FEAST OF SAINTS PONTIAN & HIPPOLYTUS.
FEAST OF ST PONTIAN & HIPPOLYTUS, MARTYRS.
"Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
"Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
"That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
"When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
"At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
"Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.
"When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’
"Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt.
"Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
"His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’
"Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
"When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan." (Matthew 18: 21 - 19: 1).
Thursday August 13th 2026 in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of a Pope and an anti Pope: Saints Pontian, Pope and Hippolytus, anti Pope (priest).
Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus, Martyrs (d. c. 235)
St. Pontian, Pope of Rome from 230 to 235, and St. Hippolytus, priest, theologian, and former rival claimant to the Roman see, are remembered together as martyrs whose final witness proclaimed the greater power of communion.
Pontian served the Church with quiet firmness during a troubled age;
Hippolytus, a gifted but severe defender of Christian doctrine, allowed controversy to draw him into schism.
When Emperor Maximinus Thrax began persecuting Christian leaders, both men were arrested and exiled to Sardinia—an imprisonment of brutal labor and near-certain death.
Pontian resigned the papacy so that the Church of Rome would not be left without a shepherd, the first pope known to do so.
In suffering, the estranged men were reconciled: the bishop and his former opponent became brothers again in Christ.
They died in exile, likely from deprivation and exhaustion, and were later returned to Rome for burial among the martyrs.
Their shared feast teaches a searching lesson: fidelity to truth must never harden into pride, and no division is beyond the mercy of God.
In their final union, Pontian and Hippolytus gave the Church a martyrdom not only of blood, but of reconciliation.
In our Gospel of today, Jesus our Teacher taught a classical lesson on Forgiveness.
Why did Jesus conclude the teaching on Our Father, the Lord's Prayer by stating unequivocally a precondition for the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation with the Father?
Forgiveness is obviously an important theme for Jesus because He taught it again in today's Gospel in Matthew 18:21–35, which concluded thus:
"Then in anger his master handed him [the unforgiving servant] over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
Reconciliation is crucial to enjoying the privileges of filial adoption.
A girl who ran away from home and lived a lawless life for a couple of years may be hesitant as she approaches home.
The prodigal son understands that there are consequences to vagrancy and knows the importance of Reconciliation.
Many people claim that forgiveness of the other person is hard. Really?
Lessons that help forgiveness:
#1. Forgive at once.
#2. Forgive everyone without discrimination.
#3. Forgive always.
#4. Forgive everywhere.
#5. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Forgive everyone. This step is modeled for us from the Cross. Jesus forgave in real time those who were killing Him. He did not wait until Easter Sunday when He rose from the dead to forgive.
#6. Pray everyday for all those whom you have offended, known or unknown to forgive you and set you free.
Jesus Christ invites us to a life of continual conversion so that we can pray Our Father (the Lord's Prayer) with confidence.
August is the Month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary says: "In the end. My Immaculate Heart will triumph."
For Prayers of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Litany, Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, etc click the link below:
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