Memorial of Sts.Timothy and Titus, bishops.
Disciples and companions of St Paul. The New Testament contains two epistles written by St. Paul to Timothy, who was left as the first Bishop of Ephesus. Titus was sent to head the church in Crete, where he was also the recipient of a Pauline epistle, and where he died at an advanced age.
Other featured Saints
St. Augustine Erlandsson, bishop (†1188). Archbishop of Nidaros (present-day Trondheim – Norway), he defended the Church confided to him against sovereigns and fortified it with admirable diligence.
St. Alberic of Cîteaux, abbot (†1109). One of the founders of the Monastery of Cîteaux in France.
St. Paula, widow (†404). Roman widow, spiritual disciple of St. Jerome, who lived with her daughter, St. Eustochium, in a monastery she founded in Bethlehem of Judea.
Blessed Michael Kozal, Bishop and martyr (†1943). Auxiliary Bishop of Wlocławek, Poland. For defending the Faith and the liberty of the Church He was imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp, and was killed by lethal injection.
Blessed Gabriele Maria Allegra, priest (†1976). Franciscan, outstanding scholar and preacher, he translated the entire Bible into the Chinese language. He died in Hong Kong.
Blessed Marie de la Dive du Verdier, martyr (†1794). Widow guillotined during the French Revolution for her fidelity to the Church.
Mass Readings
First Reading – 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)
R. 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.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. R.
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.
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.
Gospel – Mk 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. and as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”
Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
