Churches of the Day

  St Barnabas, Apostle

Barnabas was one of the first converts in Jerusalem (Acts 4:36) and was sent to preach at Antioch (Acts 11). He was Paul's companion on his first missionary journey and he took part with him in the Council of Jerusalem. He is thought to have been stoned or burned to death for the faith in Cyprus in 61 AD. 

C/f A short life of this saint can be found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING     

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles      11:21-26. 13:1-3
I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.

A great number believed and were converted to the Lord.

The church in Jerusalem heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord.

Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians'.

In the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. One day while they were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, 'I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.'
So it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

The Word of the Lord.      Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm    Ps 97:1-3. 4-6.R/v2
Response                        The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

1. Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.                                         Response

2. The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.                               Response

3. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy.                                                      Response

4.  Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp, with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn acclaim the King, the Lord.                 Response

Gospel  Acclamation            Mt 28: 18. 20
Alleluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations says the Lord;
I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                         

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew      10:7-13        Glory to you, O Lord
And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.


Jesus said to his disciples:
'And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep.

'Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you.'

The Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection        11 June        Feast of Saint Barnabas      Matthew 10:7-13

In the gospel reading, Jesus sends out the twelve apostles on mission within Galilee, to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. In the first reading, the church of Antioch send out Paul and Barnabas on mission to places far beyond Antioch, to Cyprus and parts of modern-day Turkey. Paul and Barnabas were leading lights of the church in Antioch and yet the members of the church were happy to share these two leaders with others, far beyond their shores. Of the two, Paul is better known to us because of his extraordinary missionary journeys and the many letters that have come down to us from him.

Yet, Barnabas was very significant in another way. It was Barnabas who created an opening in the early church for Paul, when others were still suspicious of him because of his past persecution of the church. As today’s first reading says, it was Barnabas who went looking for Paul in Tarsus, his native city, and brought him to Antioch because Barnabas saw that there was a great opening for Paul’s gifts in this city where the gospel had been preached to pagans for the first time.

Barnabas was what we can today call an ‘enabler’. It is not surprising that his nickname in the early church, according to the Acts of the Apostles, was ‘son of encouragement’. That role of enabler or encourager remains a vital role in the church today. We all have the capacity to create openings where the gifts of someone else can flourish for the service of the whole church. It takes a certain humility to create a space where others can flourish to their potential in the service of the Lord. It is the attitude of John the Baptist, expressed in his comment with regard to Jesus, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’. The feast of Barnabas invites us to ask, ‘What can I do for someone so that Jesus may increase today?’

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his bookReflections on the Weekday Readings: The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications, c/fwww.messenger.ie/bookshop/


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Saint of the Day: June 11. St Barnabas, 'Apostle'

St Barnabas, 'Apostle'  and 'son of encouragement’.  A Jew from Cyprus and one of the first converts in Jerusalem, a leading member of the Church there, though not one of the twelve. He was honoured as "a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith" (Acts 11:21). He introduced St Paul to the twelve and worked with him in Antioch and on missionary work in the Mediterranean world. He championed the Gentiles at the Council of Jerusalem. 

Patrick Duffy summarises what the New Testament tells us about him.

Barnabas Probably Born in Cyprus.
He was born  in Cyprus, became one of the first converts in Jerusalem (Acts 4:36) and was sent to preach at Antioch (Acts 11). He was Paul's companion on his first missionary journey and he took part with him in the Council of Jerusalem.

First Appearance
Barnabas, whose name means "son of encouragement" and was said to be a Levite of Cypriot origin, first appears in the Acts of the Apostles (4:36) when he sold a piece of land he owned and brought the money to the apostles for the common purse.

At Antioch and Jerusalem
He next appears at Antioch where he takes Paul under his wing and with him they bring money from the relatively wealthy community in Antioch to aid the much poorer church in Jerusalem (Acts 11:25-30).

First Missionary journey with Paul and John Mark in Cyprus and Asia Minor
Back again in Antioch, Barnabas, Paul and John Mark went on a missionary journey to Cyprus (Acts 13:1-12) and from there to Asia Minor, where John left them to go back to Jerusalem and they preached first to the Jews and then to the pagans. Their proclaiming  the good news and their success in healing a cripple had the pagans acclaiming them as gods. Protesting they were only human beings like themselves, Paul and Barnabas were barely able to stop the crowd offering them sacrifice. Then some Jews came to disrupt their success and stoned Paul. Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch where they told the church there that God had "opened the door of faith to the pagans" and wasn't just a god of the Jews (Acts 13:13-14:28).

Should Pagans be circumcised?
Tensions then arose in Antioch because a Jerusalem faction was insisting on the necessity of circumcision for all those converting to Christianity, effectively insisting on them becoming Jews. This was debated by the leaders of the Church at what came to be known as the Council of Jerusalem. The decision made was that converts from paganism did need not be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas were delegated to go back to Antioch with this good news (Acts 15:1-35).

Quarrel with Paul
Paul then proposed another missionary journey and Barnabas suggested taking John Mark, but this occasioned a violent quarrel between them. Barnabas sailed with John Mark to Cyprus. Paul recruited Silas and Timothy and went back to Asia Minor (Acts 15:39-40). Paul and Barnabas seem to have been subsequently reconciled and to have worked together again (around 56 or 57 AD) since Paul asks the Christians at Corinth (1 Cor 9:6): "Are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work for a living?"

Death in Cyprus 
It is not definitely known when he died, but according to Eastern and Western tradition his remains were discovered on this day sometime in the fifth century.
Barnabas is thought to have been stoned or burned to death in Cyprus in 61 AD (see image above left);
He was buried on the island near Salamis. There is still today a monastery of St Barnabas and icon museum near Salamis, Famagusta, in North Cyprus.                                                                             The tomb of Barnabas in Cyprus

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Memorable Sayings for Today

“Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me.
Sever any of my ties, but the ties that bind me to your service and to your heart.” 

~ unknown ~

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Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A

FIRST READING   

A reading from the Book of Exodus            19:2-6
I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation."

From Rephidim they set out again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched camp.

Moses then went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying,
'Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel,
"You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation."

The Word of the Lord      Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM       Ps 99: 2-3. 5. R/v 3
Response                                       We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

1. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.               Response

2. Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.  Response

3. Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.                     Response


SECOND READING

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Romans        5:6-11
Now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son?

We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man - though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die - but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God's anger?

When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.

The Word of the Lord                   Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation              Jn 10: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!

or                                                Mk 1:15
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Kingdom of God is close at hand, Repent and believe the good news.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                             

The Lord be with you                           And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew    9:36-10:8          Glory to you, O Lord
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.

When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples,
'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest'.

He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:
'Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.

The Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966,  by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.