26 January 2027 · Latin Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“for this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;” 2 Timothy 1:6
The day after Paul's conversion, the Church honours two of his closest companions, Timothy and Titus. Paul writes to Timothy with fatherly warmth: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.” And he gives him a charge: “rekindle the gift of God that is within you… for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” Grace received at ordination, or at Baptism and Confirmation, can grow cold; it must be fanned into flame.
In the Gospel his mother and brothers come and, standing outside, ask for him; Jesus looks at those sitting around him: “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” This does not reject Mary, who more than anyone did God's will; it opens his family to all who obey. Today India celebrates Republic Day. As citizens and as members of God's family, we pray for our country, for justice and harmony among all its peoples, and for those who govern.
Theme: “Rekindle the gift of God that is within you.”
Timothy and Titus: faith handed on, gifts rekindled, God's family, and our nation.
“One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” 2 Timothy 1:5
Apply: Thank someone who handed the faith on to you.
“The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” Isaiah 11:2
“for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Apply: Use one neglected gift this week.
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:7
“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”” Mark 3:35
Apply: Pray for India and its leaders today.
Faith received must be handed on and kept aflame.
God's family prays and works for the good of the nation.
Take-home resolution: Rekindle one gift in the service of your parish.
Dear friends, today we honour Timothy and Titus, Paul's faithful companions. Paul writes to Timothy: I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5).
Then he urges him: rekindle the gift of God that is within you; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:6–7). The gifts of God can grow cold; we must fan them into flame.
In the Gospel Jesus says: whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother (Mark 3:35). Mary is first among those who did God's will, and Jesus opens his family to all who obey.
Today is Republic Day in India. As members of God's family, let us pray for our nation, for justice and harmony among all its peoples, and for those who govern. Amen.
Children, Timothy's grandmother and mother taught him about Jesus. Thank God for your family, and pray for our country today!
O God, who adorned Saints Timothy and Titus with apostolic virtues, grant, through the intercession of them both, that, living justly and devoutly in this present age, we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland. Bless our nation on this Republic Day with justice, peace and harmony. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The day after the feast of St Paul, the Church remembers two of the men he trained. Paul's letter to Timothy speaks of a faith handed down by a grandmother and a mother, and then by an apostle's hands. In the Gospel Jesus looks at those sitting around him and names a family made by doing God's will. Blood and baptism, home and Church: the two readings together show how faith is passed on.
Setting.
Timothy came from Lystra in Asia Minor, the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father (Acts 16:1–3). He became Paul's closest companion: “how like a son with a father he has served with me” (Philippians 2:22). Titus, a Greek (Galatians 2:3), was Paul's trusted envoy in the hard dealings with Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:6–7). Church tradition, recorded by Eusebius, names Timothy first bishop of Ephesus and Titus first bishop of Crete.
This letter presents itself as Paul's last words, from prison. Many modern scholars think the letters to Timothy and Titus were written by a follower in Paul's name, while others hold that Paul wrote them, perhaps through a secretary. Either way the Church receives them as inspired Scripture. If Titus 1:1–5 is read instead, its point is the setting of elders in each town, the ordering of a young Church.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” (1:5)
Two women are named here, the two through whom faith first reached a future bishop. Compare 3:15: “from childhood you have known the sacred writings”. Many readers of these words have thought of their own grandmothers. The home comes before the seminary.
“For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;” (1:6)
Ordination does not wear out, yet it does need tending. St John Chrysostom notes that as fire needs fuel, so grace needs our eagerness (in substance).
“for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (1:7)
Timothy seems to have been a shy man (compare 1 Corinthians 16:10–11). Paul does not tell him to change his nature. He reminds him of what has been given.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism draws on these very verses and on Titus 1:5 in its teaching on Holy Orders: Paul's words to Timothy and Titus show the apostolic laying on of hands and the ordering of ministers in the Church (CCC 1590). It teaches too that the family is the first school of faith, the domestic Church (CCC 1656–1657).
Setting.
This passage closes the “sandwich” Mark opened at 3:20–21: his family set out to restrain him, scribes accused him (3:22–30), and now his mother and brothers arrive. There are two circles in the scene. Those “outside” stand and send a message. Those inside are “sitting around him”, the posture of disciples.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”” (3:33)
The question is startling. It is not a rejection of his mother. It opens a family wider than blood.
“And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!” (3:34)
In that society family was the strongest of bonds. He now gives that honour to the ordinary listeners around him.
“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (3:35)
He adds “sister”. No father is named here; the disciple's Father is God (compare 11:25).
How the Church reads it.
Who did the will of God more perfectly than Mary? St Augustine says it was a greater thing for her to be Christ's disciple than to be his mother (in substance). The Council teaches that she received these words as one who was faithfully keeping God's word (Lumen Gentium 58). The Catechism applies v. 35 to all who enter God's family (CCC 2233).
Did Mary have other children, since Mark speaks of Jesus' brothers and sisters?
The Church teaches that Mary remained ever virgin (CCC 499–501). The Bible's word for brothers has a wide range: Abraham calls his nephew Lot his “brother” (Genesis 13:8 in the Hebrew). Matthew names James and Joseph among the brothers of Jesus (13:55), and later speaks of “Mary the mother of James and Joseph” (27:56), another Mary who was a disciple (CCC 500). St Jerome took these brothers to be cousins. An ancient Eastern tradition held they were children of Joseph from an earlier marriage. Many other Christians read the words differently, and the Church teaches her faith with respect for them.
Saints Timothy and Titus are kept as a memorial in the Roman Rite, placed by the 1969 calendar directly after the feast of St Paul, whose helpers they were. In India this date is also Republic Day. Where the bishops permit, the Mass for the Nation may be used. St Paul himself asks that prayers be made “for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Timothy 2:2). On this day we pray for all the people of the nation and for those who serve them.