Feast of Saint Timothy

January 27, 2008

A half century has passed since Archbishop Henry J. O’Brien announced the establishment of a new parish in West Hartford. The parish would include territory taken from St. Justin’s in Hartford, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, and Sacred Heart in Bloomfield. St. Timothy’s would be bounded by Cottage Grove Rd. on the north, North Steele Rd. on the east, Asylum Ave., on the south, and the Avon town line on the west.

 

Archbishop O’Brien, having given the geographical limits also bestowed a spiritual ideal. The new parish would be named after one of the giants of the early church, St. Timothy. Timothy born of a Jewish mother and a Greek father became a protégé of St. Paul, whom he accompanied on some of his missionary journeys.

 

In designating St. Timothy the patron saint of the new parish, Archbishop O’Brien could have been echoing the words of Paul to the Corinthians: “I am sending you Timothy who is my own dear and faithful son in the Christian life. He will remind you of the principles which I follow in the new life in union with Christ Jesus and which I teach in all the churches everywhere.”

 

To the people of another Greek city, Philippi, Paul made clear how much he thought of Timothy: “If it is the Lord’s will, I hope that I will be able to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be encouraged by news about you. He is the only one who shares my feeling and really cares about you. Everyone else is concerned only with his own affairs and not with the cause of Jesus Christ.” Timothy was a genuine, caring Christian. We are fortunate to be commended to his care and to his prayers.

 

Life was full of danger for the early Christians, and Timothy was not spared. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells his readers: “I want you to know our brother Timothy has just been let out of prison!” Despite all the hardships, Timothy remained faithful and became a model pastor to his people, teaching the gospel truth and living it as a model of love.

 

At the end of his life, Paul is credited with two letters to Timothy. In the second, Paul, now in prison, speaks of himself, but Timothy could have written the words as his own valedictory--- words we pray may be true of us and our parish: “I have fought the good fight. I have run the race. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.”