Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 1-26-04, Memorial, Sts. Timothy & Titus, bishops

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[Salvation]

January 26, 2004
Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

Psalm: Monday 7 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel

Reading I
2 Tm 1:1-8

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
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 of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

or

Ti 1:1-5

Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God's chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10

R. (3) Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Gospel
Mk 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and
"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments and discussion.

[Salvation]

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[Salvation]

From: 2 Timothy 1:1-8

Greeting

---

[1] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the
promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, [2] To Timothy, my beloved
child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord. [3] I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as did my
fathers, when I remember you constantly in my prayers. [4] As I remember
your tears, I long night and day to see you, that I may be filled with
joy. [5] I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in
your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells
in you.

Response to Grace

---

[6] Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you
through the laying on of my hands; [7] God did not give us a spirit of
timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.

St Paul, Herald of the Gospel

---

[8] Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his
prisoner, but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of
God.

---

Commentary:

1-2. The greeting is like that of 1 Timothy, although now St Paul adds a
specific reference to the purpose of his God-given call to the
apostolate--"according to the promise of the life which is in Christ
Jesus". Christ fulfills all the promises of happiness given to Abraham
and the other Old Testament patriarchs. The purpose of the Gospel message
is to let men know that they have been called to enjoy a new life in
Christ, that is, the divine life whose germ we receive at Baptism. That
sacrament initiates the life of grace in the soul, and ultimately that
life will blossom into eternal life (cf. 1 Tim 1:16; 6:12; Tit 1:2; 3:9).

On the exact meaning of the _expression "in Christ Jesus", see the note on
1 Tim 1:14.

3. "I thank God": this is not a spontaneous _expression of gratitude but
rather a permanent disposition of Paul's soul.

St Paul makes the point that his attitude of service and worship is the
same as that of his ancestors, the righteous of the Old Testament, for
although the Gospel is something new it does not involve a break with the
earlier revelation; rather it brings that revelation to fulfillment. The
Apostle pays tribute to the chosen people, not hiding his satisfaction at
being a Jew himself (cf. Rom 9:3; 11:1; Gal 2:15). "The Church of Christ
acknowledges", Vatican II states, "that in God's plan of salvation the
beginning of her faith and election is to be found in the patriarchs,
Moses and the prophets [...]. The Church cannot forget that she received
the revelation of the Old Testament by way of that people with whom God
in his inexpressible mercy established the ancient covenant [...]. She is
mindful, moreover, that the Apostles, the pillars on which the Church
stands, were of Jewish descent, as were many of those early disciples who
proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to the world" ("Nostra Aetate", 4).

6. "The gift of God" is the priestly character which Timothy received on
the day of his ordination. St Paul is using very graphic and precise
language: by the sacrament of Order a divine gift is conferred on the
priest; it is like an ember which needs to be revived from time to time
in order to make it glow and give forth the warmth it contains. St Thomas
Aquinas comments that "the grace of God is like a fire. which does not
flow when it is covered by ashes; the same thing happens when grace is
covered over in a person by sluggishness or natural fear" ("Commentary on
2 Tim, ad loc.").

The gifts which God confers on the priest "are not transitory or
temporary in him, but stable and permanent, attached as they are to an
indelible character, impressed on his soul, by which he is made a priest
forever (cf. Ps 109:4), in the likeness of Him in whose priesthood he has
been made to share" (Pius XI, "Ad Catholici Sacerdotii", 17).

"The laying on of my hands": see the note on 1 Tim 4:14.

7. The gift of God, received in the sacrament of Order by the laying on
of hands, includes sanctifying grace and sacramental grace, and the
actual graces needed for performing ministerial functions in a worthy
manner. The Council of Trent uses this text (vv. 6-7) when it solemnly
defines that Priestly Order is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ
(cf. "De Sacram. Ordinis", chap. 3).

The minister, then, must be courageous in performing his office: he
should preach the truth unambiguously even if it clashes with the
surroundings; he should do so with love, and be open to everyone despite
their faults; with sobriety and moderation, always seeing the good of
souls, not his own advantage. Since the days of the Fathers the Church
has urged priests to develop these virtues: "Priests should be
compassionate", St Polycarp warns; "they should show mercy to all; they
should try to reclaim those who go astray, visit the sick, and care for
the poor, the orphan and the widow. They should be concerned always to do
what is honorable in the sight of God and men. They should avoid any show
of anger, any partiality or trace of greed. They should not be over-ready
to believe ill of anyone, not too severe in their censure, being well
aware that we all owe the debt of sin" ("Letter to the Philippians",
chap. 6).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

From: Mark 3:22-30

Allegations of the Scribes

---

[22] And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He (Jesus) is
possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons He casts out the
demons." [23] And He called them to Him, and said to them in parables,
"How can Satan cast out Satan? [24] If a kingdom is divided against
itself, that kingdom cannot stand. [25] And if a house is divided
against itself, that house will not be able to stand. [26] And if
Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but
is coming to an end. [27] But no one can enter a strong man's house
and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then
indeed he may plunder his house."

Sins Against the Holy Spirit

---

[28] "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men,
and whatever blasphemies they utter; [29] but whoever blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an
eternal sin"--[30] for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

---

Commentary:

22-23. Even Jesus' miracles were misunderstood by these scribes, who
accuse Him of being a tool of the prince of devils, Beelzebul. This
name may be connected with Beelzebub (which spelling is given in some
codexes), the name of a god of the Philistine city of Eqron (Accaron),
which means "god of the flies." But it is more likely that the prince
of devils is called Beelzebul, which means "god of excrement":
"excrement" is the word Jews used to describe pagan sacrifices.
Whether Beelzebub or Beelzebul, in the last analysis it refers to him
to whom these sacrifices were offered, the devil (1 Corinthians
10:20). He is the same mysterious but real person whom Jesus calls
Satan, which means "the enemy", whose dominion over the world Christ
has come to wrest from him (1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 1:13f)
in an unceasing struggle (Matthew 4:1-10; John 16:11). These names
show us that the devil really exists: he is a real person who has at
his beck and call others of his kind (Mark 5:9).

24-27. Our Lord invites the Pharisees, who are blind and obstinate, to
think along these lines: if someone expels the devil this means he is
stronger than the devil: once more we are exhorted to recognize in
Jesus the God of strength, the God who uses His power to free man from
enslavement to the devil. Satan's dominion has come to an end: the
prince of this world is about to be cast out. Jesus' victory over the
power of darkness, which is completed by His death and resurrection,
shows that the light has already entered the world, as our Lord Himself
told us: "Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of
this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men to Myself" (John 12:31-32).

28-30. Jesus has just worked a miracle but the scribes refuse to
recognize it "for they had said `He has an unclean spirit'" (verse
30). They do not want to admit that God is the author of the miracle.
In this attitude lies the special gravity of blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit--attributing to the prince of evil, to Satan, the good works
performed by God Himself. Anyone acting in this way will become like
the sick person who has so lost confidence in the doctor that he
rejects him as if an enemy and regards as poison the medicine that can
save his life. That is why our Lord says that he who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will not forgiven: not because God cannot
forgive all sins, but because that person, in his blindness towards
God, rejects Jesus Christ, His teaching and His miracles, and despises
the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they were designed to trap him (cf.
"St. Pius V Catechism", II, 5, 19; St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa
theologiae", II-II, q. 14, a. 3).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

FEAST OF THE DAY

Saints Timothy and Titus were bishops of the first century and were
very influential in the formation of the early Church.

St. Timothy was born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother near
the middle of the first century. His mother was Jewish, but because
his father was not, Timothy was not accepted by the Jewish Faith.
During the third or fourth decade after Christ, Timothy was
introduced to Christianity by his grandmother, and began to develop
an appreciation and love for the Faith. Timothy made his final
conversion to Christianity with St. Paul in the year 47 and joined him
in his apostolic work.

Timothy accompanied Paul on his first trip to Corinth and on various
other journeys in their 15-year companionship. Timothy was with
Paul in Rome when he was arrested, and soon after was sent by
Paul to be a representative to the Church in Ephesus. After Timothy
and Paul set out on their different paths, Paul wrote him a letter,
which is included in the New Testament.


St. Titus was born a Greek and was also converted to Christianity by
the preaching of Paul. The two developed a deep friendship and
sought each other out for advice. Paul trusted Titus so much, that he
used him to deliver his letter to the Corinthians, and exhorts the
Corinthians to use Titus as a source for spiritual guidance and as an
example of holiness and zeal for the work of God. Titus served for a
time as a representative of the Church in Crete and received an
Epistle from Paul which is included in the New Testament.


QUOTE OF THE DAY

I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through
the imposition of my hands. 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 of me, a prisoner for his
sake; but bear your share of the hardship for the gospel with the
strength that comes from God. -St. Paul in his second letter to
Timothy (2 Tim 1:6-8)


TODAY IN HISTORY

1564 Following the closing of the Council of Trent, Pius IV publishes
the bulletin "Benedictus Deus."
1948 Executive Order 9981, ending segregation in US Armed Forces
signed
1999 John Paul II begins a pastoral visit to St. Louis, MO


TODAY'S TIDBIT

Zeal is the expression of charity that permits one to serve God and
others fully with the objective of furthering the Mystical Body of
Christ.


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all who are discerning their vocation.

[Salvation]

Thought for the Day

Faith seeks understanding.

 -- St. Anselm, Proslogion proemium

[Salvation]

Thought for the Day

Faith seeks understanding.

 -- St. Anselm, Proslogion proemium

[Salvation]

St. Anselm's quote is worth repeating in light of the Good News/Bad News thread and the possibility of losing the Religion Forum!

[american colleen]

Faith seeks understanding.

Great readings today. And true, too!

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Monday, January 26, 2004 Meditation 2 Timothy 1:1-8 Sts. Timothy and Titus God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7) Paul told Timothy—a somewhat timid apostle—to fan the flame of the Spirit within him so that he could be more effective in leading the church in Ephesus. Yet Paul’s command was not only for this one man in a particularly challenging situation. These words apply just as much to us, whatever our situations! After all, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead—the same Spirit that empowered Timothy—lives in us as well! Why should we fan the flame of the Spirit? Because God wants us to make a difference in this world, and he knows that we cannot do this on our own strength. Only Christ in us, the hope of glory, can empower us to build the kingdom of God. At the same time, we can’t just sit around and expect God to do the work in us, for faith without action is dead (James 2:17). No, we must step out in faith, learning to rely on the spiritual gifts Jesus has given us. So what practical steps can we take? How can we actually “fan the flame”? If we begin by following Jesus in the small things, not only will our faith grow but so will our experience of God’s power. Maybe that means establishing a time once a week to pray with our children. Maybe it means setting aside a part of our finances to help the poor and needy. Maybe it means doing something extra for our spouse to dem-onstrate our love. The possibilities are endless, and all of them can become a way to fan the flame if we ask the Holy Spirit to bless them. This is probably how Timothy and Titus became so effective as apostles, bishops, and witnesses to the resurrection. Like the rest of us, they each had their own strengths and weaknesses. But over time, as they cooperated with the Holy Spirit, they both saw God work wonders in them and through them. “Lord, thank you for the gift of your Spirit. Help me to move in this world with greater confidence in you. Jesus, I want to be your servant.”

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

<< Monday, January 26, 2004 >>

Sts. Timothy & Titus

2 Timothy 1:1-8 or
Titus 1:1-5

Psalm 89:20-22, 25-26

Mark 3:22-30

View Readings

BE A TITUS

“Titus, my own true child.” —Titus 1:4

St. Titus the apostle is seen in the New Testament as one who brings peace and unity. Titus accompanied Paul to Jerusalem (Gal 2:1) when Paul had a council with the Jewish apostles for the purpose of submitting his preaching content “for their scrutiny” (Gal 2:2). Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, and Titus, one of Paul’s Gentile converts to Christianity, was living proof of the fruit of Paul’s ministry (Gal 2:3). Titus’ living faith was a witness to the Jerusalem apostles, who stood united with Paul, approved him, and re-commissioned him to “go to the Gentiles” (Gal 2:9).

Paul wrote a severe letter of correction to the young Christians at Corinth. Because this was an explosive situation, Paul chose Titus, the man of peace and unity, to deliver this letter in person to Corinth. After Titus departed, Paul grew anxious for news of the impact of his letter. Paul couldn’t minister to the people of Troas, despite an “open door” to preach there, because Titus hadn’t returned yet with news (2 Cor 2:12-13). Paul was “low in spirit,” but God gave him “strength with the arrival of Titus” (2 Cor 7:6). Titus found joy in the repentance of the Corinthians (2 Cor 7:13) and gave Paul joy by his unifying ministry in Corinth. Titus’ heart embraced the Corinthians with an expanding love (2 Cor 7:15). No wonder Paul sent Titus to make peace. Blessed are the peacemakers (Mt 5:9).

Prayer: Father, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Promise: “With the strength which comes from God bear your share of the hardship which the gospel entails.” —2 Tm 1:8

Praise: St. Titus had a great love for the poor. With eagerness and zeal, he traveled from church to church to collect money so the poor of Jerusalem could have

[AAABEST]

I very happy to have gotten on your ping list. Great stuff here.

[Askel5]

=== St. Anselm's quote is worth repeating in light of the Good News/Bad News thread and the possibility of losing the Religion Forum!



Can you thumbnail for me what's going on over there? I started to read some of Sidebar Moderator's posts but they were NeverEnding Thread quality and I didn't have time to wade through it all.

[Askel5]

and I'm glad you're around ... I've enjoyed many of your replies of late, AAAbest.

[Askel5]

=== Sadly, a forum devoted to perhaps the highest endeavor of the human mind and soul, that of the religious expression of faith, has become an embarrassment to Free Republic


Nevermind ... I get the picture.

We can't have the religion forum detracting from the Polite Discourse of the main forum where even the Owner okays the bashing of Muslims, Jews can speak of exterminating Palestinians and the mobs divert their attention from bloodlust only long enough to make fun of Hillary's thighs or post boobie-shots of their favorite female "conservative" pundits?

Give me a break.

You guys are being shut down for the same damned reason Christianity's being excised from the public square save where it serves the purpose of gramscian "faithbased partnerships", the politicization of the Gospel, the support of "pro-lifers" who legitimize the use of human life as a "humanitarian" cash crop and -- above all -- the enshrinement of the Holy Land as somehow exempt from censure of any sort.

[AAABEST]

Well thank you, Askel. Always have enjoyed you.

Many of us thought the "tone" of the moderator's post was cause for remedial rebuke. I myself thought the wording was ill-concieved and didn't mince words in letting them know. I believe the Mod may have seen the light as he seemed to have moderated himself as it went along (he got kind of "rained upon").

Besides, JR is not dumb enough to eliminate the religion forum or even relegate it to the SBR, he knows better. I've always known him to for the most part be "long suffering" when it comes to tolerating consternation if he doesn't let his temper and the stress of running what at times can be a day care unti get the best of him.

All that being said, they do have a point.

From their side, there really are a lot of idiotic disruptive types who hate God and start trouble in here. Even those of us with good intentions can be jerks at times, myself included.

I think while perfection won't be attained, we'll can do much good here. Despite it's faults, as of now FR is a great place for contemplation and ministry.

One other thing:

I've always been against religion bashing, but to me Islam is not a religion. Their holy book, (which was written by a criminal psychopath) refers to my brothers and sisters as pigs. It's an evil religion of violence prone heathens that seeks dominance and should receive no creedence or respect whatsoever... at any time.

I don't care about their "holy lands" their religion or their feelings, they need Christ ASAP.

Always nice to hear from you and God bless.

[fatima]

Salvation,Mass bump.

[Salvation]

Glad to have you. And yes, there is good stuff here. In fact, I'm going to look for the links to threads that Lady in Blue may have posted about St. Timothy and St. Titus right now.

See you in a bit.

[Salvation]

Basically Jim Robinson is saying that if the people in the Religion Forum don't treat each other more kindly they are very close to dissolving the Religion Forum. I guess they get a lot of abuse pings.

It all goes with the fact that we tend to think of religion on an emotional level rather than faith on an intellectual level.

Big discussion for another thread, another day.......faith vs. religion. LOL!

(I'm pinging the sidebar mod since I have mentioned JimRob's name.)

[AAABEST]

Hey fatima! One of my favorite gals.