- Jesus selects men with weaknesses, sometimes embarrassing weaknesses. One of my favorites is a man named Callixtus. Born into a slave family, his owner gave him positions of responsibility and to be honest, he made some major blunders. (I write about him in the bulletin.) But in 218 A.D. when they needed a new pope, they chose Callixtus. (Homily for August 24, 2014)