Jan. 26th - Timothy & Titus

 

St. Paul Consecrates St. Timothy a Bishop by Laying on of Hands

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus, who were friends of St. Paul. They went wi th St. Paul, as he went about to many cities speaking about Jesus and starting new churches. Both Timothy and Titus became bishops of the early Church.

St. Timothy’s father was not a Christian. His mother was Jewish. However, his mother, and grandmother of Timothy, eventually became Christians. Timothy studied scriptures from his early youth. He would accompany St. Paul, on his journeys.

Eventually put in prison and never wavering in his faith in Jesus, he was later set free. St. Paul consecrated Timothy, as bishop of Ephesus. As bishop, Timothy stayed in Ephesus to govern the church, oppose false teachers, and to ordain priests, deacons, and bishops. St. Paul wrote a letter to him, while Paul was a prisoner in Rome, and requested he come to see him, before he died.

Timothy practiced penance to such a degree, that he drank only water, rather than drinking wine, and so, Paul told him to drink a little wine. St. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, which are now New Testament books. He was eventually stoned and clubbed to death, by a mob, because he opposed the pagan festival, in which the people would carry an idol in one hand, and a club in the other.

The other disciple, whom we celebrate, is St. Titus, who was likewise a friend, and disciple of St. Paul, as well. Paul ordained him Bishop of Crete, which is an island nation near Italy. The letter he wrote a letter to Titus, is now also a book in the New Testament.

Titus was a secretary of St. Paul, who sent him to the cities of Ephesus and Corinth in order to settle problems among the early Christians, and to solve problems of scandal. He was later sent to Corinth once again by St. Paul, to collect money for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He lived to be an old man, and died a peaceful death in Crete.

Today, let us pray to Timothy and Titus, that God will inspire us, to imitate their faith and their holy example of discipleship, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first disciple of Christ.