MEMORIAL OF SAINTS TIMOTHY AND TITUS JANUARY 26, 2022

MASS READINGS

A reading of the holy Gospel according to Mk 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.” Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

REFLECTION:

The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.

The Lord alone has done marvelous deeds and to tell of His works is to give praise.

So, why is evangelization not easy, in fact it is hard?

Some of us are fearful of engaging people who might be better orators or writers or better at making a point. Some of us might be timid as our minds cloud over, our tongues find it difficult to express ourselves and our beliefs. Sometimes it feels that all the forces of hell have declared war on us. But don't give up.

Imagine Timothy and Titus. Timothy was St Paul's scribe. He converted to the Christian faith on the apostle Paul's first missionary journey. He was mentored by St Paul who said of him, "My beloved and faithful child in the Lord". (1 Corinthians 4:17) St Paul sent him to Corinth to spread the Good News and to build up the Church.

Titus was also a disciple and companion of St Paul. Titus worked as a missionary and administrator as these were his talents. St Paul had him organize the collection of alms for Jerusalem. Titus appointed worthy elders to positions of responsibility. He exemplified by his life how Christians should act and was an example of righteous living.

With St Paul's tutelage both Saints Timothy and Titus learned sound doctrine to teach and correct others.

God puts people in our lives for a reason. Some people hang in the balance between heaven and hell, some people have never heard that God loves them and desires eternal life for them. And some people are with us to teach and show us the way.

PAPA has a vision of "to see priests on fire for Jesus and His Church, the Body and Bride of Christ." Its mission is to "Go out and make disciples of all nations; behold I am with you always until the end of the age". (Matthew 28: 18-20)

PAPA has shown us how to evangelize and live out our Vision and Mission.

Some ways are the following:

1. Weekly FACEZBS, learning and understanding our faith with our mentor, Father Michael.

2. A beautiful website with devotionals and novenas, daily reflections, prayer intention lists and blogs.

3. PAPA for Life Committee prays for the rights of the unborn.

4. Daily Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet

5. Retreats several times a year

6. Conferences yearly

7. PAPA Joe feeds the hungry children.

8. PAPA prayer cards for priests, vocations and the unborn

9. PAPA You Tube videos

10. PAPA Pilgrimage to faith filled sites

We may never feel equipped to evangelize but when the situation arises, remember God put PAPA in our lives so we can share what we have learned through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God Bless You