St Timothy and St Titus

Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God,
according to the promise of life
that we have in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy,
my beloved child.
To you, grace, mercy, and peace
from God the Father
and from Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am full of gratitude to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience,
as my ancestors did;
I give him thanks as I continually remember you
in my prayers, night and day.
Recalling your tears,
I have a deep longing to see you again
so that I may be filled with joy.
I remember the sincere faith that is in you:
it was first in Lois, your grandmother,
and in Eunice, your mother,
and I am convinced it is also in you.
That is why I remind you
to rekindle the free gift of God,
that gift which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of fear,
but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-control.
So do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord,
nor of me, his prisoner;
but, with the strength that comes from God, accept your share of hardship
for the sake of the Gospel.

– The word of the Lord.

OR:

                           "Titus, my child in the faith that we share"

A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to Titus (Titus 1:1-5)

Paul, a servant of God,
an apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of those whom God has chosen
and the full knowledge of the truth
which is in accordance with godliness.
We have the hope of eternal life,
promised long ago by God who does not lie.
At the appointed time, he manifested his word
through the proclamation of the Gospel
which was entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
I am writing to you, Titus, my true child
in the faith that we share:
to you, grace and peace
from God the Father
and from Christ Jesus our Savior.

If I left you in Crete,
it was so you would finish organizing everything
and in every city appoint elders
as I directed you myself.

– The word of the Lord.

I waited, I hoped, for the Lord with great hope:
he leaned down toward me.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.

You wanted neither offering nor sacrifice,
you opened my ears;
you asked no holocaust nor victim,
so I said: "Here I am."

I proclaim righteousness
in the great assembly;
see, I do not hold back my lips,
Lord, you know it.

I have not hidden your righteousness in my heart,
I have not concealed your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have spoken of your love and your truth
in the great assembly.

At that time,
as Jesus was in a house,
his mother and his brothers arrived.
Remaining outside, they sent for him.
A crowd was sitting around him,
and they said to him:
"Look, your mother and your brothers are outside:
they are looking for you."
But he answered them:
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
And looking around
at those who were sitting in a circle around him,
he said:
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
Whoever does the will of God,
that person is my brother, my sister, and my mother."

— Let us acclaim the word of God.