EUNICE’S SHY, SICKLY LITTLE ILLEGITIMATE KID: God Can Use Anyone

At the time of Christ, it was decidedly uncool for a young Jewish girl to take up with a Greek guy. 

 It was so uncool, in fact, that when a Jewish maiden named Eunice married a Greek, the offspring from their union—whom they named Timothy—was considered by the Jewish community to be illegitimate.

 It’s understandable, then, that this small cast-off lad, rejected by the community, would be painfully shy.  The poor guy was given to digestive problems, too.  St. Paul, in writing to him, once said “Stop drinking only water, but have a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23).

 But despite these apparent shortcomings, Timothy became the friend and closest confidante to the apostle Paul.  He is mentioned in the salutation in six of the Pauline epistles.  After his release from prison in Rome, Paul took Timothy with him to revisit some of the churches in Asia, including Ephesus.  Despite Timothy’s youth and reticence, Paul trusted him enough to leave him behind to lead the church as bishop of Ephesus.     

 St. Timothy is the patron saint of intestinal disorders and stomach diseases.  He and his fellow disciple, Titus, are remembered each year on January 26. 

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 God our Father, you gave your saints Timothy and Titus the courage and wisdom of the apostles: may their prayers help us to live holy lives and lead us to heaven, our true home. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.