Go, make disciples of all the nations.
I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. MT 28:19, 20
ACTS 11:21-26,13:1-3
My Soul's Beloved,
Grace is given to us all. The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us at our Baptism. At every worthy reception of the Sacraments, we are filled anew with this Power of God, the Holy Spirit, who is the love between You and the Father. The Holy Spirit who came upon Mary and made it possible for her to conceive You in her virginal womb, and who rested on each of the Apostles at Pentecost as flames of fire, is the same Holy Spirit that we also receive. We are made children of God and heirs to the Kingdom. Filled with power and zeal, St. Barnabas evangelized, and many came to believe in the Good News and were baptized.
These same gifts are ours as well, except we are timid, our faith is weak and shallow, we choose creature comforts over missionary zeal, and this is why the Church is half dead. We greatly admire those who, like Paul and Barnabas, as well as all the Apostles and disciples, were tireless in spreading the Gospel, but we make lame excuses for ourselves, convincing ourselves that not all are called to go out into the world and set it on fire as they did. But this is a lie that the great deceiver wants us to believe.
Every baptized Catholic is filled with the Holy Spirit, and if we so desire we can also be numbered among the great cloud of witnesses who lived the Gospel with passion, with unflinching faith, making You alive and present in us as we carried out the mission entrusted to us all to go out into the world and make disciples in every nation. It takes courage, it takes faith, it takes love, it takes passion, to live as You have commanded us to, but the reward is nothing less than to be seated with You and receive a share in Your inheritance in share in Your Kingdom.
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.
PSALM 97(98):1-6
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
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.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
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.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
MATTHEW 10:7-13
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