From: 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Response to grace
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[6] Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the
laying on of my hands; [7] for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit
of power and love and self control.
St Paul, herald of the Gospel
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[8] Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but
take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God.
[13] Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the
faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; [14] guard the truth that has been entrus-
ted to you by the holy Spirit who dwells within us.
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Commentary:
6. “The gift of God” is the priestly character which Timothy received on the day
of his ordination. St Paul is using very graphic and precise language; by the sa-
crament of Order a divine gift is conferred on the priest; it is like an ember which
needs to be revived from time to time in order to make it glow and give forth the
warmth it contains. St Thomas Aquinas comments that “the grace of God is like
a fire, which does not glow when it is covered by ashes; the same thing happens
when grace is covered over in a person by sluggishness or natural fear” (Com-
mentary on 2 Tim, ad loc.).
The gifts which God confers on the priest “are not transitory or temporary in him,
but stable and permanent, attached as they are to an indelible character, impres-
sed on his soul, by which he is made a priest forever (cf. Ps 109:4), in the like-
ness of Him in whose priesthood he has been made to share” (Pius XI, Ad catho-
lici sacerdotii, 17).
“The laying on of my hands”: see the note on 1 Tim 4:14.
Note from 1 Tim 4:14: The “laying on of hands” is another technical expression.
Jesus used this gesture many times (cf. Mt 9:18-19; 19:15; Mk 6:5; 7:32; 8:23-
25; 16:8; Lk 4:40; 13:13); the Apostles used it as a rite for bringing down the Ho-
ly Spirit (Acts 8:17; 19:6). Here, as elsewhere in these letters, the laying on of
hands is the rite of priestly ordination (cf. 1 Tim 5:22; 2 Tim 1:6), whereby the
mission and powers of the person performing the rite are passed on, thereby en-
suring continuity of priesthood. In 2 Timothy 1:6, a parallel text, it says “through
the laying on of my hands”; whereas here it says “when the elders laid their
hands on you”. The participles “through” and “when” imply that the action of im-
position of hands is an essential part of the sacrament.
The Church has preserved intact the essential elements of the sacrament of Or-
der — the laying on of hands and the consecrating words of the bishop (cf. Paul
VI, Apost. Const. “Pontificalis Romani recognitio”, 18 July 1968).
7. The gift of God, received in the sacrament of Order by the laying on of hands,
includes sanctifying grace and sacramental grace, and the actual graces needed
for performing ministerial functions in a worthy manner. The Council of Trent uses
this text (vv. 6-7) when it solemnly defines that Priestly Order is a sacrament in-
stituted by Jesus Christ (cf. De Sacram. Ordinis, chap. 3).
The minister, then, must be courageous in performing his office: he should preach
the truth unambiguously even if it clashes with the surroundings; he should do so
with love, and be open to everyone despite their faults; with sobriety and modera-
tion, always seeing the good of souls, not his own advantage. Since the days of
the Fathers the Church has urged priests to develop these virtues: “Priests
should be compassionate”, St Polycarp warns; “they should show mercy to all;
they should try to reclaim those who go astray, visit the sick, and care for the
poor, the orphan and the widow. They should be concerned always to do what
is honourable in the sight of God and men. They should avoid any show of anger,
any partiality or trace of greed. They should not be over-ready to believe ill of any-
one, not too severe in their censure, being well aware that we all owe the debt of
sin” (Letter to the Philippians, chap. 6).
13-14, In guarding that has been entrusted to him (cf. notes on 1 Tim 6:20 and
2 Tim 1:12), Timothy, like all the pastors of the Church, receives the supernatural
help of the Holy Spirit. “Guiding the Church in the way of all truth (cf. Jn 16:13)
and unifying her in communion and in the works of ministry, (the Spirit) bestows
upon her varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her; and
he adorns her with his fruits (cf. Eph 4:11-12; 1 Cor 12:4; Gal 5:22)” (Vatican II,
Lumen gentium, 4).
The Holy Spirit has been with the Church since the day of Pentecost, ever-active
in the sanctification of all believers. His action includes guaranteeing the faithful
transmission of the entire body of teaching revealed by God, ensuring that it be
unchanged in any way. The First Vatican Council teaches that the Holy Spirit
“was not promised to the successors of St Peter so that they by their own revela-
tion might make known some new teaching; he was promised so that by means
of his help they might reverently guard and faithfully expound the revelation trans-
mitted by the Apostles, that is, the deposit of faith” (Pastor aeternus, chap. 4).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Luke 17:5-10
The Power of Faith
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[5] The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith! [6] And the Lord said, “If
you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree,
‘Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.
Humble Service
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[7] “Will any of you, who has a servant ploughing or keeping sheep, say to him
when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down at table’? [8]
Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve
me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink’? [9] Does he thank
the servant because he did what was commanded? [10] So you also, when you
have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have
only done what was our duty.’”
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Commentary:
1-3. Our Lord condemns scandal, that is, “any saying, action or omission which
constitute for another an occasion of sin” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 417). Jesus is
teaching two things here: the first is that scandal will “in fact” happen; the se-
cond, that it is a grave sin, as shown by the punishment it earns.
The reason why it is so serious a sin is that it “tends to destroy God’s greatest
work, that of Redemption, through souls being lost; it kills one’s neighbor’s soul
by taking away the life of grace, which is more precious than the life of the body,
and it is the cause of a multitude of sins. This is why God threatens with the
most severe punishment those who cause others to stumble” (”ibid”., 418). See
Matthew 18:6-7; 18-8; 18:10.
“Take heed to yourselves”: a serious warning, meaning that we should not be a
cause of scandal to others nor should we be influenced by the bad example
others give us.
People who enjoy authority of any kind (parents, teachers, politicians, writers,
artists, etc.) can more easily be a cause of scandal. We need to be on the alert
in this respect in view of our Lord’s warning, “Take heed to yourselves.”
2. Millstones were circular in shape with a large hole in the center. Our Lord’s
description, therefore, was very graphic: it meant that the person’s head just fit-
ted through the hole and then he could not get the stone off.
3-4. In order to be a Christian one must always, genuinely, forgive others. Also,
one has to correct an erring brother to help him change his behavior. But frater-
nal correction should always be done in a very refined way, full of charity; other-
wise we would humiliate the person who has committed the fault, whereas we
should not humiliate him but help him to be better.
Forgiving offenses — which is something we should always do — should not be
confused with giving up rights which have been justly violated. One can claim
rights without any kind of hatred being implied; and sometimes charity and jus-
tice require us to exercise our rights. “Let’s not confuse the rights of the office
you hold with your rights as a person. The former can never be waived” (St. J.
Escriva, “The Way”, 407).
Sincere forgiveness leads us to forget the particular offense and to extend the
hand of friendship, which in turn helps the offender to repent.
The Christian vocation is a calling to holiness, but one of its essential require-
ments is that we show apostolic concern for the spiritual welfare of others:
Christianity cannot be practiced in an isolated, selfish way. Thus, “if any one
among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, let him know
that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from
death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).
5. “Increase our faith!”: a good ejaculatory prayer for every Christian. “Omnia pos-
sibilia sunt credenti”. Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ The words
are Christ’s. How is it that you don’t say to Him with the Apostles: ‘”adauge no-
bis fidem”! increase my faith!’?” (”The Way”, 588).
6. “I’m not one for miracles. I have told you that in the Holy Gospel I can find
more than enough to confirm my faith. But I can’t help pitying those Christians —
pious people, ‘apostles’ many of them — who smile at the idea of extraordinary
ways, of supernatural events. I feel the urge to tell them: Yes, this is still the
age of miracles: we too would work them if we had faith!” (”The Way”, 583).
7-10. Jesus is not approving this master’s abusive and arbitrary behavior: He is
using an example very familiar to His audience to show the attitude a person
should have towards his Creator: everything, from our very existence to the eter-
nal happiness promised us, is one huge gift from God. Man is always in debt to
God; no matter what service he renders Him he can never adequately repay the
gifts God has given him. There is no sense in a creature adopting a proud atti-
tude towards God. What Jesus teaches us here we see being put into practice
by our Lady, who replied to God’s messenger (the Archangel Gabriel), “Behold,
I am the handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:38).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.