Today, the Church celebrates two Saints: Timothy and Titus.
Saint Timothy was born in Lystra, the child of a Jewish mother who had become a Christian believer, and a Greek father. He met the Apostle Paul and became one of his companions and co-workers - along with another man by the name of Silas. In time, Timothy travelled with his mentor Paul, who entrusted him with important assignments. We have copies of some of the correspondence that Paul wrote to his companion Timothy in the New Testament. We call them the First and Second Epistles/Letters to Timothy.
Among the other followers of Paul, we find the other Saint who is celebrated today. Titus was an early Christian missionary and a church leader. Like Timothy, Paul also corresponded with Titus, and we still have a copy of at least one of those letters in the New Testament. Titus is believed to originally have been a Gentile who was converted to Christianity by Paul's teaching and example. According to tradition, Titus was consecrated as Bishop of the island of Crete.
The lives of Timothy and TItus both provide us with examples of the wonderful ways in which God's wisdom and teachings are spread among us: We are often unaware of God's efforts at work, but the result is that God continues to sow the seeds of faith in people's hearts. These seeds take root and grow without us noticing, as though the growth takes place while we sleep and rise, night and day: it sprouts and grows (Mk 4:27).
Inspired by the example of these two holy men, may we grow day by day to realize that when we extend our humble efforts to share the good news of the gospel with others, it is in fact Jesus who continues to sow faith in the hearts of his beloved people, like we might sow mustard seeds in fertile ground. Jesus constantly and patiently cultivates the precious gift of faith so that it can spring up and grow ... like a large plant, putting forth large branches so that the birds of the air can dwell in its shade (Mk 4:32).
Have a great day.
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