Tertullian tore his dalmatic.
Hippolytus had a cow.
Both became schismatic
when Callistus stood the prow.
He had a heart for sinners,
for concubines and such.
His patience with beginners
they found a bit too much.
They fled from the forgiving,
the laxity and taints.
But there’s hope for all us living
if all three died as saints.
—Mike Aquilina
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Last Call for Submissions to the First Things Poetry Prize
The third annual First Things Poetry Prize is open for submissions until June 30. James Matthew Wilson is this year’s outside…
Jonathan Swift’s Savage Indignation
Miranda: “O wonder! . . . / O brave new world / That has such people in’t!”Prospero:…
Suffering Bereft of Despair
One of the most moving portraits of human faith and endurance I know spilled from the quill…
