Introduction to 1
Timothy[1]
The three letters, First and Second Timothy and Titus, form a distinct group within the Pauline body of work. In the collection of letters by the Apostle to the Gentiles, they differ from the others in form and contents. All three suggest they were written late in Paul’s career. The opponents are not “Judaizers” as in Galatians but false teachers stressing “knowledge”. Attention is given specially to correct doctrine and church organization. Jesus’ second coming. The three letters are addressed not to congregations but to those who shepherd congregations. These letters were first named “Pastoral Epistles” in the eighteenth century because they all are concerned with the work of a pastor in caring for the community or communities under his charge. 1 Timothy is presented as having been written from Macedonia. Timothy, whom Paul converted, was of mixed Jewish and Gentile parentage. He was the apostle’s companion on both the second and the third missionary journeys and was often sent by him on special missions. In 1 Timothy, he is described as the administrator of the entire Ephesian community. The letter instructs Timothy on his duty to restrain false and useless teaching and proposes principles pertaining to his relationship with the older members of the community and with the presbyters. It gives rules for aid to widows and their selection for charitable ministrations and also deals with liturgical celebrations, selections for the offices of bishop and deacon, relation of slaves with their masters, and obligations of the wealthier members of the community. This letter also reminds Timothy of the prophetic character of his office and encourages him in his exercise of it. The central passage of the letter expresses the principal motive that should guide the conduct of Timothy—preservation of the purity of the church’s doctrine against false teaching. On this same note the letter concludes.
AUGUST 9 Thursday
FEAST OF ST. BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS
Reprimand publicly
those who do sin, so that the rest also will be afraid.
It is better to scorn a child than to let them walk
into real danger. If we follow the advice of Timothy, we may wound someone’s
pride in order to save their soul. The priest sandal that has so wounded our
church is because we failed to follow this advice. Nothing ever gets better if
it is ignored and left to fester. If we see someone who we know is trapped in
sin out of love, we must help them.
From a personal standpoint I remember I used to have a
young soldier who worked for me whose breath smelled bad and I ignored it for
months. Finally, my boss came to me and told me that he smelled it and told me
to advise the soldier to see the dentist as it could indicate a serious dental
problem. I did, and the young soldier lost 4 teeth from infection that I failed
to correct out of a lack of courage.
If you correct someone they may hate you, but they
will still have their teeth or soul as the case may be.
A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was fourteen, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Gottingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protege of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis. After living in the Cologne Carmel (1934-1938), she moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.
Things to Do: In the month of August we celebrate two martyrs of Auschwitz, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Teresa Benedicta.
·
We
need to pray, hard and often that our world does not return to the inhumanity
to man. The acceptance of euthanasia and abortion, embryonic stem cell research,
IVF, are the first steps to deciding who can live or who can die.
·
Offer
a Mass, say a rosary, offer sacrifices, etc. to end abortion and other sins
against mankind.
·
Read
about Auschwitz and ponder the modern gas chambers in
every state of our Union and resolve to do all that you can to end the killing.
·
From the scent of a rare first edition book found in an old-time
book collection, to a crisp, fresh book at the local supermarket, the very
sight of a book can bring back memories. Reading as a child, enjoying the short
stories, the long books and the ability to lose yourself in a story so powerful
that at the end your asking yourself where to get the next book in the series.
This is for the reader in all of us, the celebration of Book Lovers Day!
While the day’s origins
may be shrouded in mystery and rumor, the books themselves are not. Started
from carving on stone tablets, the book was designed to make portable the
writings and drawings of those that could not carry around stone tablets.
Originally it was parchment or vellum (calf skin, in case you were wondering)
was bound tightly with a wooden cover.Often the wooden cover was tightly wrapped in leather to prevent the wood from getting wet and had clasps or straps to hold it shut. In the more modern age, printing capabilities made books cheaper, and easier, to print. The printing press, the typewriter, and the computer all had an effect on the market of books. But more so than most, is the upsurge in electronic devices that can be used to read on. Computers, tablets, and most cell phones now have the ability to read books, making it that much easier to carry around a small library to enjoy not matter where you are.
How to celebrate Book Lovers Day
The Way[3]
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a father.
And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will only
stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so you
will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in the
end you will be a more worthy soul."
40. Don't you think that equality, as some people understand it, is
synonymous with injustice?
Daily Devotions
·
Please
Pray for Senator
McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
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