“I yearn to see you
again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I
recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your
mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you," St. Paul writes to
Timothy in today’s first reading (2 Timothy 1).
Commenting on this Scripture on this feast of SS. Timothy and Titus,
Pope Francis said, "It is one thing to pass on the faith, and another to
teach the matters of faith. Faith is a gift: it is not possible to study Faith.
We study the things of faith, yes, to understand it better, but with study
[alone] one never comes to Faith. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which
surpasses all [“academic”] formation."
The Holy Father reflected on the role of women in passing on the
faith. He said, "It is the path
chosen by Jesus. He wanted to have a mother: the gift of faith comes to us
through women, as Jesus came to us through Mary."
It is a special
duty and privilege of women to pass on the faith. Let us pray today for the women we know who
have passed on the faith to us. May we
in our community be women of faith, passing on and guarding this precious gift
always.
