Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-26-16, M, Sts. Timothy and Titus, Bishops

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 01-26-16 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

Daily Gospel Commentary

Saint Timothy and Saint Titus, bishops - Memorial

Commentary of the day
Blessed Paul VI, Pope from 1963-1978
Evangelii nuntiandi, 70

Being a lamp on the lamp stand

Lay people, whose particular vocation places them in the midst of the world and in charge of the most varied temporal tasks, must for this very reason exercise a very special form of evangelization.

Their primary and immediate task is not to establish and develop the ecclesial community -- this is the specific role of the pastors -- but to put to use every Christian and evangelical possibility latent but already present and active in the affairs of the world. Their own field of evangelizing activity is the vast and complicated world of politics, society and economics, but also the world of culture, of the sciences and the arts, of international life, of the mass media. It also includes other realities which are open to evangelization, such as human love, the family, the education of children and adolescents, professional work, suffering. The more Gospel-inspired lay people there are engaged in these realities, clearly involved in them, competent to promote them and conscious that they must exercise to the full their Christian powers which are often buried and suffocated, the more these realities will be at the service of the kingdom of God and therefore of salvation in Jesus Christ, without in any way losing or sacrificing their human content but rather pointing to a transcendent dimension which is often disregarded.

[Salvation]

'What does it profit a man to gain the universe if he loses his soul? A terrible thought, but profoundly true! As Saint Ignatius said: How insignificant earth seems to me when I consider Heaven.'

St. Bernadette Soubirous

[Salvation]

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

[eastsider]

This is not the first time I have seen the daily readings from the USCCB website differ from the Daily Roman Missal (Midwest Theological Forum). The Gospel reading in the Daily Missal — and the Lectionary — is Luke 10:1-9, the sending out of the 72 disciples.

[annalex]

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 3
31.	And his mother and his bretheren came; and standing without, sent unto him, calling him.	Et veniunt mater ejus et fratres : et foris stantes miserunt ad eum vocantes eum,	ερχονται ουν οι αδελφοι και η μητηρ αυτου και εξω εστωτες απεστειλαν προς αυτον φωνουντες αυτον
32.	And the multitude sat about him; and they say to him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.	et sedebat circa eum turba : et dicunt ei : Ecce mater tua et fratres tui foris quærunt te.	και εκαθητο οχλος περι αυτον ειπον δε αυτω ιδου η μητηρ σου και οι αδελφοι σου και αι αδελφαι σου εξω ζητουσιν σε
33.	And answering them, he said: Who is my mother and my brethren?	Et respondens eis, ait : Quæ est mater mea et fratres mei ?	και απεκριθη αυτοις λεγων τις εστιν η μητηρ μου η οι αδελφοι μου
34.	And looking round about on them who sat about him, he saith: Behold my mother and my brethren.	Et circumspiciens eos, qui in circuitu ejus sedebant, ait : Ecce mater mea et fratres mei.	και περιβλεψαμενος κυκλω τους περι αυτον καθημενους λεγει ιδε η μητηρ μου και οι αδελφοι μου
35.	For whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, and mother.	Qui enim fecerit voluntatem Dei, hic frater meus, et soror mea, et mater est.	ος γαρ αν ποιηση το θελημα του θεου ουτος αδελφος μου και αδελφη μου και μητηρ εστιν

[annalex]

31. There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent to him, calling him.
32. And the multitude sat about him, and they said to him, Behold, your mother and your brethren without seek for you.
33. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34. And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35. For whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

THEOPHYL. Because the relations of the Lord had come to seize upon Him, as if beside Himself, His mother, urged by the sympathy of her love, came to Him; wherefore it is said, And there came to him his mother, and, standing without, sent to him, calling him.

CHRYS. From this it is manifest that His brethren and His mother were not always with Him; but because He was beloved by them, they come from reverence and affection, waiting without. Wherefore it goes on, And the multitude sat about him, &c.

BEDE; The brothers of the Lord must not be thought to be the sons of the ever-virgin Mary, as Helvidius says, nor the sons of Joseph by a former marriage, as some think, but rather they must be understood to be His relations.

PSEUD-CHRYS. But another Evangelist says, that His brethren did not believe on Him. With which this agrees, which says, that they sought Him, waiting without, and with this meaning the Lord does not mention them as relations. Wherefore it follows, And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother. or my brethren? But He does not here mention His mother and His brethren altogether with reproof, but to show that a man must honor his own soul above all earthly kindred; wherefore this is fitly said to those who called Him to speak with His mother and relations, as if it were a more useful task than the teaching of salvation.

BEDE; Being asked therefore by a message to go out, He declines, not as though He refused the dutiful service of His mother, but to show that He owes more to His Father's mysteries than to His mother's feelings. Nor does He rudely despise His brothers, but, preferring His spiritual work to fleshly relationship, He teaches us that religion is the bond of the heart rather than that of the body. Wherefore it goes on, And looking round about on them which sat about him, he said, Behold my mother and my brethren.

CHRYS. By this, the Lord shows that we should honor those who are relations by faith rather than those who are relations by blood. A man indeed is made the mother of Jesus by preaching Him; for He, as it were, brings forth the Lord, when he pours Him into the heart of his hearers.

PSEUDO-JEROME; But let us be assured that we are His brethren and This sisters, if we do the will of the Father; that we may be joint-heirs with Him, for He discerns us not by sex but by our deeds. Wherefore it goes on: Whoever shall do the will of God, &c.

THEOPHYL. The does not therefore say this, as denying His mother, but as showing that He is worthy of honor, not only because she bore Christ, but on account of her possessing every other virtue.

BEDE; But mystically, the mother and brother of Jesus means the synagogue, (from which according to the flesh He sprung,) and the Jewish people who, while the Savior is teaching within, come to Him, and are not able to enter, because they cannot understand spiritual things. But the crowd eagerly enter, because when the Jews delayed, the Gentiles flocked to Christ; but His kindred, who stand without wishing to see the Lord, are the Jews who obstinately remained without, guarding the letter, and would rather compel the Lord to go forth to them to teach carnal things, than consent to enter in to learn spiritual things of Him. If therefore not even His parents when standing without are acknowledged, how shall we be acknowledged, if we stand without? For the word is within and the light within.

Catena Aurea Mark 3

[annalex]

The Ghent Altarpiece (wings open)

Jan van Eyck

1432
Oil on wood, 350 x 461 cm

[Salvation]

That was an alternative that I did not post. Thank you.

[Salvation]

Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops

Saints Timothy & Titus, Bishops
Memorial
January 26th

unknown artist

Saints Timothy and Titus were two of the most beloved and trusted disciples of St. Paul, whom they accompanied in many of his journeys.

St. Timothy has been regarded by some as the "angel of the church of Ephesus", Rev 2:1-17. According to the ancient Roman martyrology he died Bishop of Ephesus. The Bollandists (Jan. 24) give two lives of St. Timothy, one ascribed to Polycrates (an early Bishop of Ephesus, and a contemporary of St. Irenæus) and the other by Metaphrastes, which is merely an expansion of the former. The first states that during the Neronian persecution St. John arrived at Ephesus, where he lived with St. Timothy until he was exiled to Patmos under Domitian. Timothy, who was unmarried, continued Bishop of Ephesus until, when he was over eighty years of age, he was mortally beaten by the pagans. According to early tradition Titus continued after St. Paul's death as Archbishop of Crete, and died there when he was over ninety.

(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition, )

---

Collect:
O God, who adorned Saints Timothy and Titus
with apostolic virtues,
grant, through the intercession of them both,
that, living justly and devoutly in this present age,
we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-8
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as did my fathers, when I remember you constantly in my prayers. As I remember your tears, I long night and day to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you. Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.

Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God.


or Titus 1:1-5
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who never lies, promised ages ago and at the proper time manifested in His word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by command of God our Savior;

To Titus, my true child in a common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.


Gospel Reading: Luke 10:1-9
After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come. And He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

---

Related Link on the Vatican Website: Benedict XVI, General Audience, Paul VI Audience Hall, Wednesday, 13 December 2006, Timothy and Titus

[Salvation]

Church remembers St. Paul's companions, Sts. Timothy and Titus (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
[Saints] Timothy and Titus
Saint Timothy and Saint Titus
Timothy and Titus: They Teach Us to Serve the Gospel With Generosity

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Timothy and St. Titus

Feast Day: January 26

Besides being saints and bishops in the early Church, these two men have something else in common. Both received the gift of faith through the preaching of St. Paul.

Timothy was born in Lycaonia in Asia Minor. His mother Eunice was a Jew and his father was a Gentile. When Paul came to preach in Lycaonia, Timothy, his mother and his grandmother all became Christians.

Many years later, Paul went back and found Timothy grown up. He felt that Timothy had a call from God to be a missionary. Paul invited him to join him in preaching the Gospel and Timothy left his home and parents to follow Paul.

He soon began to share in Paul's sufferings as well. They joyfully brought the Word of God to many people. Timothy was Paul's beloved disciple, like a son to him. He went everywhere with Paul until he became bishop of Ephesus. Then Timothy stayed there to shepherd his people. Timothy, too, died a martyr and was stoned to death in the year 97 because he refused to worship King Dionysius.

Titus was a Gentile nonbeliever. He, too, became Paul's disciple. Titus was generous and hard-working. He joyfully preached the Good News with Paul on their missionary travels.

Because Titus was so trustworthy, Paul freely sent him on many "missions" to the Christian communities. Titus helped people strengthen their faith in Jesus. He was able to restore peace when there were arguments among the Christians. Titus had a special gift for being a peacemaker.

Paul appreciated this gift in Titus and recognized it as the Holy Spirit's work. Paul would send Titus to solve problems. When Titus would arrive among a group of Christians, the guilty ones would feel sorry. They would ask forgiveness and would make up for what they had done. When peace was restored, Titus would go back and tell Paul about the good results. This brought Paul and the first Christians much happiness.

St. Paul made Titus bishop of the island of Crete, where he stayed until his death.

[Salvation]

Tuesday

January 26, 2016

Saying Grace

“You can say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” ~ G. K. Chesterton

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: January 26th

Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus, bishops

MASS READINGS

January 26, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who adorned Saints Timothy and Titus with apostolic virtues, grant through the intercession of them both, that, living justly and devoutly in this present age, we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

show

Recipes (1)

• Apostle Cookies

show

Activities (3)

• Apostle Cookies
• Namedays
• What is a Nameday?

show

Prayers (4)

• Prayer for Priests
• Prayer for a Priest
• A Prayer for Priests and Bishops
• Novena for Purification

show

Library (1)

• Timothy and Titus Pope Benedict XVI

Old Calendar: St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr

St. Timothy, born in Galatia in Asia Minor, was baptized and later ordained to the priesthood by St. Paul. The young Galatian became Paul's missionary companion and his most beloved spiritual son. St. Paul showed his trust in this disciple by consecrating him bishop of the great city of Ephesus. St. Timothy was stoned to death thirty years after St. Paul's martyrdom for having denounced the worship of the goddess Diana. According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite St. Timothy's feast is celebrated on January 24 and St. Titus on February 6.

St. Titus, a convert from paganism, was a fellow laborer of St. Paul on many apostolic missions. St. Paul later made him bishop of Crete, a difficult charge because of the character of the inhabitants and the spread of erroneous doctrines on that island. St. Paul's writings tell us that St. Titus rejoiced to discover what was good in others and drew the hearts of men by his wide and affectionate sympathy.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Polycarp, which is now celebrated in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite on February 23.

---

St. Timothy
Timothy was Paul's dearest disciple, his most steadfast associate. He was converted during the apostle's first missionary journey. When Paul revisited Lystra, Timothy, though still very young (about twenty) joined him as a co-worker and companion. Thereafter, there existed between them a most intimate bond, as between father and son. St. Paul calls him his beloved child, devoted to him "like a son to his father" (Phil. 2:22). Of a kindly disposition, unselfish, prudent, zealous, he was a great consolation to Paul, particularly in the sufferings of his later years. He also assisted the apostle in the establishment of all the major Christian communities and was entrusted with missions of highest importance. Timothy was with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment. Paul made his self-sacrificing companion bishop of Ephesus, but the finest monument left him by his master are the two canonical Epistles bearing his name.

-- Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Intestinal disorders; stomach diseases.

Symbols: Club and stones; broken image of Diana.

Things to Do:

• No one understood the heart of St. Paul better than St. Timothy. His finest legacy is the two epistles he wrote to Timothy. Today would be an opportune occasion to study these epistles and to apply personally the high ideals proposed.

• Look up the descriptions St. Paul gives of his traveling companion, Tim: 1, Cor. 4:17, Phil. 2:19-20, Rom. 16:21, and 2 Tim. 1:4-5.

• Pray that the Church may be blessed with bishops, priests, and deacons, endowed with all those qualifications St. Paul requires from the dispensers of the mysteries of God. Say the following invocation frequently: "Jesus, Savior of the world, sanctify Thy priests and sacred ministers."

---

St. Titus
St. Titus, a pagan by birth, became one of St. Paul's most illustrious disciples. He accompanied the apostle on several of his missionary journeys and was entrusted with important missions. Finally he came with St. Paul to the island of Crete, where he was appointed bishop. He performed this duty in accordance with the admonition given him, ". . . in all things show yourself an example of good works" (Tit. 2:7).

Tradition tells us that he died a natural death at the age of 94, having lived in the state of virginity during his whole life. St. Paul left a worthy monument to Titus, his faithful disciple, in the beautiful pastoral letter which forms part of the New Testament. Today's feast in his honor was introduced in 1854.

-- Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Crete.

Symbols: Broken images; ruined temple of Jupiter.

Things to Do:

• St. Paul left a worthy monument to Titus, his faithful disciple, in his letter. Read this letter.

• Even though St. Timothy and Titus were disciples, bake some apostle cookies and adapt them for this feast.

---

Bl. José Gabriel Brochero
Blessed Jose Gabriel is known in Argentina as the "cowboy priest." This gaucho, as local cattle-herders are known, served a large parish spread over miles of mountainous terrain.

Bl. José showed bravery in his first years as a priest by ministering to victims of a cholera epidemic in the city of Cordoba, Argentina. At 29 he was assigned to St. Albert, a remote parish numbering about ten thousand souls with neither schools nor roads. Padre José went on the back of a mule along the mountains to care for his flock, carrying a Mass kit and an image of the Blessed Mother. His flock was, in a sense, "lost," so remote were they from the larger society. Father José said of his people that "they were abandoned by everyone, but not by God." Early in his tenure, he desired spiritual renewal for his parish and so he led a group across mountains in a snowstorm to a retreat being held at Cordoba on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. This beginning in prayer produced much fruit in the parish.

His priestly ministry drew him to the people, to "go out," as Jesus and his apostles went out to where the people were to be found. This "going out" involved risk: the danger of terrain, long days far from home, and the unexpected. Pope Francis has especially encouraged priests and generally all Christians to get out on the roads and into the public squares as a necessary first step in evangelization, in sharing Christ.

Blessed Jose Gabriel was not unknown to the public for his incarnational way of ministering. He worked alongside his people. A Cordoba newspaper wrote about this priest's way of serving in an 1887 article:

"He practices the gospel. Are you missing a carpenter? He's a carpenter. Are you missing a laborer? He's a laborer. He rolls up his cassock wherever he is, takes the shovel or hoe and opens a public road in 15 days aided by his parishioners."

In these tasks Bl. Jose found a space of communion in labor with his parishioners and a solid imitation of his patron, St. Joseph. He worked to build roads, schools, and to get mail and telegraph couriers for the good of the people. In his letter to those gathered for the beatification ceremony, Pope Francis said: "This shepherd who smelled of sheep became poor among the poor."

Bl. Jose Gabriel was born in 1840, the same year of birth as St. Damien of Molokai. Like Damien, Jose Gabriel served those who were considered untouchable, the lepers, and like Damien he died a leper. He continued to pray and offer Mass although ill and blind. His "going out" was a complete emptying of self. Pope Francis wrote: "Brochero did not stay in the parish offices: he would exhaust himself riding his mule and he ended up being sick with leprosy." Bl. Jose Gabriel died January 26, 1914.

The beatification ceremony at Cordoba was attended by close to 150,000 people, including three thousand gauchos wearing the traditional ponchos of the Argentine cowboy. This priest was a lone ranger when he had to be and, like his Divine Master, was brave, courageous, and bold.

Excerpted from Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph

Things to Do:

• Read more about Bl. Jose Brochero here, here and at Zenit.

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Tuesday, January 26

Liturgical Color: White

Today the Church honors St. Margaret of
Hungary. Her parents placed her in a convent at
the age of 3 and she became a nun at age 12.
She lived a life of extreme penance and fasting
to the detriment of her health. She died in 1270,
when only 28.

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for January 26, 2016:

"The two dimensions of conjugal union, the unitive and the procreative, cannot be artificially separated without damaging the deepest truth of the conjugal act itself." -- St. John Paul II, Letter to Families, no. 12. The Church's teaching on openness to life has everything to do with the very meaning of love and marriage; it [. . .]

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Stronger Than Blood-Here is my Mother

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

January 26, 2016 - Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops

 

Mark 3:31-35

His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you." But he said to them in reply, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

 

Introductory Prayer: Today I want to encounter you as a friend and brother, Lord. I believe that you want to encounter me and transform me. Thank you for working in my heart, calling me to a deeper identification with you. I trust that you will lead me along paths of growth and fruitfulness.

Petition: Lord, help me to put my will in conformity with yours.

1. Maybe He Needs a Break: Jesus was very busy. Perhaps he was tired. Perhaps his mother arrived to give him a bit of food or a word of encouragement. But we find in today’s Gospel a Christ who is strong. He has strengthened himself through intimate contact with the Father. He has filled his heart with a love for souls. He finds nourishment in doing the Father’s will. Surely his mother was encouraged by what she found. Do I let the will of God be my strength? Does prayer transform me to the point where charity and evangelization become my natural way of being?
   

2. Closeness for the Right Reason: As Jesus taught and healed, people were naturally attracted to him. Yet simply being physically close to him did not count. One had to open one’s heart to receive his message of conversion. He was looking to transform people, to make them capable of living as sons and daughters of God. If I am willing to learn Jesus’ standards and act as he does, then I can be close to him. He will allow me into his intimacy if I make God’s will mine.
   

3. Accompanying Christ: There is a mysterious reality here. I can actually bring consolation to Christ’s heart. I can accompany him on his divine mission. I must be willing to renounce my will and do only the will of the Father. Can Christ point to me and say, “He is my brother; she is my sister; she is my mother”? I must look at my life and see what is not in conformity to his will. I must make a firm resolution to show my faith and love in the very thing that is most difficult for me.
   

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you give me this short life in order to become part of your family. I want to make the Father’s will my own as you did. Help me to put God’s will above everything else, so that it becomes what I most deeply desire. Then I will truly be yours.

Resolution: Today I will make an act of charity towards someone with whom I find it difficult to get along.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 1

<< Tuesday, January 26, 2016 >>

Sts. Timothy and Titus

2 Timothy 1:1-8 or
Titus 1:1-5
View Readings

Psalm 96:1-3, 7-8, 10

Mark 3:31-35
Similar Reflections

BE A TITUS

"Titus, my own true child..." —Titus 1:4

St. Titus the apostle is seen in the New Testament as one who brings peace and unity. Titus accompanied Paul to Jerusalem (Gal 2:1) when Paul had a council with the Jewish apostles for the purpose of submitting his preaching content "for their scrutiny" (Gal 2:2). Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, and Titus, one of Paul's Gentile converts to Christianity, was living proof of the fruit of Paul's ministry (Gal 2:3). Titus' living faith was a witness to the Jerusalem apostles, who stood united with Paul, approved him, and re-commissioned him to "go to the Gentiles" (Gal 2:9).

Paul wrote a severe letter of correction to the young Christians at Corinth. Because this was an explosive situation, Paul chose Titus, the man of peace and unity, to deliver this letter in person to Corinth. After Titus departed, Paul grew anxious for news of the impact of his letter. Paul couldn't minister to the people of Troas, despite an "open door" to preach there, because Titus hadn't returned yet with news (2 Cor 2:12-13). Paul was "low in spirit," but God gave him "strength with the arrival of Titus" (2 Cor 7:6). Titus found joy in the repentance of the Corinthians (2 Cor 7:13) and gave Paul joy by his unifying ministry in Corinth. Titus' heart embraced the Corinthians with an expanding love (2 Cor 7:15). No wonder Paul sent Titus to make peace. Blessed are the peacemakers (Mt 5:9).

Prayer: Father, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Promise: "With the strength which comes from God bear your share of the hardship which the gospel entails." —2 Tm 1:8

Praise: "Thanks be to God, Who has put an equal zeal for you in the heart of Titus!" (2 Cor 8:16)

[Salvation]