September: Day 27: Teaching 1: Holy Martyr Kallistratos

September: Day 27: Teaching 1:
Holy Martyr Kallistratos
 
(Lessons From His Life:
a. Admonition To Perform Night Prayers, and
b. To Love the Lord Above All Else)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Kallistratos, whose memory is celebrated today, had as his grandfather a certain soldier named Neokoros, who served under Pontius Pilate and was a witness to the suffering and death of the Savior. Neokoros saw the miracles that accompanied the death and resurrection of the Savior, believed in Him and was baptized by the apostles. Returning to his native city of Carthage, Neokoros told everyone about Christ, as an eyewitness, and confirmed the faith of Christ in his family. Imitating his grandfather and father, Kallistratos taught the faith of Christ to his fellow soldiers and passed on to them what he inherited from his father and grandfather. But such activity could not be hidden from the pagans, especially since it was accompanied by a pious life. It was reported of Saint Kallistratos "that he spends his nights in prayer, during which he lovingly remembers the name of Christ the Savior," for Whom he was always ready to suffer with joy. He was summoned for interrogation, where he steadfastly confessed himself a Christian and suffered along with 49 other soldiers. Kallistratos was subjected to cruel tortures and was cut into small pieces with a sword. This was during the reign of Diocletian.

II. Christian brethren! Let us emulate the pious life of the Holy Martyr Kallistratos.

a) Following the example of the Holy Martyr Kallistratos, who loved to spend his nights in prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ, which was the cause of his martyrdom and death, we too will devote part of the night, even a few minutes of a night's sleep, to prayer. In the midst of the surrounding silence and stillness, when nothing distracts us, when the bustle of the day leaves us in peace for a few hours, when it is so easy to look into the depths of our souls, let us upon awakening, at least for a few minutes, pray and offer up our prayers of thanksgiving, praise, petition and repentance to our heavenly Father, Who, as the omnipresent and omniscient Spirit, from the height of His throne will mercifully hear the prayer of His servants who turn to Him with faith, hope and love.

“The night is not given for this purpose,” teaches the golden-tongued teacher of the universal Church, Saint John Chrysostom , “that we should spend it all in sleep and inaction. Witnesses of this are craftsmen, mule drivers, merchants, the Church of God, rising in the middle of the night. Rise up, too, look at the choir of stars, at the deep silence, at the great stillness, and marvel at the works of your Lord. Then your soul becomes purer, lighter and more cheerful, it becomes especially capable of soaring and rising; the very darkness and complete silence are very conducive to emotion. If you look at the sky, dotted with stars, as if with a countless multitude of eyes, then you will receive perfect pleasure, immediately thinking about the Creator. If you imagine that those who during the day make noise, laugh, play, spend time at spectacles, offend, extort, annoy, do countless evils, are now no different from the dead, then you will recognize the entire insignificance of human vanity. Sleep came and showed nature as it is; it is the image of death, it is the image of the end. If you look out into the street, you will not hear a single voice; if you look into the house, you will see everyone lying as if in a coffin. All this can excite the soul and bring to mind the end of the world."

"Then vanity does not disturb; for how is this possible, when everyone sleeps and does not see? Then laziness and carelessness do not attack; for how is this possible, when so many things excite the soul? After such vigils there is pleasant sleep and wonderful visions."

“Do not consider it an obstacle to this that you are the only husband and that she is the only wife,” continues the same Father of the Church. “For where there are two,” says Christ, “gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). And where Christ is present, there is a great multitude; where Christ is, there necessarily are angels, and archangels, and other powers. Therefore, you are not alone when the Lord of all is with you. And listen again to what the wise man says, 'Better is one righteous man than a thousand sinners' (Sir. 16:3). There is nothing more powerless than many sinners, and nothing stronger than one who lives according to the law of God.”

"But, you will say," continues the same Holy Father of the Church, "I have become tired during the day, and cannot. This is an excuse and a pretext. Believe me, it is not so much fire that destroys the rust of metal, as night prayer does the rust of our sins. Let us be ashamed, if not of anyone else, then at least of the night watchmen. They, obeying human law, go around during the cold, loudly shouting and walking through the streets, often in the rain and numb with cold, for you, for your safety and for the preservation of your property. He takes such care of your property; but you do not even take care of your soul. And besides, I do not force you to walk, like him, in the open air, nor to shout loudly and strain yourself; but being in the same dwelling, in the same bedroom, bend your knees, turn with prayer to the Lord."

“Why did Christ Himself spend the whole night in prayer on the mountain?” asks the same great teacher of the Church (Luke 16:12). “Was it not to set an example for us? Then the plants restore their strength, that is, during the night; then especially the soul receives the dew even more. What is scorched by the sun during the day is refreshed at night. Night tears are better than any dew, they descend on desires and on every fiery kindling, and do not allow anything harmful to be suffered. If it does not feed on this dew, it will be burned during the day.” (See the 26th homily of John Chrysostom on the Acts of the Apostles).

b) The second lesson of the pious life of the Holy Martyr Kallistratos is that we must, following his example, love the Lord to the point of being ready to lay down our lives for His holy name. God, the source of all truth, all beauty and all goodness, is at the same time our all-good Father, who unceasingly pours out His mercies upon us, of which there is no end or number.

Even a simple feeling of gratitude, of which no man is deprived, will prompt him that he must love God more than anything in the world. Let his thought be detached from earthly interests for just a moment and make the briefest review of those marvelous deeds of love and mercy of God to man, with which he is showered from the moment of his birth until his very death on earth and which he will enjoy, if he deserves, throughout all endless eternity beyond the grave. But at the sight of the marvelous and countless blessings of God, revealed first in the creation of man and his elevation to the highest boundary of being and life, separating the sensual world from the spiritual world, and then, in his redemption from the terrible calamities of sin by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the death of no one else, but the Son of God Himself, our thought is numb with reverent amazement before the greatness of God's love for man and dissolves in tears of a grateful heart. “I thank You, my Lord, the most gracious Benefactor, for You have created me in Your image and likeness, and have brought me into being from nothingness, crowning me with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:6), we can only say in the words of Saint Dimitri of Rostov, whose heart was constantly burning with the flame of divine love: “You did not create me a beast, nor cattle, nor any other animal, but a man, a rational creature. You did honor my soul with immortality and sovereignty. For even though we are separated for a time in the flesh, we come to a better migration, and in soul we remain immortal forever, not for a thousand years, nor for two or three thousand, but forever and ever, having no end.”

III. Through the prayers of the Holy Martyr Kallistratos, may the Lord strengthen us in holy and ardent love for Himself and may He transform our stony heart into a heart of flesh, loving God, honoring Him and thanking Him.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.