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
Gal 5:18-25
Lk 11:42-46
What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.
How many conversations do you have in a week? I can’t even begin to guess for myself – although I do know that in any given week, I have at least 20-50 times more conversations than my husband does. We are definitely a textbook couple of ‘opposites attract’! Words are part of my personality — the way I’m wired, and my love language; whereas silence is a big part of his personality and the way he is wired. He is truly a man of few words.
Thankfully with Christ, we are called to be who we are, wordy or not, as both can serve Him well! Hallelujah! However, it’s not the number of words we use; it is the manner in which we use them – that is, in fact, what God is paying attention to, don’t you agree?
I recently heard a brief reflection by a Catholic mom (Sterline Jaquith) who said that she reminds her children on a daily basis to ‘Put kindness into your voice in every conversation’. That gave me pause, and I listened to her message a number of times. PUT KINDNESS INTO YOUR VOICE. I have never heard it put quite like that. Be kind. Speak kind words. But this is different.
Yes, hard truth must be spoken – but as Christians, we are called to speak with kindness if we want to do God’s will. And we all know that kindness has a ripple effect that is not easily stopped. ‘Pay it forward’ was/is a common sentiment and practice in America in the early 2000s (though it seems in the midst of COVID-19, it faded into the background.) The phrase itself dates back centuries, though it is more commonly attributed to author Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1916 novel, ‘In the Garden of Delight’, where she wrote a bit of wordplay: “You don’t pay love back; you pay it forward.”
It is easy to think, rightly so, that ‘I can’t change the world’. But we all know that we CAN change ‘our’ world, and it struck me profoundly to realize that simply by putting kindness into all my conversations – ALL MY SPOKEN SENTENCES – I could impact my world greatly. By speaking all my sentences with kindness, I would be ALLOWING the Holy Spirit to lead my every conversation — sentence by sentence.
So I am praying for the grace to remember to truly put kindness in my voice. Not simply ‘say kind things’ or ‘be kind with my words’, but to PUT KINDNESS IN MY VOICE. That means the tone, not simply the words. By putting kindness into my words, I will no longer be able to be, even the slightest bit, passive-aggressive. Not only will I not be able to ‘gossip’, I won’t be able to stay neutral in a conversation that is ‘open’ to gossip — I will have to change the subject, speak goodness about whoever is being talked about, or walk away. I won’t be able to speak ill (even if I am speaking the truth about a person) without also acknowledging that they, too, is/are a beloved child of God and my brother/sister in Christ, carrying invisible burdens like all of us. I also won’t be able to say something that is false, as there is no kindness in lies or even half-lies. And the list goes on and on, as I will have to fully embrace that fact that my words are being spoken to the face of Christ.
Oh my goodness! Brothers and sisters, please pray for me, as I do not want to forget this profound truth that I have been called to engage the fruits of the spirit, and put kindness in my voice at all times.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gina Ulicny)
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, fill me. I beg you to stay present, front and centre, as I know I have a tendency to push you to the side and listen to myself, as I learn the habit of putting kindness in my voice. And please give me the grace to not be discouraged when I fail, but to turn again to You, Lord, for your forgiveness and mercy, so that I can begin again.
Thanksgiving: Father God, thank you for fresh words that give us pause to see the many ways you continue to guide, protect, instruct and love us.
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