Yesterday, we celebrated the feast of the conversion of St Paul. Today, we celebrate two of Paul’s compassions from his missionary journeys: Timothy and Titus. Timothy later became the administrator of the important community of Christ's followers in Ephesus, while Titus served the Church in Crete. In the beginning of his 2nd letter to Timothy, Paul recalls the importance of the Holy Spirit in the gift of our faith, as well as how our faith has been passed down to us, with Timothy being greatly influenced by the faith of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.
The faith of our fathers and mothers, of our grandparents and our ancestors, lives on in our faith today. I bet that many of us here in our parish of St Jude have had our lives of faith greatly influenced by the faith of our parents and grandparents, and how our parents and elders of our parish influence the faith of our younger members. This aspect of our faith has not changed very much since the time of Paul, Timothy, and Titus.
Paul exhorts Timothy to stir into flame the gift of God that he has received, telling him, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love and self-control.” Truly living our faith with enthusiasm and zeal, discerning the will of God for us and trying to follow it: this is what it means to stir into flame the gifts and the blessings that God has given to us.
Our lives of faith are not always easy. We all have our ups and our downs. Sometimes, it is difficult to have joy and enthusiasm on our faith journey. Some days, maybe going through the motions is the best we can do. Paul, Titus, and Timothy suffered hardship and persecution on their journey faith, but their steadfastness, their zeal, and the grace of God kept their faith alive and help them persevere on their journey. May the faith of our fathers and mothers, may the faith of the great missionaries such as Paul, Timothy, and Titus, stir the flame of faith within us, keeping it alive and vibrant.
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