Sts Timothy and Titus

Word for the day

“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

Life

Timothy came from Lystra in Asia Minor. His father was a Greek and his mother Eunice a Jewish believer; Paul praises the sincere faith that lived first in his grandmother Lois and his mother (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5). Paul took him as a companion on his second missionary journey, and Timothy became like a son to him (Philippians 2:19–22).

Timothy is named as co-sender of several of Paul's letters. Paul sent him to strengthen the churches of Thessalonica and Corinth (1 Thessalonians 3:2; 1 Corinthians 4:17) and left him in charge at Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3). The two letters to Timothy in the New Testament give guidance for the pastoral care of a church. According to tradition, recorded by Eusebius, he was the first bishop of Ephesus; later accounts say he was killed there by a crowd for opposing a pagan festival.

Titus was a Greek, a Gentile convert. Paul took him to Jerusalem, and he was not required to be circumcised (Galatians 2:1–3). He was Paul's trusted envoy to the troubled church of Corinth, and his good news of their repentance brought Paul great comfort (2 Corinthians 7:6–7). Paul left him in Crete to put things in order and appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5), and later he went to Dalmatia (2 Timothy 4:10).

Tradition holds that Titus was the first bishop of Crete and died there in old age. Both men are examples of the second generation of Christian leaders, who received the faith from the apostles and handed it on faithfully. Their feast follows the feast of the Conversion of St Paul.

Lessons

Faith handed on in the family

Timothy's faith came through his grandmother and mother.

Rekindle the gift

Grace received must be stirred up and used.

Young leaders

Paul trusted a young man with great responsibility.

Bringing peace

Titus helped reconcile a divided church.

Stories

Lois and Eunice (history)

Paul reminds Timothy of the sincere faith that lived first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5).

The comfort of Titus (history)

Paul writes that when he was downcast in Macedonia, God consoled him by the arrival of Titus with good news from Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:5–7).

The death of Timothy (tradition)

Later Acts of Timothy relate that he was beaten to death at Ephesus for speaking against an idolatrous festival. The account is late and uncertain.

Words of the saint

“Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
St Paul to Timothy, 1 Timothy 4:12

Homily

1. Faith from the family

Grandmothers and mothers pass on the faith.

2. Fan the flame

Stir up the gift of God within you.

3. Trusted helpers

The Church needs faithful co-workers.

Dear friends, the day after the Conversion of St Paul, the Church remembers two of his closest helpers, Timothy and Titus. Timothy was young, perhaps shy, and Paul loved him as a son. Titus was a Gentile convert who became Paul's trusted messenger.

Where did Timothy's faith come from? Paul tells us: from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). Let us thank God today for the grandmothers and mothers who taught us to pray. They are the first missionaries in every family.

Paul writes to Timothy: rekindle the gift of God that is within you (2 Timothy 1:6). Every one of us has received a gift in Baptism and Confirmation, and priests in ordination. Like a fire, it must be stirred up, or it grows cold.

Titus was sent to difficult places: to a quarrelling church in Corinth and to the island of Crete. He brought peace and order. Let us ask Sts Timothy and Titus to help us keep our faith alive, to pass it on to our children, and to be faithful helpers of our pastors. Amen.

Prayer

O God, who adorned Sts Timothy and Titus with apostolic virtues, grant, through their intercession, that, living justly and devoutly in this present age, we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland. Amen.