On October 14th, the Holy Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Callistus I. St. Callistus reigned as the Vicar of Christ from c. 218 to 223 AD. The Holy Pontiff was martyred for the Faith during an uprising of persecution at the time of Alexander Severus.
The Book of Saints by the Monks of Ramsgate:
A Roman by birth, the successor of Pope Saint Zephyrinus, whose Archdeacon or representative he had been. His five years of vigorous Pontificate were marked by many salutary measures: the moderating of the rigor of the penitential discipline; the repression of the Patripassians, Sabellians, and other heretics; the fixing of the Ember Day Fasts, etc. etc. He seems to have met with much opposition, and at length, probably in a riot or outburst of the heathen against the Christians, was flung headlong from the window of a high building in the Trastevere quarter (A.D. 223). He was buried in the Catacombs of Saint Calepodius, his contemporary, and his relics now repose together with those of that Saint in the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, close to the scene of his martyrdom. The document called the Philosophoumena, an anonymous production of the heretics of his time, written to besmirch the memory of the holy Pope, notwithstanding the credit given to it by Bunsen and by Protestant writers in general, has been amply refuted by Dollinger and others.
Callixtus, a Roman by birth, ruled the Church in the time of the emperor Antoninus Heliogabalus. He instituted the Ember days, on which four times in the year, fasting, according to apostolic tradition, should be observed by all. He built the basilica of Saint Mary across the Tiber; and enlarged the cemetery on the Appian Way, in which many holy pontiffs and martyrs were buried; hence this cemetery is called by his name.
The body of the blessed Calepodius, priest and martyr, having been thrown into the Tiber, Callixtus in his piety caused it to be diligently sought for, and when found to be honourably buried. He baptized Palmatius, Simplicius, Felix and Blanda, the first of whom was of consular and the others of senatorial rank; and who all afterwards suffered martyrdom. For this he was cast into prison, where he miraculously cured a soldier named Privatus, who was covered with ulcers; whom he also won over to Christ. Though so recently converted, Privatus died for the faith, being beaten to death with scourges tipped with lead.
Callixtus was Pope five years, one month, and twelve days. He held five ordinations in the month of December, wherein he made sixteen priests, four deacons, and eight bishops. He was tortured for a long while by starvation and frequent scourgings, and finally, by being thrown headlong into a well, was crowned with martyrdom under the emperor Alexander. His body was carried to the cemetery of Calepodius, on the Aurelian Way, three miles from Rome, on the day before the Ides of October. It was afterwards translated into the basilica of St. Mary across the Tiber, which he himself had built, and placed under the high altar, where it is honoured with great veneration.
Prayer:
O God, You see that we fail because of our weakness. Be merciful to us and let the example of Your saints renew our love of You. Through our Lord . . .
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