JUNE 11, 2013 : MEMORIAL OF SAINT BARNABAS, APOSTLE

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle 
Lectionary: 580/360

Reading 1ACTS 11:21B-26; 12:1-3

In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

Responsorial PsalmPS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4, 5-6

R. (see 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

GospelMT 5:13-16

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "You are the salt of the earth"

Jesus used ordinary images, such as salt and light, to convey extraordinary truths. What does salt and light have to teach us about God and his reign on earth? Salt was a valuable commodity in the ancient world. People traded with it, like we trade with gold and stock. Salt also served a very useful purpose in hot climates before the invention of electricity and refrigeration. Salt not only gave food flavor, it also preserved meat from spoiling. Jesus used the image of salt to describe how his disciples are to live in the world. As salt purifies, preserves, and produces rich flavor, so the disciple of Christ must be salt in the world of human society to purify, preserve, and  bring the flavor of God's kingdom of righteousness, peace, and mercy. 
What did Jesus mean by the expression " if salt has lost its taste...it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot" (Matthew 5:13)? Salt in the ancient world was often put in ovens to intensify the heat. When the salt was burned off and no longer useful it was thrown out on the foot path where it would easily get trodden upon (Matthew 5:13). Perhaps Jesus wanted to contrast useful salt and salt which lost its ability to prevent corruption to encourage his disciples to bring the rich flavor of Christ's love, purity, and righteousness to a world contaminated by greed, lust, and selfish ambition. Paul the Apostle reminds us that we are called to be "the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life" (2 Corinthians 2:15-16 ). Do you allow the fragrance of Christ's love, truth, and holiness to influence others through the witness of your life, speech, and actions? 
Jesus also used the image of light and a lamp to further his illustration. Lamps in the ancient world served a vital function, much like they do today. They enable people to see and work in the dark and to avoid stumbling. The Jews also understood “light” as an expression of the inner beauty, truth, and goodness of God.In his light we see light ( Psalm 36:9). His word is a lamp that guides our steps (Psalm 119:105). God’s grace not only illumines the darkness in our lives, but it also fills us with spiritual light, joy, and peace. Jesus used the image of a lamp to describe how his disciples are to live in the light of his truth and love. Just as natural light illumines the darkness and enables one to see visually, so the light of Christ shines in the hearts of believers and enables us to see the heavenly reality of God’s kingdom. In fact, our mission is to be light-bearers of Christ so that others may see the truth of the gospel and be freed from the blindness of sin and deception.
There is great freedom and joy for those who live in the light of God's truth and goodness. Do you know the joy and freedom of living in God’s light?
“Lord Jesus, you guide me by the light of your saving truth. Fill my heart and mind with your light and truth and free me from the blindness of sin and deception that I may see your ways clearly and understand your will for my life. May I radiate your light and truth to others in word and deed”.

www.dailyscripture.net

True Leadership

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Father Shawn Aaron, LC Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." Introductory Prayer:Father of love, source of all blessings, you have led me throughout my life, and you lead me still. Thank you for your paternal care. Jesus, Son of God, you died for me on the cross to pay for my sins and manifest your unconditional love for me. Thank you for showing me the way home to the Father. Holy Spirit, sweet guest of the soul, you heal me and strengthen me and set me on fire from the most intimate depths of my soul. Thank you for your loving presence within me. Petition: Lord, show me where I can make a difference. 1. The New Flavor of the Gospel: By calling us “the salt of the earth” Jesus meant that all his disciples, all those who would be called ‘Christians’ down through the centuries, would have the responsibility to work to give the new ‘taste’ of the Gospel to the earth and enlighten the whole world with Jesus’ teaching. Salt enhances the food we eat by accenting the natural flavor already present in the food. In like manner, we are called by God to enhance the world around us with the “saltiness” of our Christian lives. God created the world good, but sin has marred it. Through baptism God gives us the “salt” of his divine life – grace – so that, in turn, this grace of baptism will develop into a life of virtue and Christian charity by which we are called to “season” our environment. Do I have this awareness and desire which springs from my baptism? 2. Enlightening Minds and Hearts: Without light we are blind. The human eye is rendered useless where light is unable to penetrate. Analogously, all people have the power to know God who is truth, goodness and love. But without the particular light that is Jesus Christ, those faculties are clouded at best. Jesus wants you and me to be his light in contemporary society. By the way we live our life other people must see: They must see Christ. They must see the dignity of the human person and the noble calling each one of us has to live forever with God. They must see that love and mercy triumph over evil, suffering and death. The world needs our light because the world needs Christ. 3. The Shining Example of the Saints: What about humility? What about not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing? Jesus reminds us that our lives and actions are meant to direct people’s gaze to God and not towards ourselves: “So that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” The world has needed to see Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta in action. It has needed to see the youthful vigor and the aged frailty of the late Pope John Paul II. Their light has illumined our path towards God. This side of heaven, we will always need the example of the saints, and that is precisely what you and I are called to be. Conversation with Christ: Lord, you have given me everything I need to be faithful. Grant me also the courage and the zeal to live what I believe and to testify to your faithful love in my thoughts, words and actions. Mother Most Pure, make my heart only for Jesus. Resolution: Today I will speak to someone about Jesus, backing up my words with the sincerity with which I live my Christian commitments.

www.regnumchristi.org

TUESDAY, JUNE 11
MATTHEW 5:13-16

(Acts 11:21b - 26, 13:1-3; Psalm 98)
KEY VERSE: "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven" (v.12).
READING: In the time of Christ, good health and material prosperity were seen as rewards for one's righteousness, and affliction was thought to be punishment for sin. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reversed this concept and announced that true happiness was not to be found in wealth and power. The anawim, the poor and outcast, exemplified the attitude of trust and humility needed to enter God's reign. These poor lacked the basic necessities of life; they had no prestige or reputation to uphold. Because they knew they had nothing, they trusted God to provide for all their needs. Jesus promised spiritual reward for all who are compassionate, just, and who humbly seek to do God's will.
REFLECTING: Let us "who hold and teach the Catholic faith that comes to us from the apostles" [Eucharistic Prayer I], continue in our own time to hand on the faith that we have received, just as the apostles did in their time.
PRAYING: St. Barnabas, teach me to follow your example of trusting in God for all my needs.

Memorial of Barnabas, Apostle
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, came to the faith soon after Pentecost, and took the name Barnabas, which means "son of encouragement" (Acts 4:36). Although he was not one of the Twelve Apostles, Barnabas is mentioned frequently in the book of Acts, and is included among the prophets and doctors at Antioch, and is considered an Apostle. Barnabas introduced Paul to the Apostlesat Antioch. Like Paul, Barnabas believed in the Church's mission to the Gentiles, and was Paul's companion on his first missionary journey to Cyprus and Asia Minor. Paul and Barnabas argued over taking Barnabas' cousin John Mark on their second journey because Mark had deserted them. Paul and Barnabas separated. Barnabas and Mark went on to evangelize in Cyprus. Barnabas was possibly the author of some apocryphal works. Tradition says that he preached in Alexandria and Rome, and was stoned to death at Salamis about 61 AD. He is considered the founder of the Church in Antioch. At the time of his death it is said that he was carrying a copy of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, which he had copied by hand

www.daily-word-of-life.com

Lord, let your face shine on me. 

Jesus, you are my salt.
You bring out the best in me and give me flavour. Sometimes you sting a bit, because in your presence I see the gap between your love and mine. I regret the harm I do: sometimes I hurt people who, deep down, I love. The pain is a sign of a new beginning. You quickly begin to heal those wounds and allow me, renewed and made whole again, to live ever more fully.

Into the world you send me with the realisation that the Father loves everyone. Lord, may my words and actions today show that you are alive. Help me let you touch all the people who cross my path, especially the most angry and hurt, and the ones who yearn to be touched by the One who will change their lives.

www.churchresources.info

June 11
St. Barnabas

Barnabas, a Jew of Cyprus, comes as close as anyone outside the Twelve to being a full-fledged apostle. He was closely associated with St. Paul (he introduced Paul to Peter and the other apostles) and served as a kind of mediator between the former persecutor and the still suspicious Jewish Christians.

When a Christian community developed at Antioch, Barnabas was sent as the official representative of the Church of Jerusalem to incorporate them into the fold. He and Paul instructed in Antioch for a year, after which they took relief contributions to Jerusalem.
Later, Paul and Barnabas, now clearly seen as charismatic leaders, were sent by Antioch officials to preach to the Gentiles. Enormous success crowned their efforts. After a miracle at Lystra, the people wanted to offer sacrifice to them as gods—Barnabas being Zeus, and Paul, Hermes—but the two said, “We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God” (see Acts 14:8-18).
But all was not peaceful. They were expelled from one town, they had to go to Jerusalem to clear up the ever-recurring controversy about circumcision and even the best of friends can have differences. When Paul wanted to revisit the places they had evangelized, Barnabas wanted to take along John Mark, his cousin, author of the Gospel (April 25), but Paul insisted that, since Mark had deserted them once, he was not fit to take along now. The disagreement that followed was so sharp that Barnabas and Paul separated, Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus, Paul taking Silas to Syria. Later, they were reconciled—Paul, Barnabas and Mark.
When Paul stood up to Peter for not eating with Gentiles for fear of his Jewish friends, we learn that “even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy” (see Galatians 2:1-13).

Stories:

Barnabas is mentioned by name as one of the generous members of the idyllic and extremely poor Church in Jerusalem: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. . . . There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.
"Thus Joseph, also named by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated 'son of encouragement.), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, sold a pieace of property that he owned, then broguht the moeny and put it at the feet of the apostles" (Acts 4:32, 34-37).

Comment:

Barnabas is spoken of simply as one who dedicated his life to the Lord. He was a man "filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. Thereby large numbers were added to the Lord." Even when he and Paul were expelled from Antioch in Pisidia (modern-day Turkey), they were "filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO: SAINT BARNABAS, APOSTLE MT 10: 7-13

Lectio: 

 Tuesday, June 11, 2013  

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,
prompted by the Holy Spirit,
the church of Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas
on their missionary mission among pagans.
Let your Church everywhere send 
good, zealous men and women as missionaries.
Fill them with the Holy Spirit and with faith,
that they may touch the hearts of people

and win them as disciples and friends

of Jesus Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 10,7-13

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 those suffering from virulent skin-diseases, drive out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.

Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the labourer deserves his keep.

'Whatever town or village you go into, seek out someone worthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, may your peace come upon it; if it does not, may your peace come back to you.'

3) Reflection

• Today is the feast of Saint Barnabas. The Gospel speaks about the teachings of Jesus to the disciples on how to announce the Good News of the Kingdom to “the lost sheep of Israel” (Mt 10, 6). They have to: a) cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out devils (v. 8); b) announce gratuitously what you have received gratuitously (v. 8); c) provide yourselves with no gold or silver, no sandals, or staff, no haversack, or two tunics (v. 9), d) seek a house where you can be received until the end of the mission (v.. 11); e) be bearers of peace (v. 13).

• At the time of Jesus there were various movements which, like him, were seeking a new way of living and of living together with others, for example, John the Baptist the Pharisees, the Essenes and others. Many of them formed communities of disciples (Jn 1, 35; Lk 11, 1; Ac 19, 3) and had their missionaries (Mt 23, 15). But there was a great difference! The Pharisees, for example, when they went on mission, they provided for their needs. They thought that they could not trust the food that people would offer them, because this was not always “ritually pure”. Because of this they always carried a haversack and money so as to be able to take care themselves of what they would eat. In this way the observance of the law of purity, instead of helping to overcome divisions, weakened even more the living of the community values. The proposal of Jesus is different. His method was seen in the counsels which he gives to the apostles when he sends them on mission. Through the instruction, he tries to renew and to reorganize the communities of Galilee in a way that they would once again be the expression of the covenant, an example of the Kingdom of God.

• Matthew 10, 7: The announcement that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.Jesus invites the disciples to announce the Good News. They should say: “The Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand!” What does it mean that the Kingdom is close at hand? It does not mean the closeness of time, in the sense that it suffices to wait for a short time and then the Kingdom will come. “The Kingdom is close at hand” means that it is already within reach of the people, it is already“in your midst” (Lk 17, 21). It is good to acquire a new look, so as to be able to perceive its presence or proximity. The coming of the Kingdom is not the fruit of our observance, as the Pharisees wanted, but it becomes present, gratuitously, in the actions which Jesus recommends to the Apostles: to cure the sick, to raise the dead, to cleanse the lepers, to drive out demons.

• Matthew 10, 8: To cure, to raise, to purify, to drive out. The sick, the dead, the lepers, the possessed, were the excluded from living together with others, and they were excluded in the name of God. They could not participate in the life of the community. Jesus orders to accept these persons, to include them. The Kingdom of God becomes present in these gestures of acceptance and including them. In these gestures of human gratuity is shown God’s gratuitous love which reconstructs the human living together and mends interpersonal relationships.

• Matthew 10,9-10: Do not take anything. On the contrary of the other missionaries, the Apostles can take nothing: “Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or a spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the labourer deserves his keep”: The only thing which you can and should take is Peace (Mt 10, 13). This means that they have to trust in the hospitality and in the sharing of the people. Because the disciple who does not take anything with him and takes peace, indicates that he trusts people. He believes that he will be received, and the people will feel appreciated, valued, and confirmed. The labourer has the right to his nourishment. Doing this, the disciple criticizes the laws of exclusion and recovers the ancient values of sharing and of community living together.

• Matthew 10, 11-13: To live together and to integrate oneself in the community. Arriving to a place, the disciples have to choose a house of peace and they should remain there until the end. They should not go from one house to the next, but rather live in a stable way. They should become members of the community and work for peace, that is, to reconstruct the human relationships which will favour Peace. By means of this practice, they recover an ancient tradition of the people, they criticize the culture of accumulation, typical of the politics of the Roman Empire and they announce a new model of living together.

• Summary: The actions recommended by Jesus to announce the Kingdom are the following: accept the excluded, trust the hospitality, encourage sharing, live stably and in a peaceful way. If this happens then we can and should cry out openly to the four corners of the world: The Kingdom is among us! To proclaim the Kingdom does not consist, in the first place, in teaching truth and doctrine, catechism and Canon Law, but to lead persons to a new way of living and of living together with others, to a new way of thinking and of acting starting by the Good News, brought by Jesus: God is Father and Mother, and therefore, we are all brothers and sisters.

4) Personal questions

•Why are all these attitudes recommended by Jesus signs of the Kingdom of God in our midst?

• How can we do today what Jesus asks of us: do not take with you a “haversack”, do not go from house to the next?”

5) Concluding Prayer

Sing a new song to Yahweh,
for he has performed wonders,
his saving power is in his right hand and his holy arm. (Ps 98,1)

www.ocarm.org