willing to give us a chance (after all, Jesus agreed to have dinner with the Pharisee he was rebuking) and His words on how ‘the maker of the outside also (made) the inside’ are also a timely reminder of our need to rely on God’s grace, rather than misguidedly believe we can work our own way towards salvation.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Jaclyn Lam)
Prayer: Lord, You know us better than ourselves, yet You give us free will and choice. Help us to grow in humility, self-awareness and wisdom according to Your will. Help us to set aside time and space for reflection wherever we are.
Thanksgiving: Thank you Lord, for writing straight with our crooked lines. Strengthen our faith and trust in You.
OXYGEN 
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