These two disciples of St Paul, whose Feast we celebrated yesterday, remind us of the importance of the early Church in passing on the Faith.  Here is part of the New Testament reading, from 2 Timothy: ‘I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as did my fathers, when I remember you constantly in my prayers. As I remember your tears, I long night and day to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you. Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control’.

‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control’ – here we find the source of true courage, the courage shown by so many in witnessing to the Gospel even in the face of persecution. ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’.

May God bless you, and may His Light shine through you this day.