Today we celebrate the feast day of St Barnabas, a companion of St Paul. Without Barnabas, the Apostle Paul wouldn’t have gotten his mission off the ground. Paul needed Barnabas and vice versa at a point. Barnabas was a minor figure. He took care and charge of Paul on his first missionary journey. Paul invited him, ‘come with me and I will integrate you into the community of apostles,’ and he posed no resistance.
Dear beloved, Barnabas means ‘son of encouragement’ and that is what we are called to do: to be an encourager in a world that discourages, to be a motivator in the midst of the world that demotivates.
There are many Barnabases in our lives, people sent to come and help us and encourage us. Let’s appreciate the different Barnabases in our lives, those that help us on the right path. These people are the ‘big names’ we are called to reach out to today and appreciate. The life of St Barnabas invites us to reflect that we are never in this alone. The experience of Barnabas urges us to motivate ourselves too when no one does, to have a determined spirit, and to be enthusiastic. Stay energized, stay motivated today and always. St Barnabas calls us to practice the daily habit of self-talk. Speak the word of God to yourself. His words are powerful. Today stop holding self-pity parties. Nobody attends them anymore. Dear beloved, your life is still ahead. Embrace your today and future and do it with total dedication, joy and excitement.
Prayer points in action:
- Pray for God to bless you with encouragers like Simon of Cyrene and Veronica.
- Ask God to deliver you from self-pity and enable you to encourage rather than pull people down with criticisms.
- Look at your future with optimism. The night is over!
- Pray Psalms 45 & 64.
– Fr. Francis Abah
The Evening Chapel 