It’s the Feast of The Holy Name / S Titus, 2nd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: “Jesus, Sovereign Priest”, today’s news from the Church: “1.4 Billion Catholics and Still Fewer Priests”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop.
Saint Titus belongs to that first generation of Church leaders whose quiet fidelity helped carry the Gospel from the age of the apostles into lasting structure. He was a Gentile convert, probably from Greece, and one of Saint Paul’s closest collaborators. Paul trusted Titus deeply, relying on him not only as a messenger, but as a problem solver and a pastor capable of handling difficult situations with firmness and charity.
We meet Titus most clearly in Paul’s letters. He was sent to Corinth at a moment of intense conflict, where factions and moral confusion threatened to tear the community apart. Titus returned with news that repentance had taken hold, bringing Paul immense consolation. Later, Paul entrusted him with an even heavier responsibility: organizing and stabilizing the young Church on the island of Crete. Crete had a reputation for disorder and instability, and Paul did not sugarcoat the challenge. Yet he believed Titus had the steadiness and discernment needed to appoint presbyters, correct abuses, and teach sound doctrine without harshness.
The Letter to Titus reveals much about his character. Paul urges him to model integrity, self control, and good works, not as abstract ideals, but as lived examples that others could follow. Titus was to be firm against false teaching, yet patient with weakness. He was to govern not by domination, but by credibility. Tradition holds that he became the first bishop of Crete and remained there until his death, shepherding a Church born in difficulty and sustained through perseverance.
What makes Titus compelling is how ordinary his sanctity appears. He performed no recorded miracles and suffered no dramatic martyrdom. His holiness lay in reliability. He was the man Paul could send when things were messy, tense, or fragile. In that sense, Titus represents a kind of sanctity...
