The Letter of St. Paul to Titus
Chapter 1
1. Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, 2. in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3. in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior, 4.To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
(The Letter of Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 1 to 4)
Oh God my Father there is a great difference between truth as based on Your 'Word' to the concept of truth that is based according to the ways of the world, which are not always reliable. Your truth is always the truth my God and Father and in it there are no traces of lies or deceit because You ate the way and the truth that if we believe in we will achieve the goal that You planned for us Amen
5. I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town as I directed you; 6. someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. 7. For a bishop, as God's steward must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; 8. but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 9. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
(The Letter of Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 5 to 9)
Oh God my Father how nice and holy it would be if we all shared in the qualities of the Bishop which are being humble and not arrogant, having self-control and not being proud and arrogant, being lovers of the Word of God and always in love being ready to discuss with those who attempt to contest the Word of God with false doctrine or assumptions. May we all share in these qualities Amen.
10. There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those if circumcision; 11. they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what is not right to teach.
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 10 to 11)
Oh God my Father we can silence such people not by threatening them with the loss of their lives, or by sending a suicide bomber to let off a bomb near their homes, but by the way we live which is a living testimony of what we believe and in whom we believe that is You, my God and Father.
12. It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said, "Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons."
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verse 12)
Oh God my Father, some statements are based on fact. In fact, the Maltese people have inherited the label of being called the 'Haqq People'. The word 'Haqq' is a curse word that is used to blaspheme against God saying foul language as in swearing. I pray oh God that You heal us from such a virus Amen.
13. That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith, 14. not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth.
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 13 to 14)
Oh God, I pray that You drive spiritual sense into our heads, so that we may become more aware of You in our lives and start living according to the teachings of the Good News as found in the New Testament. Many people have chosen to believe in You as the God of the Exodus, a God who was firm and disciplined. Many people are still living myths and false beliefs about You. I therefore, pray for enlightenment my God and Father Amen.
15. To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted. 16. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 15 to 16)
Oh God my Father, I pray that as humans we strike the balance between what is good from what is evil, for at times, what is evil is presented to us in a wrapping that gives us the impression that it is good and by doing so we can easily be distracted and given a false impression of reality which can also have a negative impact on our faith. I pray that such people realise the harm that they are doing and put it to an end. I also pray my God and Father, that important issues such as that of homosexuality are also settled, for in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah You showed Your feelings in relation to people with such traits and tendencies and did not discriminate between the homosexual and the homosexual acts, however, people in the Roman Catholic Church are creating compromises in relation to such issues and are spreading a philosophy that makes a distinction between the homosexual, and one's acts.. I have therefore chosen to obey You and Your gospel and stick to that Amen.
Oh God my Father, I would like to end the first chapter of st. Paul's letter to Titus, with the following prayer:
Oh God my Father I pray that we are people who are self-controlled, slow to anger, compassionate and understanding, tolerant to others and above all believers in the message of the Good News Amen.
5. I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town as I directed you; 6. someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. 7. For a bishop, as God's steward must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; 8. but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 9. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
(The Letter of Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 5 to 9)
Oh God my Father how nice and holy it would be if we all shared in the qualities of the Bishop which are being humble and not arrogant, having self-control and not being proud and arrogant, being lovers of the Word of God and always in love being ready to discuss with those who attempt to contest the Word of God with false doctrine or assumptions. May we all share in these qualities Amen.
10. There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those if circumcision; 11. they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what is not right to teach.
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 10 to 11)
Oh God my Father we can silence such people not by threatening them with the loss of their lives, or by sending a suicide bomber to let off a bomb near their homes, but by the way we live which is a living testimony of what we believe and in whom we believe that is You, my God and Father.
12. It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said, "Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons."
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verse 12)
Oh God my Father, some statements are based on fact. In fact, the Maltese people have inherited the label of being called the 'Haqq People'. The word 'Haqq' is a curse word that is used to blaspheme against God saying foul language as in swearing. I pray oh God that You heal us from such a virus Amen.
13. That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith, 14. not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth.
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 13 to 14)
Oh God, I pray that You drive spiritual sense into our heads, so that we may become more aware of You in our lives and start living according to the teachings of the Good News as found in the New Testament. Many people have chosen to believe in You as the God of the Exodus, a God who was firm and disciplined. Many people are still living myths and false beliefs about You. I therefore, pray for enlightenment my God and Father Amen.
15. To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted. 16. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
(The Letter of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 1 verses 15 to 16)
Oh God my Father, I pray that as humans we strike the balance between what is good from what is evil, for at times, what is evil is presented to us in a wrapping that gives us the impression that it is good and by doing so we can easily be distracted and given a false impression of reality which can also have a negative impact on our faith. I pray that such people realise the harm that they are doing and put it to an end. I also pray my God and Father, that important issues such as that of homosexuality are also settled, for in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah You showed Your feelings in relation to people with such traits and tendencies and did not discriminate between the homosexual and the homosexual acts, however, people in the Roman Catholic Church are creating compromises in relation to such issues and are spreading a philosophy that makes a distinction between the homosexual, and one's acts.. I have therefore chosen to obey You and Your gospel and stick to that Amen.
Oh God my Father, I would like to end the first chapter of st. Paul's letter to Titus, with the following prayer:
Oh God my Father I pray that we are people who are self-controlled, slow to anger, compassionate and understanding, tolerant to others and above all believers in the message of the Good News Amen.
