The Spirit and Fidelity!

Monday, January 26, 2026

Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus

2 Tim 1:1-8/Titus 1:1-5; Mk 3:22-30

The feast of Saints Timothy and Titus invites us to learn from their missionary fidelity to contribute to God’s mission.

Both Timothy and Titus were co-workers of St. Paul. More than that, they were his trusted friends. As we find today’s first reading with two options, we understand that they both received letters from St. Paul that are now part of the New Testament canon. 

Historical details apart, what stands out in their lives is their fidelity to God’s mission. They were happy to be the co-workers of St. Paul, thus enriching the mission field with no agenda for personal glory. Thus, their holiness lies not in originality, but in their faithfulness.

In today’s first reading, we find Paul encouraging Timothy to make a courageous testimony to the Lord. With a personal note that reads ‘To Timothy, my dear child,’ Paul wants Timothy to ‘bear his share of hardship for the Gospel.’ Paul urges Timothy to reveal the fire of the Holy Spirit in him so that his listeners would be able to differentiate between what unites and what divides the Christian community.

Paul instructs Titus to ‘set right what remains to be done.’ Here, Paul wants his ‘true child’ to understand that the Gospel thrives where there is unity among God’s people. Thus, if Paul went about establishing churches, he expected his disciples, like Titus, to build them up and safeguard the truth. Paul’s letter to Titus reveals his unshakeable trust in the latter’s fidelity to the Gospel so that he would dispel disorder and division from the Christian community and build it on Christian truth.

Echoing the mission of the two saints, Jesus’ words in the Gospel emphasize the need to distinguish between the work of the Spirit and the work of Satan. In judging Jesus to have been ‘possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,’ the Scribes make the mistake of attributing the work of the Spirit of God in Jesus to the work of Satan. Jesus’ stern response makes it clear that rejecting the Spirit of God amounts to a blasphemy that will not be forgiven. 

Missionary fidelity is a needed virtue for the disciples of Christ because, through it, we testify to the Spirit of God at work in us. 

Let us pray that we may testify to the Spirit of God in us through our faithful discipleship. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar