Memorial of Timothy and Titus, co-operators of Paul and bishops of Ephesus and Crete.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

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

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The day after Saint Paul's conversion, the Church recalls two of his closest associates, Timothy and Titus. The first was baptized by Paul himself and received from him the imposition of hands as the Apostle himself recalls in the letter of which we heard the beginning. Paul reminds Timothy and the entire community to whom the letter is addressed that it is from Jesus himself that he has received the mission of proclaiming the "promised life" of God to all people. Paul, on the eve of his death (4: 6-8), writes to this "delighted son" with passionate feelings. In the Letter to the Philippians, the apostle writes: "I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 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 he is in prison, Paul continues to serve God with a pure conscience, and in prayer he reminds God of his communities and his collaborators: chains do not block his communion with his brothers and sisters. Paul writes that he wishes to see Timothy again: the encounter would fill his soul with joy and comfort: "Do your best to come to me soon" (2 Tm 4:9). But the consolation the apostle feels already is Timothy's faithfulness to the Gospel; a fidelity that runs deep in the roots of his very religious family, starting with his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. The ministry entrusted to Timothy is not easy, even for his young age. Paul, however, reminds him of "the gift of God" given to him through the imposition of his hands (see 1 Tim 4:14). And he asks him to revive it with prayer, fidelity, and dedication, so that its light may become ever clearer and more and more a source of strength for him. The other disciple that today the Church remembers, Titus, is a Greek from Antioch, and therefore a precious fruit of Paul's preaching to Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas therefore bring him with them to present him to the community of Jerusalem (Acts 15). Paul proudly calls him, "My true son in the same faith." And he entrusts him first to the leadership of the Corinthian community, and then to Crete, where his memory is still venerated today.