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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 for the day [Monday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time]
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 3:22-30
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.”
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Commentary on Mk 3:22-30
This passage takes up the story from Mark 3:20-21 when Jesus had taken his disciples to Matthew’s house for a meal but could not eat because of the crowd. The Lord’s mother and family came to get him, and the word passed on was that they thought he had lost his mind.
The conflict between Jesus and the scribes reveals itself completely. They are now openly calling him “prince of the demons.” The Lord summons them 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; and if I 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, robbers attempting to tie him up.
The story concludes 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”). Jesus then defines the Holy Spirit and himself as of the same essence by saying that 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 (their sin would never be forgiven).
CCC: Mk 3:22 548, 574; Mk 3:27 539; Mk 3:29 1864
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Reflection:
The Gospel we use for the Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus is taken, not from the proper readings assigned for this memorial, but from the Gospel assigned for the day (in this case, Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time). As always happens, this Gospel truth places an emphasis on the first reading that changes each year. The conflict between Jesus and the scribes reveals itself completely in the Gospel. They are now openly calling him “prince of the demons.” The Lord summons them and demonstrates with parables the foolishness of their claim.
The story concludes 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”). Jesus then defines the Holy Spirit and himself as of the same essence by saying that 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 (their sin would never be forgiven).
The Lord calls us (as he called Sts. Timothy and Titus) not to be comfortable with our wealth and power, but to see it as both a responsibility and as a risk. Instead of seeing those with great wealth through the eyes of envy, we should look at them with pity, for their accountability will be great, and the risk they face is immense. 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
[1] The icons are “Sts. Timothy and Titus,” artist and date are unknown.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
520 /
317[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible except for 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), 611.
[5] NAB footnote on Psalm 96.
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