October 14
St Callistus I, Pope and Martyr
Wednesday, week 28 in Ordinary Time — Year II
St Callistus I served as Pope during the early third century, at a time when the Christian community in Rome was often divided by theological disputes and faced periodic persecution from Roman authorities. Born a slave, Callistus endured significant hardships, including imprisonment and exile to the mines of Sardinia because of his faith. Upon gaining freedom, he was entrusted with the administration of the Christian cemetery known today as the Catacombs of St Callistus—a significant site for early Christian burial and veneration. Elevated to the papacy around the year 217, Callistus is remembered for his pastoral approach, especially his willingness to extend reconciliation and forgiveness to repentant sinners, including those guilty of grave sins. This practice was controversial at the time, provoking opposition from some more rigorist factions within the Church.
While historical details about Callistus’s martyrdom are uncertain—later traditions claim he died for the faith, possibly during a local persecution—his legacy endures as a shepherd who emphasized the mercy of God and the unity of the Church. The Church celebrates his memory to honor his dedication to charity, his defense of Christian doctrine, and his example as a leader during a tense and transformative period for early Christians. By remembering St Callistus I, the Church recalls the importance of reconciliation and the call to serve even amid adversity.
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The liturgical day
Mass readings
ReadingGa 5, 18-25
Brothers and sisters,
if you let yourselves be guided by the Spirit,
you are not subject to the Law.
We know well what actions the flesh leads to:
immorality, impurity, debauchery,
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, quarrels, divisions, factions,
envy, drunkenness, orgies
and other such things.
I warn you, as I have already done:
those who do such things
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is this:
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
In such things, the Law does not intervene.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh within them,
with its passions and desires.
Since the Spirit gives us life,
let us be led by the Spirit.
– The word of the Lord.
PsalmPs 1, 1-2, 3, 4.6
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
who does not follow in the path of sinners,
does not sit in the company of scoffers,
but delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night!
He is like a tree
planted near a stream,
that bears fruit in its season,
its leaves never wither;
everything he does succeeds.
Not so are the wicked.
They are like chaff
blown away by the wind.
The Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
GospelLc 11, 42-46
At that time, Jesus said:
“Woe to you, Pharisees,
because you pay tithes
on every kind of garden herb,
like mint and rue,
but you neglect justice and the love of God.
These you should have practiced,
without neglecting the others.
Woe to you, Pharisees,
because you love the seat of honor in the synagogues,
and greetings in the marketplaces.
Woe to you,
because you are like unmarked graves
over which people walk without knowing it.”
Then one of the teachers of the Law spoke up and said to him:
“Teacher, in saying this,
you are insulting us too.”
Jesus replied:
“Woe to you also, teachers of the Law,
because you load people
with burdens hard to bear,
and you yourselves do not even touch those burdens
with one finger.”
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org