Homily Tenth Thursday of Ordinary Time (Feast of St. Barnabas)

Homily Tenth Thursday of Ordinary Time (Feast of St. Barnabas)

When we hear the word apostle, we think of the twelve apostles.  But there were more than twelve apostles.  If we wanted to break down the followers of Jesus into groups there would be three distinct categories.  You had “the twelve”, next you had those individuals who were labeled apostles and then there were those who were simply called disciples of Jesus. Among the twelve there were four people that seemed to be closest to Jesus.  Those men were Peter and Andrew, James, and John. Mary Magdalene had a very close relationship with Jesus. She was also considered an apostle.

An apostle was said to have two qualifications.  One qualification was that such a person had an experience of the risen Jesus.  The other characteristic they shared was the fact that they “had been sent.”  What had they been sent to do?  They had been sent to preach the Gospel.  Paul, even though he did not seem to know Jesus during his earthly life, did have an experience of the risen Lord and he was sent by Jesus.  Thus, he was qualified to be an Apostle.

Barnabas, the saint we remember today, has always been considered an apostle. He must have been a witness to the resurrection and he certainly was a missionary.  We see him throughout the Acts of the Apostles as a key figure who went on very delicate missions for the church. 

He traveled with Paul in his early missionary journeys and he vouched for Paul when others doubted him. He also ran afoul of Paul’s type A personality. In the end he and Paul had a falling out and that was the last we hear of Barnabas in the scriptures.

Tradition has it that Barnabas was faithful to the end and died a martyr’s death.  Barnabas was a man who helped organize and expand the early church. He obviously loved the Lord and sacrificed everything for the cause of the Gospel.

Reflection Questions:

1. Jesus had a variety of relationships in his life. All this shows how healthy he was as a person. We might ask today, who are my closest friends, the people I can share anything with?  Maybe I should thank God for those people today.

2. How much have I missed the church community during the COVID 19 quarantine?  Would Jesus have the same feelings about being separated from a believing community?

Dear Parishioners,

            We continue to sign up parishioners who want to attend our indoor Masses this Sunday at 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.  I remind you, once again, that you can register online by going to our website or you can call our office and our staff will register you.  We still have many spaces available. The deadline is 9 a.m. tomorrow. The nine-a.m. outdoor Mass Sunday will have no sign-up and is open to all. Help spread the word about our reopening.

            When you sign up, we will send you further information about what to expect when you come.  Unfortunately, it will not be like the Masses we have grown accustomed to in our lifetime.  Keeping space from others and limiting our singing and interaction is not what Jesus had in mind, but this is where we find ourselves.

            I am reminded about stories I read about priests who were imprisoned at Dachau during WWII.  They were denied the right to attend the Eucharist, but they found ways to celebrate Mass.  When I visited the prison camp at Dachau as a seminarian, I was impressed by how the clergy made liturgical vessels out of the scraps of medal they found and vestments out of old clothes.  Their liturgies were not grand spectacles, but I am also sure that our Lord was more pleased by their efforts than those Masses celebrated in the grandest cathedrals. Their love for Jesus would not be denied. They risked their life to celebrate Eucharist.

May Our Lady and all the angels and saints watch over you today.

Fr. Mark