Father Mike Schmitz

He also praises Timothy's mother and grandmother who had faith.

And you know, it's interesting because yesterday, I didn't mention this, but in one of the letters of John,

He talks about how, what a delight it is when one's children are walking in the faith.

That's what John was writing about to the beloved lady.

He said, what a delight it is when you find your children walking in the faith.

And here are Eunice and Lois, the grandmother and mother of Timothy.

to be able to find their son walking in the faith.

And I know that one of the pains of so many people who are part of this community is when our kids don't walk in the faith, when they walk away, when grandkids walk away, when they've never met the Lord and they've been maybe raised Catholic, maybe they're raised in the church.

And yet for whatever reason, they just have wandered away, drifted away, raced away, walked away.

And so here is Paul writing to Timothy saying, you know, basically that faith that was in your grandmother, the faith that was in your mother, I trust that it's within you as well.

He also says, don't be ashamed of me for testifying to our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, because there are times you imagine where here's Paul, who's an apostle who is looked down on by other Christians because wait a second, why are you always in jail?

Yeah.

If you're really an apostle, would you really be in jail?

Of course, the answer is yes, because here's Jesus, our Lord himself, who was arrested, falsely accused and condemned to death.

But there are people who are ashamed of Paul.

And we think about, again, here's how Peter and how Paul and all the other apostles and how us Christians are called to

Be like Jesus.

We're called to accept that rejection the way Jesus accepted that rejection, which is so painful and so difficult, but it is truly our call.

I love this in the second letter of St.

Paul.