PLANT THEIR SEEDS
We would do well
to choose Paul, Timothy and Titus as models in faith.
Today we remember
Saints Timothy and Titus, Saint Paul's two closest colleagues, both of whom had
Paul as a mentor in the faith. With him they participated in the Council of
Jerusalem, and from him, tradition says, they received the pastoral epistles
that bear their names. In the Second Letter addressed to Timothy, Paul calls
him "my child whom I love" (2 Tim 1:2), and in the letter to Titus,
one of Paul's Gentile converts, he addresses Titus as "my own true child
in our common faith" (Titus 1:4). Gifted with organizational skills, Titus
was sent by Paul on various missions to the early Christian communities. Paul
knew by helping them plant their seeds on good soil that good things would
happen. Both men were appointed bishops
and were charged by Paul to preach sound doctrine and to preserve the Faith.
They were empowered to organize and form Christian communities and to bear
witness to Jesus Christ at whatever cost to them.
When I look at my
own life and the ministry I am called to, I believe God has sent people to help
mentor me in my faith journey. These people help me to see what God wants me to
do in a certain situation or decision I need to make, especially when it
involves helping someone who is either in need or is looking to find Jesus. I
have been blessed by the people that I see every day: my family, the staff and
retreatants of this Retreat Center, my spiritual director and mentor. All of
them have truly helped me throughout my journey.
Each one of us, in
our own faith journey and in doing God's work, also needs someone in faith to
mentor us, and to give us spiritual direction that helps guide us so we can
stay focused on Jesus and on what He taught us. Today is a good day to think
about those who have guided us and continue to help us along the way!
We would do well to
choose Paul, Timothy and Titus as models in faith. We, like they, are on the
threshold of something new. We, like they, can choose to be supported by and to
support other members of the faith community. We, like they, encourage one
another when we express gratitude, forgive one another, and accept the
challenges of living in this world and loving each other.
In the beginning of
the Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy we read these words: "For God did
not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and self control" (2
Tim 1:7). With the help of others, we too, are to go on our way just as we are,
with no extras, and proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations (Ps 96).
Let us remember
what Jesus told us in the Gospel of Luke: "The harvest is abundant but the
laborers are few" (Lk 10:2). Let us go on our way.