Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?On_Forsaking_Creatures_to_Find_the_Creator=C2 _=5BIV=5D?= To : All From : rich Date : Thu Jun 10 2021 10:20:12 From: rich On Forsaking Creatures to Find the Creator=C2 [IV] Alas, after a short meditation we break off, and do not make a strict examination of our lives. We do not consider where our affections really lie, nor are we grieved at the sinfulness of our whole life. Yet it was because of the wickedness of men that the Flood came upon the earth.(Gen.6:12) When our inner inclinations are corrupted, the actions that spring from them are also corrupted. And this is a sign of our lack of inner strength; for from a pure heart alone springs the fruit of a holy life. --Thomas =C3 Kempis --Imitation of Christ, Bk 3, Ch 31 <<>><<>><<>> 11 June =E2=80=93 St Barnabas the Apostle Say the word =E2=80=9Capostles=E2=80=9D and most people will respond, =E2= =80=9Cthe twelve.=E2=80=9D By which, they mean the twelve-become-eleven-and-then-twelve-again: Simon Peter, Andrew, James (son of Zebedee) John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (Son of Alphaeus), Jude (Thaddeus), Simon the Zealot, Judas and Matthias, who replaced Judas. How, then, can the Church celebrate the feast of St. Barnabas the Apostle every June 11? There are more than twelve apostles. The list includes Paul, Luke, John Mark, Lazarus and, today's saint, Barnabas, who, like Paul, hi= s traveling and preaching companion, was probably converted after Christ' death, resurrection and ascension. We first hear of Barnaba= s in Acts 4:36-37: =E2=80=9CThere was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostl= es gave the name Barnabas (which means =E2=80=9Cson of encouragement=E2=80=9D)= ... He sold a field of that belonged to him, then bought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.=E2=80=9D The story of Barnabas is told just before the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who kept back part of the proceeds from land they, like Barnabas, had sold and then, unlike Barnabas, lied to Peter about it. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be thought of as faithful without doing the work of faithfulness. It's instructive that Luke links their stories. From the day of his conversion Barnabas was faithful. He was generous and open to all who came seeking Christ. When the elders of the Jerusalem Church doubted Paul's conversion, Barnabas vouched for hi= m. Born, like Paul, a Jew, Barnabas welcomed gentile converts and did not insist that their conversion be two-fold, first to Judaism and only then to Christianity. With Paul, he spent a year in Antioch preaching Christ crucified to the gentiles. From Antioch, Barnabas and Paul went to Cyprus and Asia Minor. They had only one message: Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again and appeared to the ones who have been sent out to tell this good news to all the world. Barnabas and Paul finally separated in their ministries, while remaining apostles of the one Catholic Church, over Paul's insisten= ce that Mark not travel with them again. In death, however, the =E2=80=9CApost= les to the Gentiles=E2=80=9D were reunited. Mark is said to have buried Barnaba= s after he was killed by a mob in Cyprus around the year 62. St. Paul and St. Mark were, in turn, reconciled before St. Paul's martyrdom five years later. He is said to have been stoned to death in Salamis in the year 61. Paul writes of him in first letter to the church at Corinth, where he makes clear that both he and Barnabas have to work for a living. So we know he was preaching and teaching as late as 56 or 57 A.D. Some sources say he was the first Bishop of Milan. In Acts 11:24, St. Luke called him =E2=80=9Ca good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.=E2=80= =9D Luke writes as a result of Barnabas' preaching in Antioch, =E2=80=9Ca gr= eat many people were brought to the Lord.=E2=80=9D Sometimes the stories of martyrdoms are so dramatic and so compelling that we focus on the death of the saint rather than the life. Barnabas calls us to consider the way we live, and then through this way, preparing for our deaths. St Barnabas, pray for us! Bible Quote: =C2 For unto you it is given for Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him: Having the same conflict as that which you have seen in me and now have heard of me. [Philippians 1:29-30 ] DRB https://anastpaul.com/2017/06/11/ <><><><> St Augustine, the Holy Trinity, the Child and the SeaShell Today, 11 June 2017, we remember the legend of St Augustine and the Seashel= l. The great Doctor of the Church St. Augustine of Hippo spent over 30 years working on his treatise De Trinitate [about the Holy Trinity], endeavouring to conceive an intelligible explanation for the mystery of the Trinity. He was walking by the seashore one day contemplating and trying to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity when he saw a small boy running back and forth from the water to a spot on the seashore. The boy was using a sea shell to carry the water from the ocean and place it into a small hole in the sand. The Bishop of Hippo approached him and asked, =E2=80=9CMy boy, what are doi= ng?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CI am trying to bring all the sea into this hole,=E2=80=9D the boy = replied with a sweet smile. =E2=80=9CBut that is impossible, my dear child, the hole cannot contain all that water=E2=80=9D said Augustine. The boy paused in his work, stood up, looked into the eyes of the Saint, and replied, =E2=80=9CIt is no more impossible than what you are try= ing to do =E2=80=93 comprehend the immensity of the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your small intelligence.=E2=80=9D The Saint was absorbed by such a keen response from that child, and turned his eyes from him for a short while. When he glanced down to ask him something else, the boy had vanished. Some say that it was an Angel sent by God to teach Augustine a lesson on pride in learning. Others affirm it was the Christ Child Himself who appeared to the Saint to remind him of the limits of human understanding before the great mysteries of our Faith. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .