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The Love that Compels

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Daily Reflections

Daily Scripture, September 16, 2025

Scripture:

1 Timothy 3:1-13
Luke 7:11-17

Reflection:

Beloved, this saying is trustworthy. 1 Timothy 3:1

Last week, as I was preparing for this homily, I read the first reading for the Saturday Mass, a reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, St. Paul states: “This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.” (I Tim. 1:15) Then I reread the first reading for today’s Mass and Paul says, “This saying is trustworthy” to Bishop Timothy, a young man whom Paul mentored as he went about his missionary journeys.

What does trustworthy mean and why is it important? As I reflected on those questions, I went back to the New Testament and discovered that this word is used 21 times in the Gospels and the other books of the New Testament. We first find it used by Jesus who tells us that someone who is trustworthy in small matters will also be trustworthy in great ones (Luke 16:10). For the early church, being trustworthy was very important and the only to know if a person is trustworthy is by looking at what person says and does. As St. Luke explains in the Gospel passage cited, a person who lies, is dishonest and disrespects others is not trustworthy. We really do not need an expert to tell us this. Even a child knows when we are being trustworthy and when we are deceitful.

Recently, I began reading a biography of the Lutheran martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who became a theologian and a pastor when Hitler began his rise as leader in Germany. He came from a wealthy, well know family in Germany. Shortly after Hitler’s election, Bonhoeffer broadcasted a sermon over the radio in which he said that Hitler was not trustworthy and why. The radio station stopped transmitting mid-sermon, but no one would be able to stop him from preaching the Gospel. As we know, the German authorities later arrested him, threw him into a concentration camp and executed him. Of course, he was not the only one who condemned Hitler for his policy of extermination of the Jewish race and other crimes against humanity, but certainly he continues to be an outstanding example of someone who knows the difference between someone who is trustworthy and one who is not.

So, when Paul writes to Timothy, he is telling him to pay attention to what is trustworthy. Who is Timothy supposed to trust? Who are we supposed to trust? God and God’s Word. God acts of Love, which includes Jesus’ death on the Cross. The word and testimony of the many men and women over the centuries who have taught us the Gospel of Jesus, its values, its way of life, its sayings, and its saving message of grace. That is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance!

St. Paul is asking us to be trustworthy ourselves. And Paul is also asking us not to be deceived by people who are not trustworthy. The rest of the first reading describes people who are trustworthy and people who are not. What a wonderful message we have to today’s times!

In whom do we put our trust?

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is the local superior of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Daily Scripture, June 17, 2013

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 Matthew 5:38-42 Reflection: To understand the wisdom behind the selection of readings, step backward two thousand years into the community of believers situated in Corinth. Corinth » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 13, 2013

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:15-4:1, 3-6 Matthew 5:20-26 Reflection: Three weeks ago, Presbyterian brothers and sisters attacked six Pentecostals about an hour away from where I live. Four people received knife » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 12, 2013

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 Matthew 5:17-19 Reflection: Jesus took the law seriously and wherever possible he obeyed it.  He knew that the spirit of the law was only possible because » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 11, 2013

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle Scripture: Acts 11:21b – 26; 13:1-3 Matthew 5:13-16 Reflection: The first violin in an orchestra, also called the concertmaster, is the leader not only of the » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 1, 2013

Scripture: Sirach 51:12cd-20 Mark 11:27-33 Reflection: Today the Old Testament writer Sirach introduces us to the pursuit of wisdom by relating his own experience: "When I was young and innocent, » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 10, 2013

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7 Matthew 5:1-12 Reflection: Recently, an atheist challenged me with his belief that there is no purely selfless giving or true altruism. He declared that no matter » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 5, 2013

Scripture: Tobit 3:1-11a, 16-17a Mark 12:18-27 Reflection: "Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?" Have you ever been in a situation » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 2, 2013

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Scripture: Genesis 14:18-20 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Luke 9:11B-17     Reflection: This is a liturgical celebration of the Body » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, June 4, 2013

Scripture: Tobit 2:9-17 Mark 12:13-17 Reflection: Beneath the contentiousness that plays a large role in today’s readings – a marital spat between Tobit and his wife Anna, and Jesus’ verbal » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, May 31, 2013

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Scripture: Zephaniah 3: 14-18 Luke 1: 39-56 Reflection: "…And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to » Continue Reading.

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