Daily Gospel Reflection

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October 14, 2023

Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lk 11:27-28
Listen to the Audio Version

While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Reflection

Aimee Markelz Tracy '89, M.B.A.
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I try to picture Jesus in today’s reading, humbled by the woman honoring his mother. Jesus’ reply is a gift. His message is that all people can be like his mother. He encourages us to be listeners and action-takers. In the simple “blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it,” he tells us to listen to God and act accordingly.

If we look at the previous chapter of Luke, Jesus declares the most important commandments: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

So, to be blessed, we only need to put love into action in our daily lives. The conversation this woman might have had with her friends or family after she experienced Jesus, sharing his revelation about the opportunity to be blessed like Mary. Wow, what an opening for her and for all of us.

I think of how my behavior can change as a result of hearing these words from God. How might I be quick with a smile, slow to judgment, and avoid gossip? How may I help people I know and others I may only pass on the street? Living in downtown Chicago, I encounter many people daily, some of whom visibly need help. Today’s gospel passage challenges me to be like Mary and give myself more fully.

Maybe it’s not practical to offer the people begging for money at the street corners a job or a home, but I can look them in the eye and smile, acknowledging their dignity and our shared humanity. I can make the sign of the cross and pray to God for their safety as I walk by. On some days, I can offer a granola bar; on other days, I can volunteer at one of the many organizations in Chicago that help those in need.

As Christians, we have all heard the Word of God a lot. Now, the goal is to really listen to God’s word and put it into action. If we can do that, I know we will all be blessed.

Prayer

Rev. Kajubi Henry Senteza, C.S.C.

Lord Jesus Christ, you chose to be born among us, and you became like us in every way but sin. As a merciful and faithful high priest, you make atonement for our sins. Help us to hear your word every day, and in listening to you, may we come to the knowledge of what is good and true. Stir your spirit within us to practice what we discern from your word. We ask this in your name. Amen.

Saint of the Day

Pope St. Callistus

Saint Callistus began his life as a slave and ended it as pope, murdered or martyred around the year 222 AD.

Callistus’ biography was written by one of his ecclesial enemies, Hippolytus, so it presents a somewhat biased and unfavorable view of Callistus. Hippolytus was the clear favorite for papal election but he was passed over in favor of Callistus, causing Hippolytus no small amount of envy. Hippolytus vehemently disagreed with Callistus’ policy of reversing the excommunications of those who had committed murder and adultery and bringing them back into the Church, upon their repentance. Despite his uncharitable bias, there are some certain definite facts that can be gleaned from Hippolytus' account, known as the Philosophumena.

Callistus was a slave, born in late second-century Rome. Callistus' Christian master put him in charge of a bank that held money for the local community. Callistus irresponsibly lost the money, either through dishonest investment or careless stewardship, and fled the wrath of his master.

When pursuers closed in, he jumped into the sea, but was caught and sentenced to work in a mill. The people who had lost money from his bad investments wanted Callistus returned so that he could recover their funds. Facing mounting pressure to return the lost money, Callistus tried to collect from other debtors, who promptly initiated a brawl. After this misdemeanor, Callistus was sentenced to work in the mines with other Christian prisoners.

Mercifully, Emperor Commodus granted amnesty to many imprisoned Christians in the mines, and Callistus was released. He made his way back to Rome and re-established himself in the community. Pope Victor I gave him a pension, and Callistus' health, taxed from years of hard labor, began to recover.

When St. Zephyrinus was elected pope in 199, he put Callistus in charge of a public cemetery for Christians. This was one of the first pieces of property in Rome that the Church owned, and unlike his earlier experience with stewarding money, Callistus managed the cemetery wisely. This cemetery eventually became known as the Catacombs of Saint Callistus on the Via Appia Antica. There are at least nine popes now buried there. After Callistus' excellent stewardship of this cemetery, Zephyrinus asked Callistus to serve as one of his counselors, and he ordained him a deacon. The two became close friends.

When Zephyrinus died, Callistus was elected pope in 217 by a majority of the Christians in Rome, according to the custom of the time. He was merciful in dealing with sinners, reversing excommunications and working to preserve orthodox Christianity against various schisms and heresies. He has also been credited with the official implementation of the Ember Day fasts.

It is possible that Callistus was martyred—not in an imperial persecution, but perhaps in some kind of popular uprising—or he was murdered. Legend has that he was thrown into a well, perhaps because of this legend his titular church contains a well. Some of Callistus' relics rest in the reliquary chapel at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus.

St. Callistus, the young slave who became pope—pray for us!


Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Callistus is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed October 3, 2024.