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| Sts. Timothy and Titus, Artist and Date are UNKNOWN |
Commentary:
Note: the Gospel for this Memorial is from the Proper for the day [Thursday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time]
Reading 1: 2 Timothy 1:1-8
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.
CCC: 2 Tm 1:3 1794; 2 Tm 1:5 2220; 2 Tm 1:6 1577, 1590; 2 Tm 1:8 2471, 2506
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Or: Titus 1:1-5
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: Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R. (3) 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 Chronicles 16:23-33.”[4]
CCC: Ps 96:2 2143
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Gospel: Mark 4:21-25
Commentary on Mk 4:21-25
Jesus continues his private talk with his disciples, explaining the parables he had used when speaking to the crowds from the boat. The description of the lamp placed high so that all can benefit from the light continues the description of the seed that fell on fertile ground in the parable of the “Sower.” It therefore takes the character of a description of the duties of those who hear the word and have it take root in them.
The second part of the reading speaks of “the measure.” Again, this refers to his disciples who are given the gift of the word. In them the word will grow. The Lord understands that one of their number will fall “…from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
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Homily:
If Jesus walked the earth for the first time today instead of two thousand years 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 regions 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 they 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 word 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 heard 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
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