27th Week, Saturday, Oct 14, St. Callistus 1
Joel 4:12-21 / Luke 11:27-28
God reassures the people; What you can’t see now, you will see later.
An ancient story describes a saintly woman being severely tempted by the devil. The woman prays and prays for help, but God doesn’t seem to hear her prayers. At last, the temptation passes. Then God appears, and the saintly woman asks, “Lord, where were you when the devil was tormenting me?” God replies, “I was where I am now—right at your side.” The people of Israel felt abandoned, too, when they were being trampled underfoot by hostile nations. They too wondered, “Lord, where are you?” The prophet Joel reassured them that God is with them. But God’s presence will not be revealed fully until the day of reckoning comes.
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Do we sometimes feel abandoned by God? Do we feel God doesn’t answer our prayers? Jesus said, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
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Joel's theme is the Day of Yahweh, the day of judgment. All the people of the world will march into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There is no such place known to geography. The word means: Yahweh judges. Like heaven and earth, it is not a physical entity. It expresses just the fact that God judges all and everyone. Even Jerusalem, Zion, and Israel, have a meaning: Jerusalem is the city of God, Zion is the place where God dwells and Israel is the people of God.
Joel says: All inhabitants of Jerusalem will be just and will last forever. A source of water flowing from the temple will make the whole land fertile. God will then be known and accepted by all.
He describes in apocalyptic colours this last day. It will be a day of horror for the wicked. But the just will find Jerusalem a refuge and a stronghold. They will have peace and security. From the temple, a fountain will spring and bring fertility to the land, Jerusalem will be holy, a city of peace, a place of prosperity and joy, because God dwells there.
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The prophets, like Joel today, do not speak of the day of judgment as an unqualified day of vengeance and punishment; hope is there, for the prophecy is a warning to seek conversion. If God’s people change their ways, God will be merciful and restore them.
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As much as we see so much sin and evil happening around us, yet the great consolation is that the world has not become like hell. And it won't! Certainly not. That is because the good that is created in every human being will keep resisting evil and keep it from being overwhelming. So though evil may be widespread, yet it can never conquer all and have the last triumph.
Evil may win a battle, but that does not mean that it has won the war. God gave His people a promise through the prophet Joel in the 1st reading. The Lord will be a shelter for His people, a stronghold for the sons of Israel (Joel 4:16)
So, in the face of evil, we have to stand on God's promises, otherwise we will not stand at all. We can only remain standing in the fight against evil when we listen to the Word of God and keep it. The Word of God urges us to love our enemies and to do good to those who persecute us. When we keep God's Word and live it out in our lives, then evil will lose its power and its sting. Indeed, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it, for they will bring love and peace into the world.
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In the gospel, a woman admires Jesus, and with perhaps a hint of jealousy, she exclaims that indeed the mother of Jesus must be a fortunate woman to have such a son. Jesus’ answer goes deeper, to a deeper motherhood, for those who bear Jesus, the Word of God in their hearts and their lives: those therefore who bring forth Jesus in faith.
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A woman is so captivated by the personality and the words of Jesus, that she bursts spontaneously into praise for the mother of Jesus. The praise of the mother is really meant for her son as it is in the veneration of Mary as we have it today. The remark of Jesus: "Still happier are those who hear the word of God and keep it" (verse 28). Mary heard the word of God's annunciation and kept it, as the handmaid of the Lord. When the shepherds came to her in Bethlehem and told her what they had heard from the angels, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2.19). And when Jesus told her in the temple that he was to be found in his Father's house, she did not understand his words, but pondered over them. Words she spoke to Elizabeth have been proved true, throughout history and in every part of the world: From now onwards all generations will call me blessed.
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Prayer: Lord our God, your Son was born into this world from the Blessed Virgin Mary. We praise you for your goodness but we also ask this of you: Let your Son be born in us in faith, in our lives: in our words, our thoughts, our attitudes and all we do. And then, out of the fullness in us, may we share him with those around us as the Lord who belongs to all now and forever. Amen
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Saint Callistus I
Feast day October 14
Callistus was born in the late second century as a slave to a Christian master. His master noticed that Callistus had skill in finance and put him in charge of a bank. Some enemies of Callistus falsely accused him of embezzlement. Terrified, Callistus tried to escape from Rome. He was caught and condemned to the mines of Sardinia. After partially serving his sentence, he was released so that he might recover some of the money. He was arrested for fighting and sent back to the mines. Fortunately for him and other Christians, Marcia, the emperor’s mistress, won their release.
Pope Zephyrinus made Callistus manager of the burial grounds. Even today the land is named the cemetery of Saint Callistus. Callistus proved himself responsible and was ordained a deacon. In 217, Callistus was elected as the next pontiff. This shocked Hippolytus and his followers. In rebellion, this group elected Hippolytus as pope, later known as the first antipope.This made two men who claimed to be pope.
A schism, or split, in the Church went on for 18 years. Pope Callistus I gently tried to encourage Hippolytus to understand his error. At the same time, Callistus tried to make wise rules for the Church. He felt there should be mercy for those who had fallen away during persecution but who later repented. Callistus said the Church has the authority to forgive all sins. This angered Hippolytus, who felt that Callistus was lenient. Hippolytus wrote bitterly about the pope, who bore the insults calmly and humbly. Callistus I remained steady in his desire to bring peace to the Church. He was martyred in a riot.
