Sts. Caius and Soter
Cauis and Soter, Popes of the early Church, are both venerated in
tradition as martyrs, though no reliable account of their martyrdom
survives today.
St. Soter was born in Fundi, in Italy. The date
of his birth is unknown but we know that he was Pope for eight years
from 166 until his death in 174.
Soter´s papacy was an example of
what seems to have been the remarkable tradition of generosity
exercised by the bishop of Rome. This tradition and Soter´s personal
charity and paternal love for his universal flock can be evidenced from a
letter to Pope Soter by Bishop St. Dionysus of Corinth, quoted in the
4th century “Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius”:
“This has been
your custom from the beginning, to do good in manifold ways to all
Christians, and to send contributions to the many churches in every
city, in some places relieving the poverty of the needy and ministering
to the Christians in the mines, by the contribution which you have sent
from the beginning, preserving the ancestral custom of the Romans, true
Romans as you are. Your blessed bishop Soter has not only carried on the
habit but has even increased it, by administering the bounty
distributed to the saints and by exhorting with his blessed words the
brethren who come to Rome, as a loving father would his children." (IV,
xxiii, 9- 15)
In the same letter of Dionysus we learn that Pope
Soter had written a letter to the Corinthians which was read in the
Church alongside the epistle of St. Clement and was held in high esteem.
Though
his kindness extended to all persons, he was a fierce opponent of
heresy, having been said to have written an encyclical against Montanism
– the teachings of a heretical sect which believed that a Christian who
had sinned gravely could never be redeemed.
Pope St. Caius
reigned for 13 years from 283 until his death in 296 just before the
Diocletian persecution. He was a relative of the Emperor Diocletian –
instigator of one of the last great persecution of Christians in the
early years of the Church. Early in his papacy Caius decreed that a man
must be a priest before he could be ordained a bishop.
He is said
to have been driven into hiding in the catacombs for eight years whence
he died a confessor, however the source from which this information is
gleaned is considered unreliable by most historians.
Both St.
Soter and St. Caius are buried in the cemetery of St. Calixtus and are
venerated on the date of the death of Pope St. Caius.
Acts 2:36-41
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know
assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom
you crucified."
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the
heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what
shall we do?"
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him."
40 And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
John 20:11-18
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb;
12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.
13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She
said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know
where they have laid him."
14 Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him,
"Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and
I will take him away."
16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not
yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am
ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."
18 Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I
have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to
her.
Psalms 33:4-5, 18-20, 22
4 For the word of the LORD is upright; and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.
22 Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.
Lord, grant us the Holy Spirit who empowers us
Tuesday April 22 2025
Tuesday within Easter Octave
Acts.
2:36-41; Ps. 32:4-5,18-19,20,22;
Jn.
20:11-18 (Psalter proper)
Meditating on the Gospel reading gives one an intimate
closeness to the Risen Christ. For Mary, the new experience in the garden of
the Resurrection was when Jesus called by her name ‘Mary’. She then realised
that it was Jesus who was calling her, and she responded, ‘Rabbuni’. This
encounter with the Risen Christ reopened to Mary the possibility of the
wonderful joy of friendship with Him. She saw Him with the eyes and ears of
Love, which empowered her to share the Good News of God’s unfolding creation
with others.
The same experience is being lived out in the lives of all
who believe in the Resurrection of Jesus. He calls each by name, draws him/her
to new life, and empowers him/her to reach out to others.
Similarly, as in the first reading, when Peter spoke to the
Jews on Pentecost Day, the immediate response was, “What must we do?” It was a
moment of grace as they were touched to repentance and conversion.
As Easter people, let the same spirit challenge us to
continue to trust and relate with Jesus with new eyes and ears of LOVE, serving
others, especially the marginalised and rejected in society. Let the Risen Lord
empower us to continue His mission on earth.
Lord, grant us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to share the
Good News with all we meet, work and live with. Amen.
