“As my ancestors did”

In one of the passages provided for today’s first reading (2 Timothy 1:1-8), Saint Paul writes of the continuity of faith from generation to generation: how he worships God with a clear conscience as his Jewish ancestors did and how Timothy shares the faith of his Christian mother and grandmother.

This passage reminds us of the critical role that families have in the nurturing and transmission of the faith.

Of course, faith is ultimately the gift and work of God: a gift for which we must always pray and a work in which we are called to share.

For this reason,
I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God
that you have through the imposition of my hands.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.

So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.