Saint Callistus, P.M.

Saint Callistus, Pope and Martyr,

Callistus, the first Pope to bear that name, was in youth a slave. His master was a Christian of the imperial household, and gave into his charge the funds which he had received on behalf of certain Christian and their widows. These funds were somehow lost, and for this Callistus was blamed by his master. Whereat he fled from punishment which he knew was coming, and went to Oporto, and there took ship. Wherefrom he jumped over-board when his pursuers caught up with him. But they apprehended him, and afterwards he was sentenced to hard labour as a disgraced slave. Howbeit, the Christians secured his release, that he might help recover the lost funds. In pursuance of which, he followed certain Jewish moneylenders to their synagogues where he importuned them, and was by them turned over to the judge as one who had made a disturbance during a religious service. This time he was sentenced hard labour in the mines of Sardinia. But he was afterwards returned to Italy, and Pope Saint Victor gave him a pension. When Saint Zephyrinus became Pope, he recalled Callistus to Rome, and made him superintendent of a catacomb on the Appian Way, which same he greatly improved, so that it came to be called after him, and is known even to this day as the Cemetery of Saint Callistus. * He thus grew well known and much beloved, and in 217, after the death of Zephyrinus, was elected by the clergy and people of Rome to be the next Bishop of Rome. His short pontificate was made notable by his condemnation of the Sabellian heresy, and by his fight against rigorism. He was strongly opposed by the anti-pope Hippolytus, and by Tertullian, whose writings against his are the chief source of our knowledge of his early life. Hippolytus complained that Callistus was unwilling to depose a bishop who had sinned mortally and done penance for the same, and that he had reconciled the excommunicate who expressed penitence. However, Callistus was a man who had done much penance, and had suffered greatly at the hands of rigorists, and it is in no small measure due to him that the Church for all time accepted the compassion of Christ as the guiding rule in dealing with penitents, Hippolytus (who is now venerated as a Saint) not withstanding. * Callistus is said to have sat as Pope for five years, one month, and twelve days ; and to have held five December Ordinations, wherein he ordained sixteen priests, four deacons, and eight bishops. Tradition also saith that, after being long starved, and repeatedly flogged, he was pitched headforemost down a well, and so was crowned with martyrdom under the emperor Alexander. His body was buried on the Aurelian Way, at the Third Milestone, upon October 14^th, but was afterwards by Pope Saint Julius I taken to the Church of Saint Mary beyond the Tiber, where it lieth beneath the high altar, and is held in great reverence of all men.
O God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: we pray thee, that, by the examples of thy Saints, thou wouldest mercifully restore us to the perfect love of thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect:

Saint Edward King and Confessor 1066

Saint Edward, K. C. sd.
Edward, surnamed the Confessor, was the nephew of Saint King Edward the Martyr, and himself the last Anglo-Saxon King. When he was ten years the Danes, who were ravaging England, sought him, to put him to death, and he was driven into exile to dwell with his mother’s brother, Richard II, Duke of Normandy, at whose Court and that of his successors, (Richard III ; Robert, surnamed the Devil ; and William the Bastard,) he lived among all the allurements of vice such a life of uprightness and innocence as made all men to marvel. For he greatly loved God, and was gentle-hearted, and free from any lust for power. Of him the saying is preserved, That he would liefer not be a King than win a kingdom through slaughter and bloodshed. * When the Danish tyrants, who had robbed his brothers Edmund and Alfred of their life and kingdom, were driven away, Edward was called back into his own country and , with the hearty good-will and rejoicing of all, took the kingdom in the 1042, being then about forty years old. Thereupon he set himself to repair the breaches which wars had made, and bean with the things of God, being desirous that religion should rise from the low estate whereinto it had fallen. Because of the abundance of his charity he was styled everywhere The Father of Orphans and Parent of the Poor, and he was never happier than when he had spent upon the needy the whole of his kingly treasures. * He had a wonderful love toward John the Evangelist, so that he was used never to refuse anything for the which he was asked in that Saint’s name. Concerning this a marvelous tale is wont to be told. It is said that the Evangelist appeared to him once while in tattered raiment, and in his own name asked him for an alms. It befell that the King had no money, wherefore he took a ring from off his finger and gifted him therewith. Not long afterward the Evangelist sent the same ring back to him by a pilgrim, with a message concerning his death, which was then at hand. The King therefore commanded that should be made for him, and then fell blessedly asleep in the Lord, upon the very day which had been foretold to him by the Evangelist, that is to say, on January 5^th, in 1066/ In 1161 he was canonized, and on October 13^th, two years later, his body, which was said to have been found incorrupt, was by Saint Thomas Becket translated to Westminster Abbey, where it is still enshrined behind the high altar. Saint Edward is venerated as the heavenly Patron of England, and the story of his ring intertwined with the traditions of the Abbey where he is buried.

Antiphon on the Benedictus:

Well done good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: * enter thou into the joy of thy Lord(Alleluia).

Antiphon on Magnificat:

Lo, a servant of God who esteemed as naught all things earthly, * and by word and work laid him up treasures in heaven(Alleluia).

Collect:

O God, who didst bestow upon thy blessed King Edward the crown of everlasting glory: grant us, we pray thee, so to venerate him on earth, that we may be found worthy to reign with him in heaven, through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Lessons Antiphons and Collect for Saint Wilfrid, B.C.

Saint Wilfrid, B.C.

Wilfrid, at the age of thirteen, left home to escape from mistreatment by his stepmother ; and thenceforth he found little peace on earth ; for he fought vigorously all his life long to bring the Christians of England who followed the peculiar national Celtic customs into accord with the more general usages of the Western Church under the Roman See. Being the son of a Northumbrian thane, he went first to the court of King Oswy, and thence was sent, at the age of fourteen, to Lindisfarne and Whitby for instruction in divine science. He also studied the Roman usages at Canterbury ; and in 654 set out for Rome with Saint Benedict Biscop on the latter’s first journey to the eternal city. There he tried to perfect himself in holy things, and was finally made secretary to Pope Saint Martin. When he returned to England, Aldfrid, son of Oswy, appointed him to instruct the Northumbrians in the Roman usages, for that prince liked not the Celtic customs concerning the date of Easter and various other matters, any more than did Wilfrid. And when Aldfrid required the monks whom he had placed in his newly-built monastery at Ripon to give up their peculiar Celtic usages, many of them returned to their former monastery of Melrose ; whereupon Wilfrid was made Abbot of Ripon * Now when the dispute regarding the two ecclesiastical observances became more acute, a synod was held at Whitby to decide the matter. For the Celtic party said that their usages came through France from the tradition which Saint John the Evangelist had established in Asia Minor, whereas the Roman party claimed the authority of the Prince of the Apostles for their customs. And when most of those present at the council decided in favour of Roman canon law and discipline, the others withdrew from work in Northumbria, and retired to the holy island of Iona. Whereafter Wilfrid was chosen Bishop of the Northumbrians, and went to Paris for consecration, for he held the neighboring bishops as schismatics. But he was so long delayed on this journey that King Oswy grew impatient, and had Saint Chad consecrated in his stead. Which was the occasion of fresh controversy when Wilfrid returned and went to live in his Abbey of Ripon. However, in 699 Saint Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, set him up as Bishop of York, and Chad went to work among the Mercians. But Wilfrid incurred the enmity of Egfrid, after the latter became King, which same moved Saint Theodore to divide the northern territory into four dioceses, leaving one for Wilfrid, and intruding three others into the rest of Wilfrid’s former jurisdiction. * Then was made the first appeal to the Roman See, namely, from Wilfrid as Bishop of York against the Archbishop of Canterbury ; to which end Wilfrid set out for Rome a second time. And on his way thither he preached the Gospel mightily in Friesland, converting many heathens, and thereby opening the way for the harvest of souls which Saint Willibrord and his companions gathered in. Now when Pope Saint Agatho had decided the case in Wilfrid’s favour, he returned to King Egfrid with the decree, who promptly cast him into prison, and kept him there many months. And when he was set free he was obliged to flee from one place to another, until he came into the region of the South Saxons. There he settled down, and laboured greatly in the Gospel, converting many, and establishing a bishoprick which afterwards became the See of Chichester. But in 686, after King Egfrid had died, Wilfrid was recalled to York, through the intervention of Saint Theodore and others. However, so many difficulties arose that he went to Rome for a third time, to make a second appeal to the Holy See. As a result of which he was again, by papal decree, awarded all his former authority in Northumbria. But he was seventy-two years old, and shortly thereafter died in peace, namely, on April 24^th, 709. But his feast is usually kept on October 12^th, being the day of the translation of his relicks.

Antiphon on Benedictus

Good and faithful servant, enter thou * into the joy of thy Lord.(Alleluia).

 Antiphon on Magnificat

O holy Priest and Bishop, thou worker of so many mighty works, and good shepherd to Christ’s flock, * pray for us unto the Lord our God (Alleluia).

Collect:

O God, who by reason of the singular merits of thy blessed Bishop Saint Wilfrid, didst cause to shine forth in him many wondrous works, we beseech thee, mercifully to grant, that like as we have learnt from his teaching to seek earnestly after all things heavenly, so we may at all times be defended by his intercession, through Jesus Christ thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Motherhood of Our Lady, October 11

The Feast for which the following Lesson and Collect are appointed is not strictly speaking of an Orthodox origin. No Orthodox authorities have, to my knowledge, set forth this day to commemorate this feast, but it is a feast primarily intended to acknowledge the great truth recognized and codified in the decision of the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus  in 431 AD, against the Nestorians, and which declared that the Blessed Virgin Mary was rightly to be called Theotokos, "God-Bearer." For these reasons, though it is not to be considered an Orthodox commemoration, I have posted these for your perusal and edification.

A Sermon from Saint Leo the Pope

ST. LEO THE GREAT

The Virgin royal of the lineage of David was chosen to become fruitful with the divine Offspring. For she who was thus chosen to bear the God-Man had already conceived Christ her soul before she conceived him in her body. And first she learned the counsel of God from the Angel, lest the unwonted events should alarm her. So the future Mother of God knew what was to be wrought in her by the Holy Ghost, and that her honour would in no way be lost. For why should she, unto whom was promised all-sufficient strength through the power of the Highest, feel hopeless merely because of the unexampled character of such a conception? Nay, she believeth, and her belief is confirmed by the attestation of a miracle which hath already been wrought, namely, that Elizabeth receiveth fruitfulness, before unhoped for. Hence she might not doubt that God, who had given conception unto one that was barren, would give the same unto her that was virgin. And so the Word of God, (the Son of god, who was in the beginning with God, by whom all things were made, and without whom was not anything made that was made,) was made man to deliver man from eternal death.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, descending from his throne in heaven, but leaving not that glory which he hath with the Father, cometh into this lower world y being born after a new order and in a new kind of birth. He cometh after a new order, in that he who is unseen of us in his own nature was seen amongst us. Thus the Incomprehensible was fain to be comprehended. And he that is from everlasting to everlasting began to be in time. And by a new kind of birth was he begotten: conceived of a Virgin and born of a Virgin ; without the intervention of any fleshly father ; without any breach of his mother’s virginity. For such a birth beseemed the coming Saviour of mankind who was to have in him the nature of man’s being and to be free of any defilement of man’s flesh. Though he sprung not as we spring, yet is his nature as our nature. We believe that he is free from the use and wont of men, in that it was the power of God which wrought this ; namely, that as a Virgin she conceived, as a Virgin she brought forth, and yet abode she Virgin still.

DIVINE MOTERHOOD

Collect:

O God, who didst vouchsafe that thy Word should be made flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the message of an Angel, grant to us thy humble servants, that we, believing her to be indeed the Mother of God, may by her intercession find favour in thy sight, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Denys and Companions, Martyrs

St. Denys with his companions founded the Church at Paris, and gave his blood for what he had founded. Saint Gregory of Tours wrote of this Denys that he was born in Italy, and that about the year 250 he was sent into Gaul as a missionary bishop. And that, with one Rusticus a priest, and Eleutherius a deacon, he penetrated amongst the heathen as far as Paris, where he remained to preach Christ. For whose sake he was more than once tortured, even with fire, and when he persisted, he and his priest and deacon were beheaded. He is venerated as the saint protector of France, and as such was invoked in the hour of battle. He is also counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, that is, Saints that are quick to pray for us in time of need. Of old time he was invoked by those who suffered pain in the heads, from the miracle of when he, after his head was cut off, he took it in his hands, and walked four miles toward Paris, carrying it all the while.

Antiphon on the Benedictus

Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered; * fear not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Collect:

O God, who as on this day didst endow thy blessed Martyr and Bishop Saint Denys with strength to suffer steadfastly for thy sake, and didst join unto him Rusticus and Eleutherius for the preaching of thy glory to the Gentiles, grant us , we beseech thee, so to follow their good example, that for the love of thee we may despise all worldly prosperity, and be afraid of no manner of worldly adversity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lesson from the Divine Office Lectionary

The lectionary for the morning prayer office currently has as the second scripture lesson the Epistle of St. James. For today the passage was as follows…

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
It’s fun watching our Protestant friends, committed to the doctrine of “justification by faith alone,” twisting themselves into pretzels trying to make this passage not mean what it so obviously means. Some of their attempts are actually funny.

I have a grudging respect for how Martin Luther dealt with the plain teaching in the passage of St. James’s epistle. He didn’t try to make it say something it clearly wasn’t saying, he just more or less said, “it doesn’t fit with how I understand the rest of the New Testament, so it must not be truly inspired scripture.” Luther called James an “epistle of straw,” an illusion to St. Paul’s wood hay or stubble teaching in Corinthians, or maybe he was saying it was only good for the barn floor. At least he could tell what it really was saying and didn’t try to contort it into supporting a believe only doctrine of Justification, which since has become the typical Protestant strategy.

Protestants are in trouble beginning with verse 14. “
We certainly saved by grace, but not by believing only. As James tells us, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” In it’s context and given the flow of thought that follows, it is easy to see this is a rhetorical question, to which the expected conclusion is “no!” The following verses are not an excursion into instruction in Christian charity, they are an illustration of the point being made. When people are naked and hungry they can’t wear or eat your words, which words have no real effect, unless it’s to underscore the vanity of the platitude. In short, talk is cheap, it’s works that matter. The entire passage is like this, and our poor Protestant brothers go on trying to fit them somehow into the straightjacket of the solas.the devils also believe, and tremble.“

Bruno, Abbot and Founder of the Charterhouse Monks

Although not technically an Orthodox saint, I am still a great admirer of Abbot Bruno.

Bruno, the founder of the Charterhouse Monks, was born at Cologne, about the year 1030. His parents, who were eminent in rank and goodness, sent him to the Cathedral school at Rheims, which at that time, under the direction of Herimanus, was one of the best schools in Europe. There he did so well in philosophy and theology that he took the degree of Doctor in both of those subjects. And for his extraordinary graces, when he was only about the age of twenty-seven, he succeeded Herimanus as rector of the school. But at the height of his success, a few years lather, he and six comrades, all learned men, forsook the world and betook themselves to Saint Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble. The latter, when he learned the reason of their coming, and believing them to have been figured by seven stars which one night in a dream he had seen falling at his feet, gave them a grant of land in some very wild mountains in his diocese, which are called the Chartreuses, and where was established by them the first Charterhouse monastery. * Thither Bruno and his companions withdrew themselves, in the 1084, and led for some years the life of hermits. But in 1089 Pope Urban II, who had formerly been his disciple at Rheims, commanded him to come to Rome. And there because of the afflictions which then scourged the Church, the Pope held him much against his will for some time as his counsellor. But at last Bruno, who had refused the Archbishoprick of Reggio, got leave to retire to a solitary place in Calabria, which was within easier reach of the Pope than the aforesaid Charterhouse. In this place, owing to a grant of land from his friend Roger Sovereign Earl of Sicily and Calabria, who had begun to cherish him and his comrades, he founded another Charterhouse named for Saint Stephen. And so the life he instituted began to spread. Which same is the eremitical life lived in community, under a most strict Rule. And this Carthusian Order is the only one in the Church which hath never had any reform, for it hath never stood in need of any. From Saint Bruno it learnt quietude and patience through silence and prayer, but withal a holy gaiety. At length Bruno, full of graces and good works, and famous for godliness and gaiety, not less than for learning, fell asleep in the Lord, on October 6^th, in the year 1101, and was buried in the said Monastery of Saint Stephen.