(Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time)
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus
Biographical information about St. Timothy
Biographical information about St. Titus
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| Sts. Timothy and Titus, Artist and date are unknown |
Readings for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary:[3]
(Note: the Gospel for this Memorial is from the Proper of the day)
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.
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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
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.
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Commentary on Ti 1:1-5
This selection is the introduction to St. Paul’s letter to Titus. "The heading is particularly long and formal. It contains, as usual (cf. Romans 1: 1-2; 1 Corinthians 1:13; etc.), the sender's name--Paul; the addressee's --Titus; and the greeting--"Grace and peace". In this case, however, Paul's title (Apostle), and the prerogatives of his authority and his God-given mandate to preach are given special emphasis (v. 3). This has led some scholars to argue that the epistle was in fact written by a disciple of St Paul--who would have put in all this about the Apostle's authority in order to give the letter more weight. However, it is more reasonable to suppose that when St Paul was writing the letter he had Titus very much in mind and also the community in Crete, whom false teachers were beginning to unsettle; the solemn, official tone would be due to the serious nature of their doctrinal aberrations and to the need to ensure that the church in Crete was property organized. [4]
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).
CCC: Ti 1:5-9 1577; Ti 1:5 1590
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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
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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.” [5]
CCC: Ps 96:2 2143
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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.”
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Commentary on Mk 3:31-35
This passage, while affirming our own adoption as brothers and sisters in Christ, does cause some confusion among those who take Scripture at face value without understanding the culture of the time. 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; Genesis 29:15; Leviticus 10:4.” [6]
Another possible explanation, although it comes from an apocryphal source from the second or third century A.D., is that the Lord’s foster father, St. Joseph, had been previously married (and widowed). According to “The History of Joseph the Carpenter” from this first marriage, “[2.] he begot for himself sons and daughters, four sons, namely, and two daughters. Now these are their names— Judas, Justus, James, and Simon. The names of the two daughters were Assia and Lydia.” These would have been the half-brothers and half-sisters of the Lord.
Because of this, when Mary comes looking for Jesus in this selection, she is, as would be expected, joined by members of the extended family. Jesus extends the family even further though his adoption of those “seated in the circle” who listen to his word and believe, telling those gathered that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
CCC: Mk 3:31-35 500
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Reflection:
Today we can pause and thank God for his great gift that brought us into a new relationship with him. If Christ had not come as the perfect offering for our sins, we would still be obliged to offer sacrifices as our Hebrew predecessors did. We would be one step removed from the relationship we have in Christ who at once saved us and adopted us as children of God: “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
The sense of adoption contrasted with the former relationship of the Hebrew people can be analogized by examining the relationship between ourselves and our family, and ourselves and a guest. While we treat a guest with courtesy and respect, we do not have the same love for the guest as we would for our close family member.
A guest would be welcomed to our home. A family member lives with us, sharing not just our food, but all that we have. A guest comes and stays a while and leaves, but a family member is with us and shares our lives with us, the good and the bad. A guest does not share our pain or our joy to the extent a member of our own family does. The guest is held at arm’s length, never quite achieving that place of familial intimacy that is part of the family’s members.
Jesus changed that relationship for us. He came making his Father, God, our Father. He did not bring a guest to the table, but a bride. He himself, out of his great love for us, provided the sacrificial meal. He did this so we would have intimate access to him, and through that access find life eternal with the Father.
As we remember Sts. Timothy and Titus on this feast day, we recall that, because: “Here are my mother and my brothers. (For) whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Because of this, we should take as our prayer today the family prayer of the Church, the Lord’s Prayer. As we say “Our Father,” let us embrace the Father who has adopted us, and through his great mercy has given us life with him.
Pax.
[1] The Icon is of Sts. Timothy and Titus, Artist and Date are UNKNOWN.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio # 520 /#318 (Gospel)
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible: “Letters of St. Paul,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 611
[5] See NAB footnote on Psalm 96.
[6] From the reference note on Mark 6; 3 in the NAB.
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