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.
Mass Readings
First Reading – 2 Tm 1:1-8 or Ti 1:1-5
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
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 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables He did not speak to them, but to His own disciples He explained everything in private.
Featured Saints
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.
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.
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