MEMORIAL OF SAINT BARNABAS APOSTLE - MT 5:13-16 - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

"You are to Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons." (Mt 10:8)

READING OF THE DAY

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

ACTS 11:21B-26; 13:1-3

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.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew

MT 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.”

MEMORIAL OF SAINT BARNABAS, APOSTLE - MT 5:13-16

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In God's Word today, God the Father teaches how to go out and preach the Gospel to the apostles of the past as well as today: to put love and obedience to God the Father's will above all things. Love God the Father from the heart,

then we will joyfully go out to preach the Gospel and do exactly what God the Father instructed us to do for others.

God the Father knows that Satan will attack very strongly on the apostles He sends. Satan will not leave the apostles alone to move forward peacefully as humans do.

Therefore, God the Father instructs everyone: when going out to preach the Gospel, put love above all else, like the image of Jesus Christ, when He wants to save all humanity, He must begin by obeying the will of God the Father through acts of love, through sacrificing Himself. It is that love that will erase all hatred and all the sins for which Satan is imprisoning souls.

God the Father instructs His children that to overcome the temptations brought by Satan, the apostles sent by God the Father to preach the Gospel throughout the world must be with God the Father.

We must listen to God the Father's instructions, remember what God the Father commands, and practice what He teaches.

Have a love that comes from the heart and we will spread love to others. Drive out Satan who is holding souls captive. It is this mission that will help God the Father's apostles eliminate all hatred, all division, all the imprisonment, and Satan's control over souls.

God the Father also calls souls to open their hearts to receive the will of God the Father through those sent by God the Father.

Remain in His love through sacrificial service to others. Come to others with the love of God the Father then that same power will expel Satan.

Yet besides that, God the Father also calls all creatures to open their hearts to receive the love and strength of God the Father and receive His mercy shown on those He sends.

Thanks be to God. Amen