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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, mer-
cy, 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.

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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 hap-
piness 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 blos-
som into eternal life (cf. 1 Tim 1:16; 6:12; Ti 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 Gos-
pel 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 peo-
ple, 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 re-
velation of the Old Testament by way of that people with whom God in his inex-
pressible mercy established the ancient covenant [...]. She is mindful, moreover,
that the Apostles, the pillars on which the Church stands, were of Jewish de-
scent, 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 sa-
crament 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 hap-
pens 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, im-
pressed 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 nee-
ded 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 sacra-
ment 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 modera-
tion, 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).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.