Today, November 11, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Martin of Tours, bishop, we are invited to read and reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to Titus (1:7-11; 2:1-8), entitled "The teaching of the Apostle on the qualities and duties of bishops". Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter by Sulpicius Severus. Saint Martin of Tours was born of pagan parents in what is now Hungary, and raised in Italy. This son of a veteran was forced at the age of 15 to serve in the army. Saint Martin became a Christian catechumen and was baptized when he was 18. It was said that he lived more like a monk than a soldier. At 23, Martin of Tours refused a war bonus and told his commander: "I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight." After great difficulties, he was discharged and went to be a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers. Saint Matin was ordained an exorcist and worked with great zeal against the Arians. Martin became a monk, living first at Milan and later on a small island. When Hilary was restored to his see following his exile, Martin returned to France and established what may have been the first French monastery near Poitiers. He lived there for 10 years, forming his disciples and preaching throughout the countryside. The people of Tours demanded that he become their bishop. Martin was drawn to that city by a ruse—the need of a sick person—and was brought to the church, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop. Some of the consecrating bishops thought his rumpled appearance and unkempt hair indicated that he was not dignified enough for the office. Along with Saint Ambrose,  Saint Martin rejected Bishop Ithacius's principle of putting heretics to death—as well as the intrusion of the emperor into such matters. He prevailed upon the emperor to spare the life of the heretic Priscillian. For his efforts, Martin was accused of the same heresy, and Priscillian was executed after all. Martin then pleaded for a cessation of the persecution of Priscillian's followers in Spain. He still felt he could cooperate with Ithacius in other areas, but afterwards his conscience troubled him about this decision. As death approached, Martin's followers begged him not to leave them. He prayed, "Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done." Sulpicious Severus was an ecclesiastical writer, born of noble parents in Aquitaine c. 360; died about 420-25. The scanty information which we possess concerning his life is derived mainly from the writings of his friend Paulinus of Nola and Gennadius. He enjoyed xcellent educational advantages, studied jurisprudence, and was renowned as an eloquent lawyer. His marriage with the daughter of a wealthy consular family seemed to seal his earthly happiness. His wife, however, was snatched away by a premature death and shortly after 390 Severus renounced his brilliant career and followed his friend Paulinus into monastic retirement. Through this sudden change of life he incurred his determination by his mother-in-law. He became a personal friend and enthusiastic disciple of St. Martin and lived near Eauze, at Toulouse and Luz in Southern France. His ordination to the priesthood is vouched for by Gennadius, but no details of his priestly activity have reached us. According to the same Gennadius he was caught in the toils of Pelagianism towards the close of his life and, upon discovering his error, subjected himself to lifelong silence in expiation of his imprudence in speech. The third of the Pastoral Epistles in the New Testament is addressed to a different co-worker of Paul than are First and Second Timothy. The situation is different, too, for Titus is addressed as the person in charge of developing the church on the large Mediterranean island of Crete, a place Paul had never, according to the New Testament, visited. The tone is closer to that of First Timothy as three topics of church life and structure are discussed: presbyter-bishops, groups with which one must work in the church, and admonitions for conduct based on the grace and love of God that appeared in Jesus Christ. The warmer personal tone of Second Timothy is replaced by emphasis on church office and on living in the society of the day, in which deceivers and heretics abound. The Pauline assistant who is addressed, Titus, was a Gentile Christian, but we are nowhere informed of his place of birth or residence. He went from Antioch with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. According to 2 Corinthians, he was with Paul on his third missionary journey; his name, however, does not appear in Acts. Besides being the bearer of Paul's severe letter to the Corinthians, he had the responsibility of taking up the collection in Corinth for the Christian community of Jerusalem. In the present letter, he is mentioned as the administrator of the Christian community in Crete, charged with the task of organizing it through the appointment of presbyters and bishops; here the two terms refer to the same personages). The letter instructs Titus about the character of the assistants he is to choose in view of the pastoral difficulties peculiar to Crete. It suggests the special individual and social virtues that the various age groups and classes in the Christian community should be encouraged to acquire. The motivation for transformation of their lives comes from Christology, especially the redemptive sacrifice of Christ and his future coming, as applied through baptism and justification. The community is to serve as a leaven for Christianizing the social world about it. Good works are to be the evidence of their faith in God; those who engage in religious controversy are, after suitable warning, to be ignored.

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