Word to the Wise
Monday, January 26, 2009 - Sts. Timothy and Titus, bishops
[2 Timothy 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5 and Mark 3:22-30]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 or me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.
Pope Benedict XVI has declared the current liturgical year to be the Year of St. Paul in commemoration of the anniversary (I can't remember which) of his conversion. So, the feast of that conversion (which was yesterday, Jan. 25 but eclipsed by Sunday) becomes all the more important. It also highlights other aspects of Paul's ministry, such as his closest co-workers, Timothy and Titus! Their feast day is today! Their names appear on three letters to them which are attributed to Paul (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus). We'll leave the question of authorship to another forum. I'm more concerned about and inspired by the words from 2 Timothy, quoted above. (An older translation used the words, "strong, loving and wise,") Paul and his companions faced conditions in their preaching which would daunt any of us nowadays. We can read about them in 2 Corinthians in detail but the letters to Timothy and Titus are designed to give encouragement to dedicated disciples who may nevertheless find the going overwhelming. It doesn't help matters when your leader has been put in prison or when followers fade away because of rival and inaccurate preachers or lifestyle challenges! Even if we, in the USA, don't face the challenges that our brothers and sisters in Iraq or Afghanistan or China or India must face in living out their faith, we have the vast opposition of a secularist society to face, which cares not for moral living so much as "scientific progress." Some of the executive orders signed by our new president could be very discouraging to those who are trying to protect human life and dignity from what masquerades as scientific progress. We all need encouragement to remain faithful to what we know to be God's loving and creative design. We need not be ashamed of that design and we should remember the spirit of "power and love and self-control" which enables us to remain faithful. AMEN
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