Daily readings with reflections

Readings & Reflections: Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Pontian and Hippolytus, August 13,2019

Readings & Reflections: Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Pontian and Hippolytus, August 13,2019

Today’s feast commemorates a pope, Pontian and an anti-pope, Hyppolytus, united in martyrdom. Pontian was elected Roman Pontiff in 231 A.D. At this time, the priest Hippolytus was in active schism, ruling as a rival pope, or anti-pope. In 235 A.D., during the persecution of Maximinus, both Pope and anti-pope were exiled to Sardinia, Italy and died there of ill treatment, but not before Hippolytus had reconciled himself to the Church. “So let us not be at enmity with ourselves, but change our way of life without delay. For Christ who is God, exalted above all creation, has taken away man’s sin and has re-fashioned our fallen nature… God is not beggarly, and for the sake of his own glory he has given us a share in his divinity” (Saint Hippolytus).

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

“Lord, teach me your way of humility and simplicity of heart that I may find perfect joy in You. May your light shine through me that others may see your truth and love and find hope and peace in you.”  In your Mighty name, I pray. Amen.

Reading I
Deuteronomy 31:1-8

When Moses had finished speaking to all Israel, he said to them,
“I am now one hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to move about freely; besides, the LORD has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan. It is the LORD, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the Lord promised. The LORD will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom he destroyed, and with their country. When, therefore, the LORD delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have ordered you. Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.”

Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel
said to him, “Be brave and steadfast, for you must bring this people into the land which the LORD swore to their fathers he would give them; you must put them in possession of their heritage. It is the LORD who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.”

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Deuteronomy 32:3-4ab, 7, 8, 9 and 12

R. (9a) The portion of the Lord is his people.
For I will sing the LORD’s renown.
Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!
The Rock–how faultless are his deeds,
how right all his ways!
R. The portion of the Lord is his people.
Think back on the days of old,
reflect on the years of age upon age.
Ask your father and he will inform you,
ask your elders and they will tell you.
R. The portion of the Lord is his people.
When the Most High assigned the nations their heritage,
when he parceled out the descendants of Adam,
He set up the boundaries of the peoples
after the number of the sons of Israel.
R. The portion of the Lord is his people.
While the LORD’s own portion was Jacob,
his hereditary share was Israel.
The LORD alone was their leader,
no strange god was with him.
R. The portion of the Lord is his people.

Gospel
Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Who is the greatest?

Today Jesus reveals to us that the only way we can be great in our Father’s kingdom is to be like little children in our response to His word-humble, pure and full of innocence.

“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

In order to be His true follower, He hopes that we are able to abandon thoughts of personal greatness and be able to take the lowly and humble position of a child. It is His desire that we accept our brokenness and our sinfulness and acknowledge our unworthiness. He wants all of us to place ourselves in His Hands so that He may be able to work in us, mold us and change us.

Jesus is our only hope for salvation and we should therefore allow Him to mold and transform us.

Jesus wants us to receive our brothers and sisters in love and never to judge anyone. We have to believe and act that we are all equal in the eyes of God and that we are no better than our neighbor. We should be able to welcome everyone into God’s fold especially those who have been separated from Him. We should care and love them in the Name of our Lord always trying to draw them closer to God. We are tasked to bring them back into the company of God’s people in love and mercy, not condescendingly judge and condemn them. “It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

Sheep are helpless, weak and pretty much unable to defend themselves. They can be foolish in their ways and be prone to go astray. In the same light, we can be foolish in our ways and we may decide to stray away from God. “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.” Jesus is our Shepherd. He is asking all Who shall believe in Him to be His undershepherds to do His work of gathering God’s people to repentance.

Are we going to seriously take the challenge of Jesus and try to be to others what the Lord is to us – a good shepherd- whose fondest desire and greatest pleasure is to walk with people and help them grow strong, healthy and happy?

Jesus is our only hope for salvation. He is the way, the truth and the life as such we should therefore allow Him to mold and transform us. We should never be scared as we encounter adversaries and difficulties in our work to bring back the lost to His fold as our Word for today says: “Be brave and steadfast, for you must bring this people into the land which the Lord swore to their fathers he would give them; you must put them in possession of their heritage. It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.”

Direction

Bring God’s Word to everyone. We have to receive in love our brothers and sisters no matter how unlovable and lowly they may be.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me the grace to draw people into your fold. In Jesus, I believe, hope and love. Amen.

Reflection 2 – Be like the little child

Kate Hamilton tells of a palace with a beautiful grotto-like entrance which is quite intriguing to the public. Inviting placards announce the wonders and beauties that can be seen inside. Upon entering, however, the visitor is surprised to find that the interior is only a mass of strange mirrors. No matter which way he turns, the visitor sees himself from a different angle. Glancing ahead, he appears tall and thin; looking to the right, he encounters a curved glass which makes him seem broader than he really is. Deceptive mirrors lure him onward, bringing him face to face with strange and flattering reflections of himself. Kate Hamilton emphasizes, “There are people who seem to spend their lives in this way. In whatever direction they turn, they see nothing but self, until sometimes the view becomes completely exaggerated and unrealistic. A little success and they become so gratified that they grow to huge proportions in their own twisted imagination.”

What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Children in the ancient world had no rights, position, or privileges of their own. They were socially at the “bottom of the ladder” and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants. What is the significance of Jesus’ gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor as his right side. Then Jesus asked, “Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom?” The one who is humble and lowly of heart – who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child.

Reflection 3 – Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven

Are you surprised to see the disciples discussing with Jesus who is the greatest? Don’t we do the same thing? The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. Who doesn’t cherish the ambition to be “somebody” whom others admire rather than a “nobody”? Even the Psalms speak about the glory God has destined for us. You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5).

Whose glory do you seek?
Jesus made a dramatic gesture by placing a child next to himself to show his disciples who really is the greatest in the kingdom of God. What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Children in the ancient world had no rights, position, or privileges of their own. They were socially at the “bottom of the rung” and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants. What is the significance of Jesus’ gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor at his right side. It is customary, even today, to seat the guest of honor at the right side of the host.

The lowly of heart empty themselves of pride
Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart – who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant and child before God. The simple of heart know that they belong to God – he is their father, teacher, and provider – the one who shows them the way of peace, joy, and life everlasting. They are content to recognize their total dependence on God who is the source of all goodness and every good gift.

Jesus restores us to the people he has made holy
What does Jesus’ story about a lost sheep tell us about God and his kingdom? Shepherds normally counted their sheep at the end of the day to make sure all were accounted for. Since sheep by their very nature are very social, an isolated sheep can quickly become bewildered and even neurotic. The shepherd’s grief and anxiety is turned to joy when he finds the lost sheep and restores it to the fold. What was new in Jesus’ teaching was the insistence that sinners must be sought out and not merely mourned for. God does not rejoice in the loss of anyone, but desires that all be saved and restored to fellowship with him. That is why the whole community of heaven rejoices when one sinner is found and restored to fellowship with God (Luke 15:7). Seekers of the lost are much needed today. Do you pray and seek after those you know who have lost their way to God?

“Lord Jesus, teach me your way of humility and simplicity of heart that I may find perfect joy in you. May your light shine through me that others may see your truth and love and find hope and peace in you.” – Read the source:  http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2019/aug13.htm

Reflection 4 – Children need caring adults to prosper

A website about raising sheep stated that sheep probably respond more to proper care and attention than any other farm animal. So do children. Children are completely dependent upon their caregivers. When an infant is born it cannot even turn its head or roll over. Throughout its earliest years, a child depends on its parents to keep it fed and clothed, loved and nurtured. Children left alone can come to great harm. Eventually they acquire the skills that they need to survive and thrive on their own, but their lives will be richer for the proper care in their formative years.

When Jesus features such defenseless creatures as children and sheep at the center of today’s reading, implicit is the role of mature adults. No child grows into a mature and humble adult without the care-filled nurturing of grown-ups who model those qualities. Jesus says it is especially heinous to short circuit the development of a child through neglect.

Speaking of the dependence of sheep, Jesus tells us the lengths of which adults are expected to go to protect our dependents. Like the shepherd who leaves the flock to search out the one lost lamb, we are to search out those most in need of our care and protection.

As we pray to the Lamb of God in this Eucharist, let us pray that the mercy and peace we pray for will include the nurturing skills we need to fulfill our vocation as adults. (Source: Joanmarie Smith, C.S.J., Weekday Homily Helps, Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, August 12, 2008).

Reflection 5 – Child’s Play

Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 18:3

After a surprise storm blanketed the Middle East with snow, a newspaper photo showed four armed men smiling as they built a snowman outside the battered walls of a military headquarters. The wintry weather also caused a protest to be canceled and delayed a debate over parliamentary matters of pressing importance. Men wearing long robes and women in traditional black dresses and headscarves were seen playing in the snow. There’s something about snow that brings out the child in all of us.

And there’s something about the gospel that beckons us to abandon our deep hostilities and feelings of self-importance in favor of a childlike humility and faith. When Jesus was asked, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1), He called a little child to come to Him and said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (v.3).

It has been said that age diminishes our imagination, hopes, and possibilities. The older we get, the more easily we say, “That could never happen.” But in a child’s mind, God can do anything. A childlike faith filled with wonder and confidence in God unlocks the door to the kingdom of heaven.
— David C. McCasland

God, give me the faith of a little child!
A faith that will look to Thee—
That never will falter and never fail,
But follow Thee trustingly. —Showerman

Faith shines brightest in a childlike heart (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 6 – Childlike Humility

Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. –Matthew 18:4

In the mid-70s, my husband Bill and I befriended a drug addict named Derek on the London subway. Days later we invited him to come and live with our family. He soon received Christ and His forgiveness.

Until then, the world had been shouting to Derek, “Why don’t you grow up?” That day Jesus tenderly said to him, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3). Derek became a child of God! We expected this young man to learn a lot through us about God, but little did we expect to learn about God through him.

For example, one afternoon we discussed the possibility of someday opening a Christian rehabilitation center for addicts. None of us knew when, where, how, or if it would ever happen. I said, “Well, we know God won’t let us down.” Derek, however, added, “God won’t let Himself down.” His words echoed Psalm 23:3, “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Twenty eventful years ago He brought that rehabilitation center into being “for His name’s sake,” and I’ve been learning and relearning childlike humility ever since. How about you?  — Joanie Yoder

There’s so much wisdom to be learned,
So many ways for me to grow,
Lord, I would listen like a child,
And learn what You would have me know. –K. De Haan

If you’re filled with pride, you won’t have room for wisdom (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 7 – Enlivening the faith of our youth

Today’s Gospel reading reminds us of the importance of a good children’s program at church and an effective youth ministry. Whether we are parents, catechists, homilists, school teachers, or just encountering the youth at Mass, we are called to enliven the faith of the young and inspire their full participation in the Church.

However, when children become teenagers, they often seem like aliens from another planet. We expect them to relate to the Church and to the Eucharist the same way that older generations do, but they don’t. We demand that they comply with the “normal” way of participating in Catholic worship, but they lose interest in coming to Mass. Many don’t come to the faith programs that are effective for the rest of us, and yet they call themselves spiritual.

Parish youth programs are often separated from the worshipping community. Their teenagers are not invited to collaborate in the planning of parish missions and other faith formation events. Youth ministry is often under-budgeted. Most youth ministers are often under-paid, if they’re even paid at all, and work only part-time. When we don’t put much into teen ministry, we get as little as we sow.

How many teens and young adults are on the Pastoral Council of your parish? How many are allowed to help shape the religious education program? How many kids are bored by their catechists? Are we willing to let go of our old ways of teaching the faith in order to reach the youth more effectively? Their school teachers use technological visual aids such as PowerPoint presentations; why haven’t our parishes adopted similar tools? (This is why I’ve developed interesting PPTs for Religious Education program; they can be found on my Catholic Digital Resources website at catholicdr.com/PPTs.)

If we look at the faith of the youth from an historical perspective, we can see that today’s youth are ready and willing to be enlivened in their faith and in parish life. When I was a kid (back in the 1960s and early 70s), there was a huge void of faith in the culture of America. Although there seems to be more secularism today, today’s youth have grown up with Christian music proliferating everywhere, even on secular radio stations.

So then, why are they not going to church? What’s missing? What’s the key to successfully evangelizing them? Here are three keys: enthusiasm, authenticity, and an opportunity to make a difference in the world.

(1) Their fast-paced, entertainment-filled lifestyle requires lively, enthusiastic experiences of worship and faith formation to keep them interested.

(2) They’ve grown up with a high level of exposure to the failures of adults (divorces, unstopped abuses, arrogant clergy, politicians who care more about winning elections than about uniting to improve the quality of life of the people they are supposed to serve, etc.). Therefore, they need to have real relationships with roles models who are authentic Christians living a true faith, solving problems with their faith, and providing compassionate service because of their faith.

(3) They want to know how to make a difference in this messed-up world. Give them the Church’s teachings on social justice along with opportunities to take action — with a greater emphasis on the doing than on the teaching. The faith they experience outside the Mass will help them better understand the Eucharist.

Today’s youth are poised to become active parishioners, inspired lay leaders, and dedicated, holy priests and religious. Are we doing enough to nurture this? – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2016-08-09

Reflection 8 – Who’s important?

[ Listen to the podcast of this reflection ]

What the disciples wanted to know in the Gospel reading today touches a desire within all of us. We want to be important. We need to feel valued. We want to be indispensable. But what does Jesus think about this?

He raised up the lowly many times. And he sometimes referred to the value of little children as an example of what is truly important. Do young kids know they’re valued? If they’re loved they do. Intuitively, they accept the fact that because they are loved, they are important.

By the time we become adults, most of us have felt diminished by the low self-esteem that others have pushed upon us as they, in their own low self-esteem, tried to raise themselves above us. We try to cope with this by making ourselves feel important, because we believe their poor assessment of us. And so we put our focus on keeping a good image, building a good reputation, and achieving high status.

The opinions of others matter way too much. Their opinions hold us back from being fully who we are as children of God.

It happens to men who desire the priesthood motivated by the fact that others will automatically respect them because of their clerical collar. It happens to women who desire ordination because of a mistaken idea that the Church doesn’t value their leadership (an idea that in fact might have been generated by someone disvaluing their leadership). It happens to laity who build themselves up in ministries for the sake of the power and authority it gives them.

And yet the Church teaches that priests and others who have authority are really the servants of all those whom they’re called to serve. Value comes from service, not rank.

None of us are valued the way we should be, not completely. However, there’s no need to fight to establish our personal value, because we already have it! Our significance comes from the Lord. Are we being who God wants us to be? Are we doing what God wants us to do? Therein is our true importance.

For example, although I’m not a priest, I rely on the Holy Spirit to help me write these Good News Reflections and thus they serve God’s people as effectively as good homilies at Mass. Being a lay woman has not held me back from being a leader in the Church. Although it’s true that sometimes I don’t get invited to give parish missions because I am not a priest or a deacon or a nun, nevertheless I have no reason to want to be anyone other than the servant God created me to be, in the times and the culture and the Catholic Church into which he has placed me.

(I’m so glad that God put me to work in ministry the same time the Internet was developed! Come, let’s have a virtual retreat together. Download my podcast of the retreat I gave in New Zealand in 2010: gnm.org/podcasts-NewZealand/.)

We are all indispensable to God. The gifts he’s given us and the ministries to which he calls us are extremely valuable to his plans for his kingdom, whether we’re clergy or laity, male or female, homebound or working our way up the ladder of worldly success. No one else can do what you can do the way you can do it. God created you with his own idea of what’s important. He has valued you since the moment of your conception!

If you need help figuring out what your important part is in God’s plans, download my e-book “Knowing God’s Will and Doing it Well” from http://catholicdr.com/e-books/knowing-gods-will/

Read the source: https://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2019-08-13

Reflection 9 – Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus (d. 235 A.D.)

Two men died for the faith after harsh treatment and exhaustion in the mines of Sardinia. One had been pope for five years, the other an antipope for 18. They died reconciled.

Pontian. Pontian was a Roman who served as pope from 230 to 235. During his reign he held a synod which confirmed the excommunication of the great theologian Origen in Alexandria. Pontian was banished to exile by the Roman emperor in 235, and resigned so that a successor could be elected in Rome. He was sent to the “unhealthy” island of Sardinia, where he died of harsh treatment in 235. With him was Hippolytus (see below) with whom he was reconciled. The bodies of both martyrs were brought back to Rome and buried with solemn rites as martyrs.

Hippolytus. As a priest in Rome, Hippolytus (the name means “a horse turned loose”) was at first “holier than the Church.” He censured the pope for not coming down hard enough on a certain heresy—calling him a tool in the hands of one Callistus, a deacon—and coming close to advocating the opposite heresy himself. When Callistus was elected pope, Hippolytus accused him of being too lenient with penitents, and had himself elected antipope by a group of followers. He felt that the Church must be composed of pure souls uncompromisingly separated from the world: Hippolytus evidently thought that his group fitted the description. He remained in schism through the reigns of three popes. In 235 he was also banished to the island of Sardinia. Shortly before or after this event, he was reconciled to the Church, and died with Pope Pontian in exile.

Hippolytus was a rigorist, a vehement and intransigent man for whom even orthodox doctrine and practice were not purified enough. He is, nevertheless, the most important theologian and prolific religious writer before the age of Constantine. His writings are the fullest source of our knowledge of the Roman liturgy and the structure of the Church in the second and third centuries. His works include many Scripture commentaries, polemics against heresies and a history of the world. A marble statue, dating from the third century, representing the saint sitting in a chair, was found in 1551. On one side is inscribed his table for computing the date of Easter, on the other a list of how the system works out until the year 224. Blessed John XXIII installed the statue in the Vatican library.

Comment:

Hippolytus was a strong defender of orthodoxy, and admitted his excesses by his humble reconciliation. He was not a formal heretic, but an overzealous disciplinarian. What he could not learn in his prime as a reformer and purist, he learned in the pain and desolation of imprisonment. It was a fitting symbolic event that Pope Pontian shared his martyrdom.

Quote:

“Christ, like a skillful physician, understands the weakness of men. He loves to teach the ignorant and the erring he turns again to his own true way. He is easily found by those who live by faith; and to those of pure eye and holy heart, who desire to knock at the door, he opens immediately. He does not disdain the barbarian, nor does he set the eunuch aside as no man. He does not hate the female on account of the woman’s act of disobedience in the beginning, nor does he reject the male on account of the man’s transgression. But he seeks all, and desires to save all, wishing to make all the children of God, and calling all the saints unto one perfect man” (Hippolytus, Treatise on Christ and Antichrist).

Read the source:   http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1106&calendar=1

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pontian  
For others called Pontianus, see Pontianus.
For others called Pontian, see Pontian.
POPE SAINT
PONTIAN
PopePontian.png

Imaginary portrait from Artaud de Montor The Lives and Times of the Popes, 1910
PAPACY BEGAN 21 July 230
PAPACY ENDED 28 September 235
PREDECESSOR Urban I
SUCCESSOR Anterus
PERSONAL DETAILS
BORN c. 200
DIED October 235
Sardinia, Roman Empire
SAINTHOOD
FEAST DAY 13 August

Pope St. Pontian (Latin: Pontianus; died October 235), was the Bishop of Rome from 21 July 230 to 28 September 235.[1] In 235, during the persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Maximinus the Thracian, Pontian was arrested and sent to the island of Sardinia. He resigned to make the election of a new pope possible.[1]

Biography[edit]

A little more is known of Pontian than his predecessors, apparently from a lost papal chronicle that was available to the compiler of the Liberian Catalogue of Bishops of Rome, written in the 4th century.

Pontian’s pontificate was relatively peaceful under the reign of the Emperor Severus Alexander, and noted for the condemnation of Origen by a Roman synod, over which Pontian likely presided.[1] According to early church historianEusebius of Caesarea, the next emperor, Maximinus, overturned his predecessor’s policy of tolerance towardsChristianity.[2] Both Pope Pontian and the Antipope Hippolytus of Rome were arrested and exiled to labor in the mines ofSardinia,[3] generally regarded as a death sentence.[4]

In light of his sentence, Pontian resigned as bishop on 28 September 235, so as to allow an orderly transition in the Church of Rome. This action ended a schism that had existed in the Roman Church for eighteen years. He was beaten to death with sticks.[3] Neither Hippolytus nor Pontian survived, reconciling with one another there before their deaths. Pontian died in October 235.[5]

Remembered[edit]

Pope Fabian had the bodies of both Pontian and Hippolytus brought back to Rome in 236 or 237 and buried in the papal crypt in the Catacomb of Callixtus on the Appian Way.[3][6] The slab covering his tomb was discovered in 1909. On it is inscribed in Greek: Ποντιανός Επίσκ(Pontianus Episk; in English Pontianus Bish). The inscription Μάρτυρ”, “”MARTUR” had been added in another hand.[citation needed]

Pontian’s feast day was previously celebrated on 19 November, but since 1969 both he and Hippolytus are commemorated jointly on 13 August.[7]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c Kirsch, Johann Peter (1911). “Pope St. Pontian” in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. Jump up^ Papandrea, James L. (January 23, 2012). Reading the Early Church Fathers: From the Didache to Nicaea. Paulist Press.ISBN 978-0809147519.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI (1997). “Sts. Pontian & Hippolytus”. My First Book of Saints. Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications. pp. 179–180.ISBN 971-91595-4-5.
  4. Jump up^ G. W. Clarke, “Some Victims of the Persecution of Maximinus Thrax,” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Bd. 15, H. 4 (Nov., 1966): pp. 445-453, p. 451.
  5. Jump up^ Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Popes (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2000), 45.
  6. Jump up^ McBrien, Lives of the Popes, 45.
  7. Jump up^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 146

References[edit]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippolytus_of_Rome 
For places named after the saint, see Saint-Hippolyte (disambiguation). For the character in Greek mythology, see Hippolytus (mythology).
SAINT HIPPOLYTUS OF ROME
Hippolytus martyrdom.jpg

The Martyrdom of Saint Hippolytus, according to the legendary version of Prudentius (Paris, 14th century)
MARTYR
BORN 170 AD
Rome
DIED 235 AD
Sardinia, now Italy
VENERATED IN Roman Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodox Church
Anglican Communion
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica
CANONIZED Pre-Congregation
FEAST Roman Catholic Church: August 13
Eastern Orthodox Church: January 30
Coptic Orthodox Church: Meshir 6
PATRONAGE Bibbiena, Italy; horses

Hippolytus of Rome (170 – 235 AD) was the most important 3rd-century theologian in the Christian Church in Rome,[1] where he was probably born.[2] Photios I of Constantinople describes him in his Bibliotheca (cod. 121) as a disciple of Irenaeus, who was said to be a disciple of Polycarp, and from the context of this passage it is supposed that he suggested that Hippolytus so styled himself. However, this assertion is doubtful.[1] He came into conflict with the popes of his time and seems to have headed a schismatic group as a rival to the Bishop of Rome. He opposed the Roman bishops who softened the penitential system to accommodate the large number of new pagan converts. However, he was very probably reconciled to the Church when he died as a martyr.[1]

Starting in the 4th century AD, various legends arose about him, identifying him as a priest of the Novatianist schism or as a soldier converted by Saint Lawrence. He has also been confused with another martyr of the same name.[1] Pius IV identifies him as “Saint Hippolytus, Bishop of Pontus” who was martyred in the reign of Alexander Severus through his inscription on a statue found at the Church of St. Lawrence in Rome and kept at the Vatican as photographed and published in Brunsen.[3]

Life[edit]

As a presbyter of the church at Rome under Pope Zephyrinus (199 – 217 AD), Hippolytus was distinguished for his learning and eloquence. It was at this time that Origen of Alexandria, then a young man, heard him preach.[4]

He accused Pope Zephyrinus of modalism, the heresy which held that the names Father and Son are simply different names for the same subject. Hippolytus championed the Logos doctrine of the Greek apologists, most notably Justin Martyr, which distinguished the Father from the Logos (“Word”). An ethical conservative, he was scandalized when Pope Callixtus I (217 – 222 AD) extended absolution to Christians who had committed grave sins, such as adultery.[5]

Hippolytus himself advocated an excessive rigorism.[6] At this time, he seems to have allowed himself to be elected as a rival Bishop of Rome, and continued to attackPope Urban I (222 – 230 AD) and Pope Pontian ( 230 – 235 AD).[1] G. Salmon suggests that Hippolytus was the leader of the Greek-speaking Christians of Rome.[7]Allen Brent sees the development of Roman house-churches into something akin to Greek philosophical schools gathered around a compelling teacher.[8]

Under the persecution at the time of Emperor Maximinus Thrax, Hippolytus and Pontian were exiled together in 235 AD to Sardinia,[9] likely dying in the mines.[7] It is quite probable that, before his death there, he was reconciled to the other party at Rome, for, under Pope Fabian (236–250), his body and that of Pontian were brought to Rome. The so-called chronography of the year 354 (more precisely, the Catalogus Liberianus, or Liberian Catalogue) reports that on August 13, probably in 236 AD, the two bodies were interred in Rome, that of Hippolytus in a cemetery on the Via Tiburtina,[9] his funeral being conducted by Justin the Confessor. This document indicates that, by about 255 AD, Hippolytus was considered a martyr and gives him the rank of a priest, not of a bishop, an indication that before his death the schismatic was received again into the Church.[1]

Legends[edit]

The facts of his life as well as his writing were soon forgotten in the West, perhaps by reason of his criticism of the bishops of Rome and because he wrote in Greek.Pope Damasus I dedicated to him one of his famous epigrams, making him, however, a priest of the Novatianist schism, a view later accepted by Prudentius in the 5th century in his “Passion of St Hippolytus”. In the Passionals of the 7th and 8th centuries he is represented as a soldier converted by Saint Lawrence, a legend that long survived in the Roman Breviary. He was also confused with a martyr of the same name who was buried in Portus, of which city he was believed to have been a bishop,[1] who was put to death by drowning in a deep well.[9]

According to Prudentius’ account, Hippolytus was dragged to death by wild horses,[10] a striking parallel to the story of the mythological Hippolytus, who was dragged to death by wild horses at Athens. He described the subterranean tomb of the saint and states that he saw there a picture representing Hippolytus’ execution. He also confirms August 13 as the date on which a Hippolytus was celebrated but this again refers to the convert of Lawrence, as preserved in the Menaion of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The latter account led to Hippolytus being considered the patron saint of horses. During the Middle Ages, sick horses were brought to St Ippolyts, Hertfordshire, England, where a church is dedicated to him.[11]

Writings[edit]

Roman sculpture, maybe of Hippolytus, found in 1551 and used for the attribution of the Apostolic Tradition

Hippolytus’ principal work is the Refutation of all Heresies.[1] Of its ten books, Book I was the most important.[5] It was long known and was printed (with the title Philosophumena) among the works of Origen. Books II and III are lost, and Books IV–X were found, without the name of the author, in a monastery of Mount Athos in 1842. E. Miller published them in 1851 under the title Philosophumena, attributing them to Origen of Alexandria. They have since been attributed to Hippolytus.

In 1551 a marble statue of a seated figure (originally female, perhaps personifying one of the sciences) was purportedly found in the cemetery of the Via Tiburtina and was heavily restored. On the sides of the seat was carved a paschal cycle, and on the back the titles of numerous writings by Hippolytus.[6] Many other works are listed by Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome.

Hippolytus’ voluminous writings, which for variety of subject can be compared with those of Origen of Alexandria, embrace the spheres of exegesis, homiletics, apologetics and polemic, chronography, and ecclesiastical law. Hippolytus recorded the firstliturgical reference to the Virgin Mary, as part of the ordination rite of a bishop.[12]

Of exegetical works usually attributed to Hippolytus, the best preserved are the Commentary on the Prophet Daniel and theCommentary on the Song of Songs.[1] This is the earliest attested Christian interpretation of the Song, covering only the first three chapters to Song 3:7.

The commentary on the Song of Songs survives in two Georgian manuscripts, a Greek epitome, a Paleo-Slavonic florilegium, and fragments in Armenian and Syriac as well as in many patristic quotations, especially in Ambrose of Milan‘s Exposition on Psalm 118 (119). It is generally regarded as an instruction relating to a post-Baptismal rite of anointing with oil as a symbol of receiving the Holy Spirit. The commentary was originally written as part of a mystagogy, an instruction for new Christians. Scholars have usually assumed the Commentary On the Song of Songs was originally composed for use during Passover, a season favored in the West for Baptism.[13] Hippolytus supplied his commentary with a fully developed introduction known as the schema isagogicum, indicating his knowledge of the rhetorical conventions for teachers discussing classical works.[14] He employs a common rhetorical trope, ekphrasis, using images on the walls or floors of Greco-Roman homes, and in the catacombs as paintings or mosaics.[15] Origen felt that the Song should be reserved for the spiritually mature and that studying it might be harmful for the novice.

About 215, he wrote the Apostolic Tradition, which contains the earlier known ritual of ordination.[9] The influence of Hippolytus was felt chiefly through his works on chronography and ecclesiastical law. His chronicle of the world, a compilation embracing the whole period from the creation of the world up to the year 234, formed a basis for many chronographical works both in the East and West.

In the great compilations of ecclesiastical law that arose in the East since the 3rd century, the Church Orders many canons were attributed to Hippolytus, for example in the Canons of Hippolytus or the The Constitutions through Hippolytus. How much of this material is genuinely his, how much of it worked over, and how much of it wrongly attributed to him, can no longer be determined beyond dispute, however a great deal was incorporated into the Fetha Negest, which once served as the constitutional basis of law in Ethiopia — where he is still remembered as Abulides. During the early 20th century the work known as The Egyptian Church Order was identified as the Apostolic Tradition and attributed to Hippolytus; nowaday this attribution is hotly contested.

Differences in style and theology lead some scholars to conclude that some of the works attributed to Hippolytus actually derive from a second author.[1] Two small but potentially important works, On the Twelve Apostles of Christ and On the Seventy Apostles of Christ,are often neglected because the manuscripts were lost during most of the church age and then found in Greece in the 19th century. As most scholars consider them spurious, they are often ascribed to “Pseudo-Hippolytus“. The two are included in an appendix to the works of Hippolytus in the voluminous collection of Early Church Fathers.[16] The work on the 70 apostles is noteworthy as a (potentially) early source including Aristobulus, sometimes accounted the apostle of Britain.

Eschatology[edit]

Hippolytus is an important figure in the development of Christian eschatology. In On Christ and the Antichrist and Commentary on the Prophet Daniel Hippolytus gave his interpretation of Bible prophecies.[17]

With the onset of persecutions during the reign of Septimus Severus, many early Christian writers turned to eschatology. On Christ and the Antichrist is one of his earliest works. Hippolytus was greatly influenced by Irenaeus.[18] However, unlike Irenaeus, Hippolytus focus on the meaning of prophecy for the Church in his own time. Of the dogmatic works, On Christ and the Antichrist survives in a complete state and was probably written about 202.

The Commentary on the Prophet Daniel is the oldest extant scripture commentary.[19] Hippolytus follows the long-established usage in interpreting Daniel’s seventy prophetic weeks to be weeks of literal years. Hippolytus gave an explanation of Daniel’s paralleling prophecies of chapters 2, 7, and 8, which he, as with the other fathers, specifically relates to the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and Romans. His interpretation of events and their significance is Christological.[19] He stated that Rome would be partitioned into ten kingdoms and these in turn would be followed by the rise of the dread Antichrist, who would oppress the saints. This would be ended by Christ’s Second Advent, the resurrection of the righteous, and the destruction of aid Antichrist. After which would come the judgment and burning up of the wicked.[20]

Hippolytus did not subscribe to the belief that the Second Coming was imminent.[21] He was apparently the first to set a specific date for the second Advent through calculation—A.D. 500—which was 260 year after his time. He assumed, like Irenaeus his teacher, that inasmuch as God made all things in six days, and these days symbolize a thousand years each, in six thousand years from the creation the end will come. He apparently based his calculation on the Septuagint which had the world beginning about 5500 B.C.[22][23]

Feast days[edit]

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast day of St Hippolytus falls on August 13, which is also the Apodosis of the Feast of the Transfiguration. Because on the Apodosis the hymns of the Transfiguration are to be repeated, the feast of St. Hippolytus may be transferred to the day before or to some other convenient day. The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates the feast of “St Hippolytus Pope of Rome”on January 30, who may or may not be the same individual.

The Roman Catholic Church celebrates St Hippolytus jointly with St Pontian on August 13. The feast of Saint Hippolytus formerly celebrated on 22 August as one of the companions of Saint Timotheuswas a duplicate of his 13 August feast and for that reason was deleted when the General Roman Calendar was revised in 1969.[24]Earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology referred to the 22 August Hippolytus as Bishop of Porto. The Catholic Encyclopedia sees this as “connected with the confusion regarding the Roman presbyter resulting from the Acts of the Martyrs of Porto. It has not been ascertained whether the memory of the latter was localized at Porto merely in connection with the legend in Prudentius, without further foundation, or whether a person named Hippolytus was really martyred at Porto, and afterwards confounded in legend with Hippolytus of Rome.”[25] This opinion is shared by a Benedictine source.[26]

Earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology also mentioned on 30 January a Hippolytus venerated at Antioch, but the details it gave were borrowed from the story of Hippolytus of Rome.[27] Modern editions of the Roman Martyrology omit all mention of this supposed distinct Saint Hippolytus of Antioch.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j Cross 2005
  2. Jump up^ Trigilio, John; Brighenti, Kenneth. Saints For Dummies.For Dummies, 2010. p. 82. Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
  3. Jump up^ Hippolytus and His Age, Volume I, frontispiece, 1852, p. 424.
  4. Jump up^ Jerome’s De Viris Illustribus # 61; cp. Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica vi. 14, 10.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b “Saint Hippolytus of Rome.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 15 Aug. 2010
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b Kirsch, Johann Peter. “St. Hippolytus of Rome.” The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 16 February 2016
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b “Hippolytus Romanus”, Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature (Henry Wace, ed.), John Murray, London, 1911
  8. Jump up^ Brent, Allen. Hippolytus and the Roman church in the third century : communities in tension before the emergence of a monarch-bishop, 1995, Brill, ISBN 9004102450
  9. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI (1997). “Sts. Pontian & Hippolytus”. My First Book of Saints. Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications. pp. 179–180.ISBN 971-91595-4-5.
  10. Jump up^ John Foxe, Book of Martyrs (E. Hall, 1833) p41.
  11. Jump up^ Ippollitts (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)
  12. Jump up^ McNally, Terrence, What Every Catholic Should Know about Mary 2009 ISBN 1-4415-1051-6 pages 68–69
  13. Jump up^ Hippolytus’ Commentary on Daniel 1.17
  14. Jump up^ Mansfeld 1997 notes Origen’s use of the schema, but not Hippolytus’.
  15. Jump up^ Smith, Yancy. The Mystery of Anointing: Hippolytus’ Commentary On the Song of Songs in Social and Critical Contexts. Gorgias Studies in Early Christianity and Patristics 62. 2015. ISBN 978-1-4632-0218-7 page 9, 34
  16. Jump up^ Ante-Nicean Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and A. Cleaveland Coxe, vol. 5 (Peabody MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999), 254–6
  17. Jump up^ Dunbar, David G.. “The Delay of the Parousia in Hippolytus”. Vigiliae Christianae 37.4 (1983): 313–327
  18. Jump up^ Dunbar, David G., The Eschatology of Hippolytus of Rome, (Ann Arbor: University Press, 1979)
  19. ^ Jump up to:a b Daley, Brian. The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology, CUP, 1991, ISBN 9780521352581
  20. Jump up^ Froom 1950, p. 271.
  21. Jump up^ Cummings, Owen F., Eucharistic Doctors: A Theological History, Paulist Press, 2005, ISBN 9780809142439
  22. Jump up^ Froom 1950, p. 278.
  23. Jump up^ Hippolytus, On Daniel, ch. 2, 4–6
  24. Jump up^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 135
  25. Jump up^ Catholic Encyclopedia:Sts. Hippolytus
  26. Jump up^ Saint of the Day, 22 August
  27. Jump up^ Saint of the Day, 30 January

References[edit]

  • Achelis, Hans Hippolytstudien (Leipzig, 1897)
  • Adhémar d’Ales, La Théologie de Saint Hippolyte (Paris, 1906). (G.K.)
  • Bunsen, Hippolytus and his Age (1852, 2nd ed., 1854; Ger. ed., 1853)
  • Cross, F. L. (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press.
  • Döllinger, Hippolytus und Kallistus (Regensb. 1853; Eng. transl., Edinb., 1876)
  • Gerhard Ficker, Studien zur Hippolytfrage (Leipzig, 1893)
  • Froom, LeRoy (1950). The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers (DjVu and PDF). 1.
  • Hippolytus (170–236). Commentary on Daniel, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol 5.
  • Hippolytus (170–236b). Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol 5.
  • Hippolytus, The Treatise on the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome, Bishop and Martyr. Trans Gregory Dix. (London: Alban Press, 1992)
  • J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers vol. i, part ii (London, 1889–1890).
  • Mansfeld, Jaap (1997). Prolegomena: Questions to be Settled before the Study of an Author or a Text. Brill Academic Publishers.
  • Karl Johannes Neumann, Hippolytus von Rom in seiner Stellung zu Staat und Welt, part i (Leipzig, 1902)
  • Smith, Yancy W. (2008). Hippolytus’ Commentary On the Song of Songs in Social and Critical Context. Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University.
  • Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). “article name needed