We
honor Barnabas today. Barnabas was one
of the apostles who helped spread the way of Jesus in the early Church throughout
the ancient world. Barnabas worked
closely with Paul, as we heard in today’s first reading from the Acts of the
Apostles. We don’t know a lot of details
about many of the apostles, but we do know that they worked hard spreading the
Good News of Jesus and they encouraged those who were following on that road of
faith.
In many ways, I feel like we are
following in the traditions of the early Church, as I go to the different
communities in northeast Mississippi, ministering to them and encouraging them
in the ways of the faith. Just last
week, I went to Saltillo, Fulton, and New Albany to have mass or to meet with
parishioners there. In a lot of ways,
with the priest shortage and with the changing face of the Church in the midst
of the growing secularism of our modern world, we are becoming more like the
early days of Christianity.
We give thanks for Barnabas today and
for all the members of the Early Church who worked tirelessly in spreading the
faith. And we pray for all those many
people who are working to spread the faith today, those who are keeping the
spirit of the Early Church alive and vibrant.
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