Bishops
Biographical Information about Sts. Timothy and Titus[1]
Readings for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2 Timothy 1:1-8
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Tm 1:1-8
St. Paul writes to one of his key disciples, St. Timothy, from Rome where he is a prisoner. It is clear that the affection between the two of them is strong as Paul reminds him of his installation as Bishop (‘…the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands”). Paul encourages Timothy to remain strong and faithful to the Gospel, even in the face of opposition.
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Or: Titus 1:1-5
Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ti 1:1-5
This selection is the introduction to St. Paul’s letter to Titus. In the second paragraph he lets us know what Titus’ mission is – to form the Church on Crete (which according to the best scholarship, Paul himself never visited.).
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Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and praise;
give to the Lord the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The Lord is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
“Announce his salvation, day after day.” This song of praise to the Lord invites all humanity to participate in God’s salvation. “This psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Isaiah Chapters 40-55, as does Psalm 98. Another version of the psalm is 1 Chron 16:23-33.”[5]
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Gospel: Mark 3:22-30
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 3:22-30
The conflict between Jesus and the Scribes has come out into the open. They are now openly calling him “prince of the demons”. The Lord calls them before himself and demonstrates with parables the foolishness of their claim. He first asks the ironic question that could be paraphrased “If I, who destroy unclean spirits, am from the originator of those spirits, were in league with him, he has destroyed himself.” He continues an analogy about the strong man protecting his house. In this case he, Jesus would represent the defender of the house (of Israel) and those attacking him, attempting to tie him up.
He concludes this passage with an important theological understanding. The Son of God came into the world so that sins might be forgiven (“…all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.”) He then defines the Holy Spirit and Himself as one in the same (essence) by saying the whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit (as the scribes had just done in calling Jesus an emissary of Satan) would be guilty of an everlasting sin (would never be forgiven).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
We pause to consider this; if Jesus ran into vehement resistance to his message, him who is God and speaks with the power and majesty of Father, ran into significant resistance from those claiming to serve God on earth (the scribes and Pharisees), how much more difficult must it have been for those following in his footsteps decades later? The memorial we celebrate today, the feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus, recalls to us these two Christian leaders of the infant Christian faith.
Biographical Information about Sts. Timothy and Titus[1]
Readings for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2 Timothy 1:1-8
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Tm 1:1-8
St. Paul writes to one of his key disciples, St. Timothy, from Rome where he is a prisoner. It is clear that the affection between the two of them is strong as Paul reminds him of his installation as Bishop (‘…the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands”). Paul encourages Timothy to remain strong and faithful to the Gospel, even in the face of opposition.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or: Titus 1:1-5
Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ti 1:1-5
This selection is the introduction to St. Paul’s letter to Titus. In the second paragraph he lets us know what Titus’ mission is – to form the Church on Crete (which according to the best scholarship, Paul himself never visited.).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and praise;
give to the Lord the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The Lord is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
“Announce his salvation, day after day.” This song of praise to the Lord invites all humanity to participate in God’s salvation. “This psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Isaiah Chapters 40-55, as does Psalm 98. Another version of the psalm is 1 Chron 16:23-33.”[5]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 3:22-30
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 3:22-30
The conflict between Jesus and the Scribes has come out into the open. They are now openly calling him “prince of the demons”. The Lord calls them before himself and demonstrates with parables the foolishness of their claim. He first asks the ironic question that could be paraphrased “If I, who destroy unclean spirits, am from the originator of those spirits, were in league with him, he has destroyed himself.” He continues an analogy about the strong man protecting his house. In this case he, Jesus would represent the defender of the house (of Israel) and those attacking him, attempting to tie him up.
He concludes this passage with an important theological understanding. The Son of God came into the world so that sins might be forgiven (“…all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.”) He then defines the Holy Spirit and Himself as one in the same (essence) by saying the whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit (as the scribes had just done in calling Jesus an emissary of Satan) would be guilty of an everlasting sin (would never be forgiven).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
We pause to consider this; if Jesus ran into vehement resistance to his message, him who is God and speaks with the power and majesty of Father, ran into significant resistance from those claiming to serve God on earth (the scribes and Pharisees), how much more difficult must it have been for those following in his footsteps decades later? The memorial we celebrate today, the feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus, recalls to us these two Christian leaders of the infant Christian faith.
Sts. Timothy and Titus were both consecrated by St. Paul to assist in the work of building up the Christian community in places were Christ’s story was newly spreading. In the case of Titus who was sent to Crete, he was breaking new ground since most scholars agree St. Paul never visited there. We can only guess at the hardships and resistance they endured. In the case of Timothy, we know he was martyred like St. Stephen by being stoned.
The message passed clearly to us today is that if we live our faith in the secular world and, through word and example, attempt to bring others to understand God’s love, we to will meet resistance. Some of this resistance we know about. It is, in most workplaces and schools, forbidden to publicly express our faith. Much of the formal academic community resists violently any reference to our faith except as a “philosophy” to be considered along with others, not seeing it as anything beyond a moral code.
In other circumstances the resistance is much more subtle and, in some ways, more difficult to overcome. We speak of the resistance of our friends and acquaintances. We encounter in some of them the less formal rejection that seems as if they are accepting our message but behind our backs refute it and us as “Jesus freaks” or “Holy Rollers”. A noble title but used derogatorily can undue much of what we attempt.
Today we consider our own circumstances and look to Sts. Titus and Timothy for inspiration and intersession. We also seek the Lord’s help through prayer, remembering that if he faced opposition and hatred from those he loved, we should not expect a more gracious welcome.
Pax
[1] The icon of St. Timothy and the drawing of St. Titus were not attributed on the web but are in the public domain.
[2] ALTRE
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[5] See NAB footnote on Psalm 96
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