Friday, June 11, 2021

 SOLEMNITY SACRED HEART OF JESUS-SAINT BARNABAS 

1 Kings Chapter 19, Verse 3-4

3Elijah was AFRAID and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba of Judah. He left his servant there 4 and went a day’s journey into the wilderness, until he came to a solitary broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: “Enough, Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 

Depression is real for saints as it is for sinners; as you power through it you may come to realize that depression is really just angered directed at yourself.

Tired Of Life[1]

I. The wish for death, the weariness of life, is a phenomenon extremely common, and common because it arises from a multitude of causes; but those causes all run up into this, that, as Scripture expresses it, ‘man is born to sorrow, as the sparks fly upward.’ Rebuke this feeling as you will, you must deal with it as a fact, and as an experience of human life. The sense of failure, the conviction that the evils around us are stronger than we can grapple with, the apparent non-atonement for the intolerable wrong—there are hours when, under the incidents of these trials, even the noblest Christian finds it hard to keep his faith strong and his hope unclouded. Take any man who has spoken words of burning faithfulness, or done deeds of high courage in a mean and lying world, and the chances are that his life’s story was clouded by failure or closed in martyrdom.

II. In this chapter we have God’s own gracious way of dealing with this sad but far from uncommon despondency. —Elijah had fled into the wilderness, flung himself down under a juniper tree, and requested that he might die. How gently and with what Divine compassion did God deal with his despair! He spread for Elijah a table in the wilderness, and helped him forward on his way; only then, when his bodily powers had been renewed, when his faith had been strengthened, does the question come, ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’ The vision and the still small voice may have brought home to the heart of Elijah one reason at least why he had failed. He had tried taunts and violence in the cause of God; he had seized heaven’s sword of retribution, and made it red with human blood. He had not learned that violence is hateful to God; he had to be taught that Elijah’s spirit is very different from Christ’s Spirit. And when God has taught him this lesson, He then gives him His message and His consolation. The message is, ‘Go, do My work again’; the consolation is, ‘Things are not so bad as to human eyes they seem.’

III. Those who suffer from despondency, should (1) look well to see whether the causes of their failure and their sorrow are not removable; (2) embrace the truth that when they have honestly done their best, then the success or the failure of their work is not in their own hands. Work is man’s; results are God’s. Dean Farrar.

Give me the ability to see as Christ sees 

As gentiles who are God-fearing, we must accept our salvation by living the Shema Israel daily seeking to love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength. This morning as I said the Shema Israel, I thought Lord I don’t understand how to love you with my whole soul, but I decided to say the prayer looking in the mirror at myself.  I then said, “Hear O Israel that the Lord our God is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, (I touched my heart) and with your whole mind, (I touched the side of my temple) with your whole soul (I instinctively touched my eyes, which are the windows of the soul) and flexed my arms and said with my whole strength.  It was then that I realized what the Lord had revealed to me.  My eyes: with my eyes I see things as a child of God, or as a selfish clot. With my eyes I see the good in the world or I see things that I want. With my eyes I see another human as a beloved or as an object to be used. Yes, indeed with my eyes my soul does exist, and I will now love the Lord my God with my whole eyes which are the windows of the soul.

Apostolic Exhortation[2]

Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling

of The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Part III

Loving and Adoring the Eucharistic Lord

II. Go to daily Mass, if possible.

III. Increase your time of Eucharistic adoration.

79. Friends deepen their love and affection by spending time together. The same is true of our relationship with Christ. Eucharistic adoration prolongs the mystery of Jesus’ self-offering in the Mass. To adore the Eucharistic Jesus is to lovingly savor and delight in His sacramental presence. It is not opposed to the Mass or a substitute to the Mass. Rather, Eucharistic adoration flows from the sacred liturgy and back to it again. As lovers’ eyes linger in a shared gaze after and before their kiss, so adoration before the Eucharist shares a natural rhythm of the “kiss” of Holy Communion. Love survives on both contemplation and union, on the gaze and the kiss.

80. Saint Augustine teaches us this when, in speaking about the Eucharistic Body of Christ, he said that “we consume what we adore, and we adore what we consume.” To enter into this circle of adoration and consummation is to know a foretaste of the beatitude which the Lord desires us to know. The Saints are the best teachers of the power of Eucharistic adoration. Saint Dominic Savio once wrote: “To be happy nothing is lacking for me in this world; I lack only the vision in Heaven of that Jesus, whom with the eyes of faith I now see and adore on the altar.” Once a person complained to Saint Teresa of Avila that his faith in Jesus would have been stronger if he could have seen the Lord during the days of his earthly ministry. The Saint quickly responded, “But do we not have in the Eucharist the living, true and real Jesus present before us? Why look for more?”. Who can forget the moving wisdom of the farmer who, when asked by Saint John Marie Vianney what he does for hours in front of the tabernacle, responded: “I look at Him and He looks at me.” Venerable J.J. Olier wrote: “When there are two roads which will bring me to some place, I take the one with more churches so as to be nearer the Blessed Sacrament. When I see a place where my Jesus is, I could not be happier, and I say, ‘You are here, my God and my All’.”

81. Extended time in Eucharistic adoration deepens our prayer in marvelous ways. Pope Francis spoke of this prayer as a kind of necessity during a homily in 2016: “We cannot know the Lord without this habit of worship, to worship in silence, adoration. If I am not mistaken, I believe that this prayer of adoration is one of the least known by us, it’s the one that we do the least. Allow me to say this: waste time in front of the Lord, in front of the mystery of Jesus Christ. Worship him. There in silence, the silence of adoration. He is the Savior and I worship him”.

To be continued

Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus[3]

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotional with long and historic provenance within Christianity, and in modern times has been established as a Solemnity for the universal Church.

Sixteenth century Calvinism and seventeenth century Jansenism preached a distorted Christianity that substituted for God's love and sacrifice of His Son for all men the fearful idea that a whole section of humanity was inexorably damned.

The Church always countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all men. The institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart was soon to contribute to the creation among the faithful of a powerful current of devotion which since then has grown steadily stronger. The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the general calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.

"I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment" (Jesus to St. Margaret Mary).

In the late 19th century, Sr. Mary of the Divine Heart received a message from Christ. This eventually led the 1899 encyclical letter Annum Sacrum in which Leo XIII decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on June 11, 1899.

On the 100th anniversary of the Feast of the Sacred Heart in a landmark encyclical, Haurietis aquas (Latin: “You will draw waters”; written May 15, 1956), Pope Pius XII began his reflection by drawing from Isaiah 12:3, a verse which alludes to the abundance of the supernatural graces which flow from the heart of Christ. Haurietis aquas called the whole Church to recognize the Sacred Heart as an important dimension of Christian spirituality. Pius XII gave two reasons why the Church gives the highest form of worship to the Heart of Jesus. The first rests on the principle whereby the believers recognize that Jesus’ Heart is hypostatically united to the “Person of the Incarnate Son of God Himself.” The second reason is derived from the fact that the Heart is the natural sign and symbol of Jesus’ boundless love for humans. The encyclical recalls that for human souls the wound in Christ’s side and the marks left by the nails have been “the chief sign and symbol of that love” that ever more incisively shaped their life from within.

Things to Do:

·         From the Catholic Culture Library read Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Sacred Scripture by Bishop Raymond Burke.

·         Bake a heart shaped cake or cookies in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

·         Read The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

·         Read more about this feast here

·         For Doctrinal Explanations and Historical Ideas about the feast visit New Advent

·         Fr. Eugene Lobo, SJ explains the readings for the feast

·         Read Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger and Abbot Gueranger on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

·         Make a Heart-Shaped Pizza and/or heart Mexican Tin Art (at the bottom of the page), directions at this site


Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus[4]

ALTHOUGH many pious souls had been accustomed, in the silence of their secluded lives, to venerate the sacred Heart of Jesus with great devotion, still our divine Savior desired that the boundless love of His Heart might be known by all men, and that a new fire of love should thereby be kindled in the cold hearts of Christians. For this purpose, He made use of a frail and little-known instrument in the person of Margaret Mary Alacoque, a nun of the Order of the Visitation, at Parayle-Monial, France. One day, when, according to her custom during the octave of Corpus Christi, she was deeply engaged in devotions before the Blessed Sacrament, the divine Savior appeared to her, showed her His Heart burning with love, and said:

 

“Behold this Heart, which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this sacrament of love. And what is most painful to Me is that they are hearts consecrated to Me. It is for this reason I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be appropriated to a special feast to honor My Heart by communicating on that day and making reparation for the indignity that it has received. And I promise that My Heart shall dilate to pour out abundantly the influences of its love on all that will render it this honor or procure its being rendered.” 

Margaret obeyed, but met everywhere the greatest opposition, until finally, when she became mistress of novices, she succeeded, by the help of her divine Spouse, in animating her young charges to venerate the sacred Heart of Jesus. But this was not sufficient for her zeal. She persevered until she softened the opposition of the nuns, and kindled in all an equal devotion towards the most sacred Heart. Thence the devotion spread to the adjoining dioceses, where confraternities in honor of the most sacred Heart of Jesus soon sprung up. Pope Clement XIII., after having instituted a most rigorous examination of the whole affair, commanded that the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus should be solemnly celebrated throughout the whole Catholic Church every year, on the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. 

THE DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 

                                                                                                                                      I.            Object of this Devotion.

 

In the divine Heart of Our Savior, we must not imagine an inanimate heart, separated from the person of Christ, but the living heart of the God-Man, the center of all His affections, the fountain of all His virtues, the most touching emblem of His in finite love to man. The Church venerates the cross, the blood, and the wounds of the divine Savior, by feasts which have their proper masses and lessons, in order, by meditation upon these objects, to awaken in us a more fervent devotion to the Redeemer. How much more worthy, then, of our devotion is the sacred Heart of Our Savior, since all its thoughts, movements, and affections aim at our salvation, and it is always ready to receive truly penitent sinners, to pardon them, to restore them again to God’s favor, and make them partakers of eternal happiness 

                                                                                                                            II.            Excellence of this Devotion. 

It is, writes the venerable P. Simon Gourdan:

 

1. A holy devotion, for therein men venerate in Christ those affections and motions of His Heart by which He sanctified the Church, glorified His Heavenly Father, and showed Himself to men as a perfect example of the most sublime holiness.

 

2. An ancient devotion of the Catholic Church, which, instructed by St. Paul, the great apostle, has at all times acknowledged the great beneficence of the divine and sacred Heart of Jesus.

 

3. An approved devotion, for the Holy Scriptures everywhere admonish us to renew the heart, by changing our lives; to penetrate it with true sorrow, to inflame it with divine love, and to adorn it by the practice of all virtues. When, therefore, a new heart is promised us, by which to direct our lives, that can be no other than the Heart of Jesus, which is to us the pattern of all excellence, and which we must follow if we would be saved.

 

4. A perfect devotion, as being the origin of all other devotions. For the Heart of Jesus is the inexhaustible treasury from which the blessed Mother of God, and all other saints have derived their graces, their virtues, their life, their spiritual goods. Filled first with treasures from this source, different servants of God have instituted and established other devotions.

 

5. A profitable devotion, for thereby we have brought before our eyes the very fountain of life and grace, and can draw directly from it, increasing in ourselves all virtues, by adoring this divine Heart, meditating on its holy affections, and endeavoring to imitate them.

 

6. A devotion pleasing to God, for thus we adore God, as Christ requires, in spirit and in truth, serving Him inwardly in our hearts, and endeavoring to please Him. Finally, it is:

 

7. A useful devotion, since its whole object is to unite us most intimately with Christ as members of Him, her head, to make us live by and according to His spirit, to have one heart and soul with Him, and through grace finally to become one with Him, which is and must be the object of all devotions. 

As this devotion is, then, so excellent, we cannot sufficiently recommend it to all who are anxious for their salvation. “While everyone can practice this devotion, and adore the sacred Heart of Jesus, by himself, there is a greater blessing when pious souls unite and form a confraternity for practicing the devotion. Of such confraternities there were in the year 1726 more than three hundred, and they are now established throughout all Catholic countries. Hesitate not, Christian soul, to engage in this devotion, and to join in the adoration of that sacred Heart of Jesus in which all men find propitiation, the pious, confidence; sinners, hope; the afflicted, consolation; the sick, support; the dying, refuge; the elect, joy and delight. 

The Introit of the Mass for this feast is: “He will have mercy according to the multitude of His mercies, for He hath not willingly afflicted nor cast off the children of men; the Lord is good to them that hope in Him, to the soul that seeketh Him, alleluia, alleluia” (Lamentations iii. 32-35). “The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever to generation and generation” (Ps.

Ixxxviii. 2). 

Prayer. Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who, glorying in the most sacred Heart of Thy Son, commemorate the chief benefits of His charity towards us, may equally rejoice in their acts and fruits. 

EPISTLE. Isaias xii. 1-6. 

I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, for Thou wast angry with me: Thy wrath is turned away, and Thou hast comforted me. Behold God is my Savior. I will deal confidently, and will not fear; because the Lord is my strength, and my praise, and He is become my salvation. You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior’s fountains. And you shall say in that day: Praise ye the Lord, and call upon His name: make His inventions known among the people: remember that His name is high. Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath done great things: show this forth in all the earth. Rejoice, and praise, O thou habitation of Sion: for great is He that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel. 

Explanation. 

This epistle is a song of gratitude for the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of their enemies, and at the same time a prophecy of the coming redemption of mankind from sin and death, through Jesus Christ. “You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior’s fountains.” These fountains are the graces which Christ has obtained for us on the cross, but particularly, says St. Augustine, the holy sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. We should rejoice over these graces, particularly that the Holy One of Israel, Jesus, the Son of God, is in the midst of Sion, that is, the Catholic Church, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, remaining therein until the end of time. Oh, let us often approach the ever-flowing fountain of all graces, the Most Holy Eucharist, and with confidence draw consolation, assistance, strength, and power from this fountain of love! 

GOSPEL. John xix. 31-35. 

At that time the Jews (because it was the Parasceve), that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day (for that was a great Sabbath-day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers, therefore, came and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers, with a spear, opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony: and his testimony is true. 

Explanation. 

According to the Jewish law, a criminal could not be put to death, nor could the body of one who had been executed remain on the place of execution, on the Sabbath-day. The Jews, therefore, asked Pilate that the bodies of Jesus and the two thieves should be buried; but before this could be done, according to the Roman law, the legs of the crucified had to be broken with an iron mace: this the soldiers did to the two thieves, who were still alive; but when they found that Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers, whose name was Longinus, opened His side with a spear as had been predicted by the prophets. Jesus permitted his most sacred Heart to be opened

 

1. To atone for those sins which come forth from the hearts of men, as Christ Himself says, “For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies” (Matt. xv. 19).

 

2. To show the infinite love with which He first loved us, and to which the spear should point us.

 

3. To show that there was nothing so dear to Him that He would not give it to us, since, for our salvation, He shed the last drop of His heart’s blood.

 

4. To provide, as it were, an abode in His opened side, according to the words of St. Augustine: The Evangelist is very cautious in his language; for he said, not the soldier pierced or wounded His side, but he opened it, that thereby there might be opened to us the door from which flow into the Church those holy sacraments without which we cannot enter into true life. 

When temptation assails us, or sorrow depresses us, let us flee to this abode, and dwell therein until the storm has passed away; according to the words of the Prophet, “Enter thou into the rock, and hide thee in the pit” (Isaias ii. 10). For what is the rock but Christ, and the pit, but His wound? 

An Offering to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Whoever says the following prayer before the image of the most sacred Heart of Jesus, with sincere sorrow for his sins, gains each time an indulgence of one hundred days; and by saying it daily for a month, he can on any one day gain a plenary indulgence, if he makes his confession, receives communion, and prays according to the intention of the Church: 

“My loving Jesus, I (N.N.) give Thee my heart; and I consecrate myself wholly to Thee, out of the grateful love I bear Thee, and as a reparation for all my unfaithfulness; and with Thy aid I purpose never to sin again.” 

Enthronement to the Sacred Heart[5]

The Sacred Heart is King of individuals, of families and of the human race. The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the family is the recognition of the Sacred Heart as King of the Family. He is King of the family by divine appointment, conquest and excellence, but He desires to be such by our own personal choice. The Enthronement is more than a mere blessing of a Sacred Heart picture or the mere dedication of a family to the Divine Heart; it is a way of life; a covenant of love with our God. It is the recognition of the Royal Power of Jesus Christ over the family which pledges to live in union with the Sacred Heart by love, grace and obedience to His Commandments. In this way the Enthronement brings countless graces and blessings on the family, sanctifies it and through the family, society.

DIRECTIONS

Who Is Its Apostle?

Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS.CC., a South American priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Upon his instantaneous cure at Paray-le-Monial, he was inspired by God to preach everywhere the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart to verify this promise of the Savior: "I will bless every dwelling where an image of My Heart is both exposed and honored."

Where Is the Enthronement to Take Place?

It is intended for homes, schools, convents, institutions, parishes, dioceses, cities, states and nations. We especially invite newlyweds as well as established families to place their homes in the Heart of Christ in this manner, thereby assuring themselves of special graces in their everyday problems and difficulties.

On Whose Approval?

It began with an oral command from Pope Pius X (St. Pius X) in 1907. In 1915, Pope Benedict the XV wrote a letter of approval. All subsequent popes have supported the need for honoring the Heart of Jesus.

Why Is It So Vital?

It stabilizes the family, the foundation of the Church and state; whoever rules the family rules society. It sanctifies the family, creates in the home the Catholic atmosphere and a spirit of piety, fosters vocations to the higher life, brings back wayward members, helps and consoles the members of families in times of trial or mourning. In short, it makes the home thoroughly Christian.

How Is It Carried Out?

The family makes arrangements with a priest, a qualified lay promoter of the Enthronement Apostolate or engages in self-study from instruction materials to get prepared for the Enthronement. If possible, Holy Mass is offered that day in the parish or in the home as an act of love and reparation. The family is encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in preparation for Mass and Communion. Preparation may also include the daily Rosary, a Litany of the Sacred Heart and reflection on Scriptures. A statue or picture of the Sacred Heart is procured, and a place of honor or "throne" is prepared in the home representing an altar in the home. There should be room for a Crucifix, candles, flowers and the Bible.

The steps in the ceremony are:

  1. The Blessing of the home (optional)
  2. The Blessing of the Sacred Heart image (this could be done ahead of time if no priest can be present)
  3. The placement of the image of the Sacred Heart and the Bible in the place of honor
  4. The recitation of the Apostles Creed
  5. An explanation of the Enthronement
  6. The Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, a prayer of Thanksgiving and an Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the family,
  7. The signing of the covenant certificate by the family.

When Should the Enthronement Take Place?

Immediately, because family life needs the help of the Sacred Heart during these times of assault upon Christian values and Catholic doctrine. Zealous efforts to establish the Social Reign of the King of Love will merit superabundant blessings on the undertakings of all involved, will make priests' ministry most fruitful in the salvation of souls and all promoters will have their names inscribed indelibly and forever in the Heart of Jesus.

Where Can We Order Materials?

The National Enthronement Center, Box 111, Fairhaven, MA 02719. Tel. (508) 999-2680. Ask for an Enthronement kit.

Twelve Promises[6]

In the apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Jesus gives these twelve promises for those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart.

The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary for those devoted to His Sacred Heart:

  1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
  2. I will establish peace in their families.
  3. I will console them in all their troubles.
  4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
  5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
  6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
  7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
  8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
  9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
  10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
  11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
  12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

"Look at this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth."

Octave of the Sacred Heart[7]

A Mass of the Sacred Heart won papal approval for use in Poland and Portugal in 1765, and another was approved for Venice, Austria and Spain in 1788. Finally, in 1856, Pope Pius IX established the Feast of the Sacred Heart as obligatory for the whole Church, to be celebrated on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi. In June 1889, Leo XIII raised the feast to the dignity of the first class. In 1928, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the highest rank, Double of the First Class, and added an octave; the 1955 reforms of the general Roman calendar suppressed this octave and removed most other octaves.

St. Barnabas[8]

Strictly speaking, Barnabas was not an apostle, but the title has been bestowed upon him since very early times. His first name was Joseph; Barnabas (etymology: "son of consolation") was a surname. He belonged to the tribe of Levi. He was a Hellenist, that is, a Jew who lived outside of Palestine and spoke the Greek tongue. Born in Cyprus, he embraced the faith soon after the death of Christ, becoming a member of the original Jerusalem community. His first noteworthy deed was to sell his belongings and place the money at the feet of the apostles. It is to his lasting credit that he befriended the neo-convert Paul and introduced him to the apostles when everyone was still distrusting the former persecutor. More noteworthy still was his service to the universal Church by being the first to recognize Paul's potential for the cause of Christ; it was Barnabas who brought him from Tarsus to teach at Antioch. The first missionary journey (about 45-48 A.D.) the two made together, and Barnabas seems to have been the leader, at least at the beginning (Acts 13-14). Barnabas' appearance must have been dignified and impressive, otherwise the inhabitants of Lystra would not have regarded him as Jupiter. He was present with Paul at the Council of Jerusalem (ca. 50). While they were preparing for the second missionary journey, there arose a difference of opinion regarding Mark; as a result, each continued his labors separately. Barnabas went to Cyprus with Mark and thereafter is not referred to again in the Acts of the Apostles or in any other authentic source. From a remark in one of Paul's letters we know that he lived from the work of his own hands (1 Cor. 9:5-6). The time and place of his death have not been recorded. It is claimed that his body was found at Salamina in 488 A.D. His name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass since ancient times.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Antioch; Cyprus; against hailstorms; invoked as peacemaker.

Things to Do:

  • Read the passages from the Acts of the Apostles about St. Barnabas: Acts 4:36-37; 9:26-29; 11:27-30; 12:24-25; 13:1-12; 13:27-30; 13:44-52; 14:1-14; 14:21-23; 14:36-40.
  • Read the Catholic Encyclopedia's account of the life of St. Barnabas.

Epistle of Barnabas[9]

CHAP. I. — AFTER THE SALUTATION, THE WRITER DECLARES THAT HE WOULD COMMUNICATE TO HIS BRETHREN SOMETHING OF THAT WHICH HE HAD HIMSELF RECEIVED.

All hail, ye sons and daughters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us in peace. Seeing that the divine fruits of righteousness abound among you, I rejoice exceedingly and above measure in your happy and honored spirits, because ye have with such effect received the engrafted spiritual gift. Wherefore also I inwardly rejoice the more, hoping to be saved, because I truly perceive in you the Spirit poured forth from the rich Lords of love. Your greatly desired appearance has thus filled me with astonishment over you. I am therefore persuaded of this, and fully convinced in my own mind, that since I began to speak among you I understand many things, because the Lord hath accompanied me in the way of righteousness. I am also on this account bound by the strictest obligation to love you above my own soul, because great are the faith and love dwelling in you, while you hope for the life which He has promised. Considering this, therefore, that if I should take the trouble to communicate to you some portion of what I have myself received, it will prove to me a sufficient reward that I minister to such spirits, I have hastened briefly to write unto you, in order that, along with your faith, ye might have perfect knowledge. The doctrines of the Lord, then, are three: the hope of life, the beginning and the completion of it. For the Lord hath made known to us by the prophets both the things which are past and present, giving us also the first-fruits of the knowledge of things to come, which things as we see accomplished, one by one, we ought with the greater richness of faith and elevation of spirit to draw near to Him with reverence. I then, not as your teacher, but as one of yourselves, will set forth a few things by which in present circumstances ye may be rendered the more joyful. (To be cont.)

Pray for Our Priests[10]

The Global Rosary Relay for Priests begins at the stroke of midnight on June 11, 2021, when we encircle the world in prayer once again, in this its eleventh year, with more prayer locations than ever taking part in what is now recognized as a truly significant and powerful devotional initiative within the Catholic Church to recognize and bless the work of priests serving the faithful the world over.

Here is a message to all priests for this important day: The Priesthood Is the Love of the Heart of Jesus and the Prayers for Priests, both for priests to say for themselves, and for lay people to say for priests.


Today is my deceased sister Donna Marie’s (Lady-Mistress of the Sea) birthday please pray for her intentions.

 

Daily Devotions

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Iceman’s 40 devotion

·         Universal Man Plan

·         Operation Purity



[4] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.

[5]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1097

[6]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=875

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Sacred_Heart

[8]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-06-11

[10]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2021-06-11

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