Titus was a gentile convert who came to the faith through the preaching of St. Paul. We don’t know where Titus was born, perhaps Antioch, for after his conversion, Titus accompanied Paul from Antioch to the Council of Jerusalem.
After Jerusalem Paul gave to Titus a very difficult task. Paul sent Titus to the division-ridden community of Corinth. And Titus brought with him Paul’s severe second letter to the Corinthians.
Titus, faithful in that mission, Titus was sent to the fledgling Christian community in Crete to make sure they have strong, mature Christian leaders. And this is where Titus is when he receives the letter from which we read yesterday and today, in which we get a glimpse of St Paul’s vision for the organization of a Christian community—call it a diocese—which includes competent leadership which exercises great vigilance over false teachers and moral error.
Today we heard how the Christian leader is to offer sound moral guidance to the different groups under his care.. The Old men, the widows and older women, the young people each are to practice self-control, sobriety. The old are given the special task of being good role models for the young in their speech and behavior.
Everybody has a job to do, and everybody has moral and spiritual principles that are to direct that job, that vocation. When we stray from those principals, the community suffers, the Church suffers, the mission suffers—a once cohesive Christian community becomes another divided Corinth.
The truth of the Gospel is to shape our lives, every dimension of our lives. Jesus gave himself up, as we heard today, “to deliver us from lawlessness”, the lawlessness of moral error, passing fancies, sentimental judgmentalism. Sound doctrine is to guide us; that which is tested and true, and that comes from God…not the amoral musings of the modern intelligentsia. Christians are to be servants of the Truth, not of propaganda.
Today is Election Day. Make sure you get out and vote and put the sound doctrine of the Gospel into practice.
The sound doctrine of Christ is the firm foundation by which we are to build our lives—our families, our nations, our parishes, dioceses. May God’s Word guide all that we do, directing us to the activity that we have neglected, correcting our waywardness for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
For the grace to pursue the sanctity God desires for each of us; to put our gifts and abilities in God’s service.
For the healing of sinful divisions in the Church and in society; for the spread of the Gospel to every human heart and institution.
For our nation on this Election Day, for God’s wisdom to direct our minds and hearts and decisions; for freedom from all corruption, for protection from violence, and peace in our nation.
For the safety of police and firefighters, for first responders, the underemployed and unemployed, for those struggling with addiction, for the incarcerated, for those suffering from depression or burn-out, and for the sick and dying.
We pray in a special way during this Month of November, for all of the faithful departed; for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for all the souls in purgatory, and for X.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord
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