Memory of the apostles

Feast of the apostle Barnabas, companion of Paul in Antioch and on his first apostolic journey.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Acts 11,21-26

The Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord. The news of them came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas out to Antioch. There he was glad to see for himself that God had given grace, 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. And it happened that they stayed together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians'.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Today the Church remembers Barnabas. A native of Cyprus, he lived in Jerusalem where he embraced the Gospel, becoming disciple: he had sold all his possessions and placed the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. They sent Barnabas to Antioch, where the Gospel was preached not only to Jews, but also to pagans: for the first time, the community was composed not only of disciples of Jewish origin. The apostles chose Barnabas, precisely to help with the organization of this new and promising community. It was in this city that Jesus' disciples were for the first time called "Christians." On learning of Paul's conversion, Barnabas invited him to Antioch to give witness before every one of his encounters with Jesus. Barnabas also brought Paul to Jerusalem to present him to the other apostles and to have him defend the preaching of the Gospel to pagans, without having them submit to circumcision. Together with Paul, Barnabas undertakes the first great apostolic journey. His nephew, John Mark, a young witness of the Lord's passion, also accompanies them. The task to communicate the Gospel does not arise out of human planning or the desire for expansion within the Church. It is the Spirit of the Lord, promised by Jesus to the apostles and the disciples of every age to travel the pathways of the world and of human hearts to communicate the Gospel of love.