MEMORIAL OF SAINT BARNABAS, APOSTLE AND MARTYR [SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT] ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 11TH On this feast, today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Barnabas, the Apostle and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Barnabas and all the Saints on this special feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, the poor and the needy. We also pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏🏽
SAINT BARNABAS, APOSTLE AND MARTYR [SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT]: St. Barnabas (1st c.) was a Jew of the tribe of Levi, but born in Cyprus, where the family settled. He was a Hellenist, that is, a Jew who lived outside of Palestine and spoke the Greek tongue. He was given the name Joseph at birth. The apostle and missionary was among Christ’s earliest followers and was responsible for welcoming St. Paul into the Church. Though not one of the 12 Apostles chosen by our Lord Jesus Christ, he is traditionally regarded as one of the 72 disciples of Christ and most respected man in the first century Church after the Apostles themselves. He is mentioned by name in the New Testament. A convert to the Christian faith in Jerusalem, he sold his property and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles alongside St. Paul the Apostle and St. Mark the Evangelist. His success in preaching prompted the Apostles to change his name of Joseph to that of Barnabas—which means “Son of Exhortation” or “Consolation” or “Son of Encouragement.” He was highly esteemed among the Christian leaders at Jerusalem and Antioch, almost ranked among the twelve Apostles themselves. According to Acts 11:24: “Blessed is this holy man, who was worthy to be numbered among the Apostles, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith.” He also was noted for his generosity in the early Christian community of Jerusalem (Act 4:36-37).
St. Barnabas was born to wealthy Jewish parents on the Greek-speaking island of Cyprus, probably around the time of Christ’s own birth. Traditional accounts hold that his parents sent him to study in Jerusalem, where he studied at the school of Gamaliel (who also taught St. Paul). Later on, when Christ’s public ministry began, Barnabas may have been among those who heard him preach in person. At some point, either during Christ’s ministry or after his death and resurrection, St. Barnabas decided to commit himself in the most radical way to the teachings he had received. He sold the large estate he had inherited, contributed the proceeds entirely to the Church, and joined Christ’s other Apostles in holding all of their possessions in common. It was St. Barnabas who befriended the recently converted and former persecutor of the Church, Saul of tarsus, and set him on the path to becoming the great Apostle Paul by introducing him to the Apostles (Act 9:27). Saul of Tarsus, the future St. Paul, was approached by St. Barnabas after the miraculous events surrounding his conversion, and was first introduced to St. Peter and the other Apostles when everyone was still distrusting the former persecutor. St. Barnabas vouched for the genuineness of St. Paul’s conversion and had him accepted as a Christian by the other Apostles. About five years later, Sts. Barnabas and Paul spent a year in Antioch, building up the Church community whose members were the first to go by the name of “Christians.” When St. Barnabas went to Antioch to consolidate the infant Church there, he asked St. Paul to share his labors. After laboring a year at Antioch, the two Apostles brought the offerings of the community to the famine-stricken poor of the Judean community (Acts 11:27-30). Both Sts. Paul and Barnabas received a calling from God to become the “Apostles of the Gentiles,” although the title is more often associated with St. Paul. The reference to the “laying-on of hands” in Acts, chapter 13, suggests that Sts. Paul and Barnabas may have been consecrated as bishops on this occasion.
Sts. Barnabas and Paul left Antioch along with Barnabas’ cousin John Mark, who would later compose the most concise account of Christ’s life and be canonized as St. Mark. The group’s first forays into the pagan world met with some success, but St. Mark became discouraged and returned to Jerusalem. The question of St. Mark’s dedication to the mission would arise again later, and cause a significant personal disagreement between Sts. Paul and Barnabas. For many years prior to this, however, the two Apostles traveled and preached among the Gentiles, suffering persecution and hardships for the sake of establishing Christianity among those of a non-Jewish background. The remarkable success of St. Barnabas and Paul led to one of the earliest controversies in Church history, regarding the question of whether Christian converts would have to observe Jewish rites. During the landmark Council of Jerusalem, recorded in the book of Acts, the assembled Apostles confirmed St. Peter’s earlier proclamation that the laws of the Old Testament would not be mandatory for Christians. Together with St. Paul, St. Barnabas preached the faith in Cyprus and central Asia (Acts 13-14) and attended the First Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-29). But on their return to Antioch they parted company when St. Barnabas wanted his nephew St. Mark to accompany them on their second missionary journey while St. Paul did not (Acts 15:30-40); accordingly, Sts. Barnabas and Paul finally separated in their ministries, while remaining Apostles of the one Catholic Church, over St. Paul’s insistence that St. Mark not travel with them again. St. Barnabas went back to Cyprus with St. Mark. The subsequent events of the life of St. Barnabas are not know for certain, except that he was known to the Corinthians (1 Cor 9:6). In death, however, the “Apostles to the Gentiles” were reunited. St. Mark is said to have buried St. Barnabas after he was killed by a mob in Cyprus around the year 62. St. Paul and St. Mark were, in turn, reconciled before St. Paul’s martyrdom five years later. He is said to have been stoned to death in Salamis in the year 61. According to tradition he died at Salamis in Cyprus, after being stoned and his body was found at Salamina in 488 A.D. St. Luke described St. Barnabas as ‘a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith’ (Acts 6:24), and he was known for his exceptional kindliness and personal sanctity, and his openness to pagans. St. Barnabas name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass since ancient times. He’s the Patron Saint of Antioch; Cyprus; against hailstorms; invoked as peacemaker.
PRAYER: God, You commanded that St. Barnabas, who was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, should be set apart to labor for the conversion of the Gentiles. May Christ’s Gospel, which he preached with great ardor, continue to be preached faithfully by word and deed. Amen🙏🏽