Homily for the Memorial of Saints Timothy & Titus

In today’s gospel passage, Mark describes Mary and other members of Jesus’ family as acting out of genuine concern for Him. However, the fact that we do something out of concern for someone doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the right thing to do. On this occasion, Jesus kept His distance from His mother and the other members of His family, despite their good intentions. When word came to Him that His mother and brothers and sisters were outside the house looking for Him, He said that those inside the house — His disciples — were His real family. There was an implied invitation to His mother and other family members to come inside and to become part of His new family.

Whoever does the will of God, we are promised, is Jesus’ brother and sister and mother. Mary and the other family members had to learn to set aside their own plans for Jesus and to yield to God’s will for Him. It is perhaps reassuring to be reminded that even for our Blessed Mother it was a struggle to live out the implications of the prayer, “Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.”

It is a daily struggle for all of us to give priority to what God wants, but it is a worthwhile effort; it is the Christian effort, and in that struggle, we are assured of the help of Jesus and Mary.+