October 14, 2026 Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time or Pope Saint Callistus I, Martyr Gospel: Lk 11:42-46
Today is Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates today the Optional Memorial of the martyrdom of Pope Saint Callistus I. The Roman Martyrology tells us that Pope Saint Callistus (+222) was a former slave who became Bishop of Rome in 217. He fought heresy and preached God’s mercy for repentant sinners, despite meeting the criticism of rigorists such as Tertullian. He is perhaps best remembered as a martyr, although the manner of his death is uncertain.
Today, the passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke continues to show us Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees. Let’s try to understand.
First, Saint Luke tells us that the Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every garden herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. These you should have done, without omitting the others.” (Lk 11:42)
We know that the Law given by Moses to the Israelites clearly stipulates: “All tithes of the land, whether from the grain of the field or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; they are sacred to the LORD. If someone wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add one-fifth to it. For every tenth animal of the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s rod, the tenth one shall be sacred to the LORD. He shall not inspect whether it is good or bad, nor shall he make any substitution. If he makes a substitution, both the original animal and its substitute shall be sacred; it cannot be redeemed.” (cf. Lv 27:30-33) The Pharisees went beyond the limits of the Law, because they also tithed the plants in their fields and gave them to the Lord. They thought that by doing so, they were loving God.
Today, among us, there are also such brothers and sisters in the Lord. They strictly observe the Ten Commandments, the Five Precepts of the Church, and various regulations established by the Church in accordance with the will of the Savior. Every time they come to church to participate in Mass, they make an offering, thereby showing their love for the Church. They often scramble for places of honor in Christian communities, in their parishes, in their religious orders, and in their seminaries, and they like to receive greetings from people. The reason they do this is that they view themselves according to the standards of this world. The standard of this world is: the strong prevail over the weak; the higher one’s social status, the more powerful one is; the more attention and greetings one receives, the more important one is. Obviously, these are people who live according to the values of this present age, and the values they follow are completely different from those taught by Jesus.
Jesus tells us: We have received His baptism and have died and been buried with Him and are united with Him. Therefore, we must never measure ourselves by the standards of this world, as the Pharisees did. Because we belong to Him, we must view ourselves according to the standards He taught us. The standard He taught us is this: the more humble we are in life, the more we live according to the spirit of God’s Word, the more we live out the spirit of the Gospel preached by Jesus, the more we can love those who live with us day and night, and the more we can discover those who are in urgent need of help. When we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and act according to the will of the Holy Spirit, we become a smooth path for others to attain holiness. If we do not follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, do not act according to God’s will, but act according to the desires of the flesh, we will be like those Pharisees, causing those who live with us to fall into eternal perdition together with us.
On this Optional Memorial of Pope Saint Callistus I, let us unite our hearts and minds and offer our prayers to God:
O God, who raised up Pope Saint Callistus the First to serve the Church and attend devoutly to Christ’s faithful departed, strengthen us, we pray, by his witness to the faith, so that, rescued from the slavery of corruption, we may merit an incorruptible inheritance. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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