3rd Friday in Ordinary Time, Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus, January 26, 2024
2 Tim 1:1-8 or Ti 1:1-5; Ps 96:1-3, 78a, 10; Mk 4:26-34 or Lk 10:1-9
Today we celebrate the feast days of Saints Timothy and Titus, both companions of Paul during his travels, and also Bishops in the early Church. Saint Timothy was the Bishop of Ephesus and Saint Titus the Bishop of Crete. We hear about them through the many letters and epistles Paul wrote to them that are included in the New Testament. Saint Timothy died a martyr in the year 97 at the hands of an angry mob of pagans. Saint Titus died at the age of 105 in the year 96.
There are several readings that could be chosen for today, but since I am writing this ahead of time, I have no idea which ones the priest celebrating the Mass will use, I am just going to reference all of them! In reality, they all give the same message, which is summed up in the Psalm Response for today: “Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.”
Last weekend, I was with a group of Christian families, and we were talking about what drew us together. After all, we have pledged to support each other in all things, especially in our Christian faith. A great discussion, but the word “intentional” came up. We used it in context to our togetherness, or why we are with each other and came up with the phrase: “Intentional Togetherness.” The idea of being together was not something that came haphazardly. It was something that we chose to do, to intentionally be together. We were called as a people to come together, and as an individual, we intentionally chose to be together with each other. Very much like we are at our own parish. We could, by the right of our individual freedom, choose to go to any Catholic Church, but we choose to come to this particular one, St. James Church in Belvidere. It is here we are called and here where we are together, intentionally.
If you read all the readings listed above (and I hope you did), you will find this phrase in the letter to Timothy, “I remind you to stir into flames the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.” Paul is reminding Timothy of the great responsibility he has as bishop of Ephesus, to make it known God’s marvelous deeds. In Paul’s letter to Titus, he states: “I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done.” Another admonition that as the Bishop of Crete, it is Titus’s responsibility to spread the Gospel message. In the Gospel message from Luke, Jesus assigns seventy-two disciples to also go out and let the peoples know, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you.” Even in the Gospel from Mark, Jesus is implying we must go out like a mustard seed and plant the message of the Kingdom of God so it can grow and spread far and wide.
Going back to the group I was with, we all recognized that not all of us are called to leave everything behind and go out with nothing on our backs, however, we all do recognize we are called to go out into the world like lambs among the wolves. We, too, are called to go out and proclaim God’s marvelous deeds, not only to all the nations, but to our neighborhoods, our towns, and cities, right here in Northern Illinois. And we need to do it intentionally, just like Saints Timothy and Titus.
Saint James Catholic Church 