A Word from Your Pastor January 26 - Celebrating the Feast of Ss. Timothy and Titus

Dear Parishioners:

Happy Feast Day!  Today we honor our patron St. Timothy and his companion Titus, both of whom were co-workers with St. Paul when the Church was being established throughout the world.  It is important for us to know about our patron in order to wear his name proudly.

Timothy, our Patron was a real person.  The statue in front of church is striking.  He is there to greet us to remind us that he is with us in the Communion of Saints.  Two details of the statue are worth noting:  The verse in the inscription has become a sort of motto of our life together as a Parish and a School.  “To the King of Ages, the Invisible, the Immortal, the only God, be Honor and Glory forever.”

Timothy is holding a book.  This brings to mind the two letters he received in his own name, but it is also because he is listed by St. Paul as a co-author of many of his letters to other people.

We know from Paul that Timothy came from a family of strong faith, though of mixed religion.  (Paul mentions his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.)

From the Acts of the Apostles, as well as from Paul himself in various Letters, we know that Timothy was a companion of St. Paul on his missionary journeys, that Paul loved him like a son, and that he trusted him to bring peace to communities in distress and to keep Paul informed as to what was going on.

From the Letters he received from Paul and from Tradition, we know he was Bishop of Ephesus, a place that figures greatly in the earliest history of the spread of the Gospel and in the writings of the New Testament.  It is also the place where Mary and John the Beloved Disciple lived out their years after the Resurrection.

Tradition tells us that Timothy died a martyr in Ephesus on the pagan feast of Katagonia, in honor of the goddess Diana.

As our Patron, Timothy calls us to be true to our Faith as a Family.  He invites us to take the Gospel to the streets, to share the Joy of it with those we meet.  He reminds us that youth have something to contribute and that their zeal can be a force for good in the community.  And he shows us that we can be faithful to the end.

Recently, the earthly remains of St. Timothy, which are held at the Cathedral of Termoli, in Italy, paid a visit to Rome, with stops at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls and at St. Peter’s Basilica.  Our Patron is still inspiring the faithful with his travels!

May we continue to follow the example of our Patron and Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Prayer for the Feast of St. Timothy 2020

 That our eyes may be opened 

to see Jesus among us,
so that the Light of Christ
may shine through our unity.