St. Callistus – October 14th
This great Pope and martyr was once a young slave in Rome, who got into serious trouble. His master, a Christian, had put him in charge of a bank, and somehow or other, Callistus lost the money deposited with him by other Christians. In fear, he ran away, escaping from Rome to Porto. But there he was caught, after jumping into the sea to try to get away. His sentence was a terrible one: he was chained and put to endless hard labor in a mill.
From this punishment Callistus was released, only because his creditors hoped he could get some of their money back. But once again he was arrested, this time for having gotten into a fight. He was sent to the mines of Sardinia. When the Emperor freed all the Christians who had been condemned to those mines, Callistus was freed, too, and from that time on things began to go better for the poor young man.
Pope St. Zephrinus came to know and trust the freed slave, and he placed him in charge of the public Christian cemetery. This cemetery is now named after St. Callistus himself and many popes were buried in it. Callistus proved himself worthy of the Pope’s confidence in him, and St. Zephrinus not only ordained him, but also made him his friend and advisor.
Later on, St. Callistus himself became pope. Some people complained because he showed too much mercy to sinners, but the holy Pope ruled that even murderers could be admitted to communion after they had done penance for their sin. This great Pope always defended the true doctrine of Jesus and ended his life with a glorious martyrdom.
Even after many failures, one can succeed in the end. What counts is never to quit, but always to try again.
