HOMILY FOR THE MEMORIAL OF ST. TIMOTHY AND ST. TITUS

Homily for the memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus 

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Holy Mother Church celebrates two great disciples and co-workers of St. Paul. Both were Bishops: Timothy was the Bishop of Ephesus, whereas Titus was the Bishop of Crete. The amicable and cordial relationship with St. Paul is beautifully expressed in Paul's pastoral letters. Amidst these St. Paul wrote two pastoral letters to Timothy and one to Titus. 

Pauls's letter to Timothy is filled with practical instructions about the life of the local Church (cf 1 Tim 15:15) with the primal ambition to promote holiness and spread the message of salvation to all people ( cf 1 Tim 2:1-7, 3:2-13, 4:10). Themes such as church leadership (1 Tim 3:1-13), prayer for those in authority (1Tim 2:1-2) the danger of false teachings 1 Tim 4:1-5, 6:3-10), etc are key issues in Paul's pastoral letter to Timothy. 

In Paul's pastoral letter to Titus, he urges Titus to appoint worthy elders to the position of responsibility, to preach sound doctrine, and to exemplify in his own life the virtues that are expected of all Christians. Hence, the instruction of Elders, instruction on godly behavior, and teaching of sound doctrines are thematic issues that preoccupied the pastoral epistle of St. Paul to Titus. 

The distinguished personalities of Sts. Timothy and Titus can very well be deduced from Paul's expression of their usefulness in his pastoral/missionary works. To Timothy, Paul acclaimed him as “my beloved and faithful Child in the Lord" (1 Cor 4:17) and “my co-worker" (Rom 16:21). To Titus, St.  Paul described him as “my loyal child" (Titus 1:4) and in his second letter to the Corinthians, he spoke of him as an instrument of consolation. He said: "But God who consoles the downcast, consoled us by the arrival of Titus" (2 Cor 7:6). He further described him as "my partner and co-worker in your service" (2 Cor 8:23).

Consequently, passion for evangelization, fidelity to the Gospel, collaboration, reliability, trustworthiness, usefulness, dependability, devotedness, unselfish service,  etc characterizes these two great saints. They were with Paul for so many years and were united with him in fidelity and love. 

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, the celebration of today invites us as Christians to emulate the exemplary life of Timothy and Titus, on becoming efficient helpers and co-workers in the work of evangelization. We must by words and deeds become co-responsible for the spread of the Gospel messages. The dissemination of the good news of the kingdom of God must not be left solely to the effort of the priest and the religious but through our collaborative effort to be replicated in our homes, schools,  places of work and our neighborhoods, etc. 

May the good Lord bless our feet as we go about proclaiming the risen Christ 

God bless you bountifully 

Fr Remi osj