Sunday Vigil
Memorial of Timothy and Titus, co-operators of Paul and bishops of Ephesus and Crete.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
2 Timothy 1,1-8
From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God in accordance with his promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, dear son of mine. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord. Night and day I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience as my ancestors did. I remember you in my prayers constantly night and day; I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my joy. I also remember your sincere faith, a faith which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure dwells also in you. That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift of God that you possess through the laying on of my hands. God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but share in my hardships for the sake of the gospel, relying on the power of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The day after Saint Paul's conversion, the Church remembers two of his closest collaborators, Timothy and Titus. Timothy was baptized by Paul himself and received from him the laying on of hands, as the apostle calls to mind in the beginning of the letter we heard. Paul reminds Timothy, and the whole community to whom he addresses the letter, that he has received from Jesus himself the mission of proclaiming the "life promised" by God to all humankind. At the threshold of his death (4:6-8), Paul writes to this "beloved child" with passionate feeling. In the Letter to the Philippians, the apostle writes in this regard, "I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy's worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel" (Phil 2:20-22). While in jail, Paul continues to serve God with a pure conscience, and in prayer he puts before God his communities and collaborators: chains do not block his communion with his brothers and sisters. He writes to Timothy that he desires to see him again; their meeting would fill his spirit with joy and consolation: "Do your best to come to me soon" (4:9). But the consolation the apostle feels is Timothy's faithfulness to the Gospel, a fidelity rooted even in his family, a very religious family beginning with his grandmother, Lois and his mother, Eunice. The ministry entrusted to Timothy is not easy, especially because he is young. Paul, however, reminds him of "the gift of God" which was given to him by the laying on of hands (see 1 Tim 4:14). And he asks him to revive it through prayer, faithfulness and dedication, so that its light becomes brighter and increasingly a source of strength for him. The other disciple that the Church remembers today is Titus, a Greek from Antioch, the precious fruit of Paul's preaching to the Gentiles. This is why Paul and Barnabas bring him with them to present him to the Jerusalem community (Acts 15). Paul proudly calls him "my loyal child in the faith we share" and entrusts to him first the community at Corinth and then that of Crete, where still today his memory is revered.