Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus*
Readings for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[i]
FIRST READING
First Option
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
Second Option
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 Titus 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
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 ch. 40-55, as does Psalm 98. Another version of the psalm is 1 Chronicles 16:23-33.”[ii]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 3:31-35
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus*
Readings for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[i]
FIRST READING
First Option
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
Second Option
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 Titus 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
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 ch. 40-55, as does Psalm 98. Another version of the psalm is 1 Chronicles 16:23-33.”[ii]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark 3:31-35
The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 3:31-35
The first part of this reading from St. Mark’s Gospel is somewhat controversial in that many of the Protestant and Evangelical apologists take the term “and his brothers” to mean his familial or biological brothers. The Church teaches that Mary bore only one child – Jesus. Responding to this scripture, Catholic scripture scholars teach that “…in Semitic usage, the terms "brother," "sister" are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters; cf Genesis 14:16; 29:15; Leviticus 10:4.”The Lord, in hearing of the arrival of his mother and relatives uses the announcement as a teaching moment telling those gathered that “…whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
If Jesus waked the earth for the first time today instead of two thousand yeas ago, his story would have been instantly known around the world. Can you imagine? A man walks out of the desert in Israel and feeds five thousand people with a few fish and some bread – it would have been tweeted around the globe in minutes. His sermon on the mount would have been broadcast globally and his words debated endlessly on CNN.
It is difficult for us to imagine an era when such amazing things could have been lost because they happened in obscure region of the world. News, even news of such magnitude was passed by word of mouth. Insulated small communities like the Hebrew community around Jerusalem could have and almost did suppress God’s message completely.
The Lord used a slower but more flexible medium to spread the word. He used people. He called them, first the Apostles and St. Paul. They in turn found others whose faith allowed them to hear and understand the truth of the Gospel. Sts. Timothy and Titus were of this generation. They received the Gospel of Christ from St. Paul who charged them to take it where it had not been before; being faithful to what he had been given and fearlessly take it into the world.
Saints like Timothy and Titus are important not just for what they did in bringing the world of God into the world, but also for their example to us. Imagine how difficult it was for them to bring Christ to those who had never hear of him. We are asked to do the same, although it’s not likely that we will find anyone who has never heard of the Lord.
Today we ask for the intercession of Sts. Titus and Timothy. We ask that they send us their prayers and strengthen us for our evangelical journey. May we proclaim the Lord with all we say and do.
Pax
* Note: The Gospel for this day is taken from Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time.
[i] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[ii] See NAB footnote on Psalm 96
Commentary on Mk 3:31-35
The first part of this reading from St. Mark’s Gospel is somewhat controversial in that many of the Protestant and Evangelical apologists take the term “and his brothers” to mean his familial or biological brothers. The Church teaches that Mary bore only one child – Jesus. Responding to this scripture, Catholic scripture scholars teach that “…in Semitic usage, the terms "brother," "sister" are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters; cf Genesis 14:16; 29:15; Leviticus 10:4.”The Lord, in hearing of the arrival of his mother and relatives uses the announcement as a teaching moment telling those gathered that “…whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
If Jesus waked the earth for the first time today instead of two thousand yeas ago, his story would have been instantly known around the world. Can you imagine? A man walks out of the desert in Israel and feeds five thousand people with a few fish and some bread – it would have been tweeted around the globe in minutes. His sermon on the mount would have been broadcast globally and his words debated endlessly on CNN.
It is difficult for us to imagine an era when such amazing things could have been lost because they happened in obscure region of the world. News, even news of such magnitude was passed by word of mouth. Insulated small communities like the Hebrew community around Jerusalem could have and almost did suppress God’s message completely.
The Lord used a slower but more flexible medium to spread the word. He used people. He called them, first the Apostles and St. Paul. They in turn found others whose faith allowed them to hear and understand the truth of the Gospel. Sts. Timothy and Titus were of this generation. They received the Gospel of Christ from St. Paul who charged them to take it where it had not been before; being faithful to what he had been given and fearlessly take it into the world.
Saints like Timothy and Titus are important not just for what they did in bringing the world of God into the world, but also for their example to us. Imagine how difficult it was for them to bring Christ to those who had never hear of him. We are asked to do the same, although it’s not likely that we will find anyone who has never heard of the Lord.
Today we ask for the intercession of Sts. Titus and Timothy. We ask that they send us their prayers and strengthen us for our evangelical journey. May we proclaim the Lord with all we say and do.
Pax
* Note: The Gospel for this day is taken from Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time.
[i] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[ii] See NAB footnote on Psalm 96
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