20240126 NURTURING OUR YOUNG TO PASS ON THE FLAME OF FAITH
26 January 2024, Friday, Ss Timothy and Titus
First reading | 2 Timothy 1:1-8 © |
Fan into a flame the gift God gave you
From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers; I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my happiness. Then I am reminded of the sincere faith which you have; it came first to live in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I have no doubt that it is the same faith in you as well.
That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-8,10 © |
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Gospel Acclamation | Lk4:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 10:1-9 © |
Your peace will rest on that man
The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’
NURTURING OUR YOUNG TO PASS ON THE FLAME OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 TIM 1:1-8 OR TIT 1,1-5; PS 96:1-3,7-8,10; LK 10:1-9]
Today, we celebrate the memorial of Ss Timothy and Titus, both of them children of faith of St Paul. Because of the mentorship of St Paul, they grew in faith, and eventually became leaders in those Christian communities founded by St Paul. Under the tutelage of St Paul, they learned the ropes of preaching and teaching, but most of all, by his life of faith, selfless devotion to the spread of the gospel, and his utter conviction of the gospel that is meant for all, and that salvation is by faith in His grace.
Indeed, it is the responsibility of parents, god-parents, but also all of us who are Catholics, to be conscious of our responsibility of nurturing those who are physically and/or spiritually young in their faith. Our task, as the Lord said in the gospel, is to form them for missionary work. In the gospel, “the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit.” This appointment of the seventy-two is a reminder that the call to mission is not restricted to professionals, like those who are called to full-time ministry, as in priestly, religious life, or even those lay theologians and pastors and workers in the Church. Rather, these seventy-two were disciples of Jesus. They were not professionals, but they too were called to serve the Lord according to their own charisms and state of life.
Indeed, all baptized Christians are called to mission. No one is exempted from the responsibility of mission. The Lord has blessed us all with different gifts. All gifts are meant for the service of the gospel and for the glory of God. It does not matter what we do, how much we have, in what situation we are in, what state of life we are in. As St Paul reminds us, “whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Cor 10:31-33) So by our life, by our words and deeds, by our testimony of His love for us, by our conduct, we witness to the Lord.
Consequently, we take note of what the Lord asked the disciples to do. He simply instructed them to announce peace to whichever house they entered. “Let your first words be, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you.” Besides announcing the Good News of Peace, they had to live with them, share their faith, the Good News that they had heard, and pray with them, especially those who were sick. “Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’.”
Indeed, being involved in the mission of Christ is as simple as this. We do not need to be big time theologians. We need not be scripture experts. We simply need to have faith in Jesus, in the Word of God which we read, and living out the life of the gospel by trusting in His divine providence, doing our best, depending on Him to work in and through us. This was why, the Lord also instructed His disciples, “Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals.” In other words, we must be totally dependent on the Lord. After all, we are His ambassadors. All political ambassadors do not speak for themselves but for the country they represent. So too, we speak on behalf of the Lord. We do not preach ourselves but we preach the Lord. St Paul again wrote, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor 4:5f) So our task as missionaries is to bring Christ to the world by our words and deeds, indeed, by our very being, our conduct and our lives.
So, how then can we prepare and mentor those under our care so that they too will remain true to their goal and purpose in life? As mentors, we must remind those who are new or young in the faith of their ultimate goal in life. It is not enough just to live for this world, to drift along like the rest of the world, to work only for material and worldly success, for pleasures, riches, power and fame. It is not even enough to teach them that they must give their life for the service of others, to be at the service of the community. Rather, the overarching goal of every Christian is to offer the gift of eternal life. This was what St Paul wrote to Titus. St Paul was clear that as servants of God, we are responsible “to bring those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion; and to give them the hope of the eternal life that was promised so long ago by God.” Helping their faith to grow means to lead them to the full knowledge of the truth, which is the hope of eternal life promised to us. St Paul reiterated this when he wrote, “He does not lie and so, at the appointed time, he revealed his decision, and, by the command of God our saviour, I have been commissioned to proclaim it.”
When we fail to present this ultimate goal of eternal life to those young in faith, they work only for short term goals; and when the journey is difficult, they give up easily because they are working for temporal achievements. But when we are working for eternity, then no matter how difficult this life is, how impossible the tasks given to us, for the sake of eternal life and for the greater glory of God, we will be willing to give ourselves completely. This is because we give totally to something that can fulfil us completely. Only God and eternal life can satisfy us. This is what St Augustine discovered after a long and tired journey seeking for truth and love, in fame, pleasure, lust and philosophy. He said, “our hearts are restless until we rest in Him.” Jesus also reminded us, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Mt 16:26)
Secondly, we need to live out our faith. We must be examples and exemplars of faith to our children in faith. The real reason why young people have lost their faith is partly due to the fact that the family ambience does not reflect a true Christian spirit. Although the parents are Catholic, they do not pray with them. They do not see their parents rooting all that they do in their faith. Their parents live a life of contradiction to their faith. They profess themselves to be Catholics, but their values are worldly. Their lifestyle also does not reflect the simplicity, the compassion and the love of the gospel. What they do are not motivated by faith but by the very worldly values that non-believers subscribe to. That being the case, we live a double life. Religion is but an add-on item in our life, not the foundation, not the beginning and not the goal of all that we do. There is no other way to mentor our children in faith then to live out that faith in our lives, sharing our vision and what motivates us to do what we are doing. St Paul praised Timothy’s grandmother for passing on the flame of faith to her grandson, Timothy. “I am reminded of the sincere faith which you have; it came first to live in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I have no doubt that it is the same faith in you as well.”
Above all, we need to pray. Better still, pray with our children in faith. In the gospel, the first thing Jesus asked the seventy-two was this, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” We need to pray that God will send His Holy Spirit to open the hearts of our listeners. We need to pray for them so that they will be docile to His grace. Conversion is not the work of human beings but the work of the Holy Spirit. St Paul wrote to Timothy, “Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers; I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my happiness.” Prayer is the foundation of mission because it means strengthening our personal relationship with the Lord. This is the way to fan the flame of faith that God gives to us. Indeed, St Paul said to Timothy, “God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved..
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