Catholic Radio Dramas

Hope of Life is the Beginning

From the Beginning of a Letter Attributed to Barnabas

Hope of Life is the Beginning and End of Our Faith

Narrated by Frank Dugan, Huntington Beach, California

Greetings, sons and daughters. In the name of the Lord who loves us, peace to you.

Because the Lord has granted you an abundance of blessings, I rejoice immeasurably in your blessed and glorious company. You have received abundantly that indwelling grace which is the spirit’s gift, and for this reason I hope in my own salvation and I give thanks all the more when I see the bountiful fullness of the Lord’s Spirit pouring over you. I have longed so much for you that when I saw you I was overwhelmed.

I am now convinced and fully aware that I have learned much by speaking with you, for the Lord accompanied me on the road to righteousness, and so I am driven in all ways to love you more than my own life. For surely there is a great store or faith and charity within you because of your hope for life in Christ. Therefore, I have been thinking that if my concern for you inspires me to pass on to you a portion of what I have received, then I will be rewarded for ministering to souls such as yours. Consequently, I am writing you, that you may have perfect knowledge along with your faith.

The Lord has given us these three basic doctrines: hope for eternal life, the beginning and end of our faith; justice, the beginning and end of righteousness; and love, which bears cheerful and joyous witness to the works of righteousness. Now the Lord has made the past and present known to us through his prophets, and he has given us the ability to taste the fruits of the future beforehand. Thus, when we see prophecies fulfilled in their appointed order, we ought to grow more fully and deeply in awe of him. Let me suggest a few things – not as a teacher, but as one of you – which should bring you joy in the present situation.

When evil days are upon us and the worker of malice gains power, we must attend to our own souls and seek to know the ways of the Lord. In those times reverential fear and perseverance will sustain our faith, and we will find need of forbearance and self-restraint as well. Provided that we hold fast to these virtues and look to the Lord, then wisdom, understanding, knowledge and insight will make joyous company with them.

Truly, the Lord has revealed to us through the prophets that he has no need of sacrifice, burnt offerings or oblations. He says in one place: Your endless sacrifices, what are they to me? says the Lord. I have had my fill of holocausts; I do not want the fat of your lambs, nor the blood of your bulls and goats, nor your presence in my sight. Indeed, who has made these demands of you? No more will you trample my courts. Your sacrifices of fine flour are in vain; your incense is loathsome to me; I cannot bear your feasts of the new moon, nor your sabbaths.

Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings

St. Barnabas, though not one of the twelve chosen by Christ, is nevertheless styled an Apostle by the early Church fathers and by St. Luke himself in Acts 14, 13 due to his zealous participation in apostolic activities. He was a Jew of the tribe of Levi born in Cyprus and named Joseph. After the ascension of Christ, the Apostles changed his name to Barnabas and is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4:36). St. John Chrysostom tells that Barnabas was known for his compassion in ministering comfort to the afflicted and St. Jerome said he excelled in prophetic gifts. He was one of the first, and chief, of the seventy disciples of Christ. Owning a large estate, Barnabas sold everything and laid the proceeds at the feet of the Apostles.

It was Barnabas who introduced Paul to the apostles Peter and James in Jerusalem recommending they accept Paul as a disciple, which they did.

Barnabas was sent to establish the Christian community at Antioch, and later accompanied Paul from Tarsus to Antioch. By this time, the two are believed to already be bishops and Apostles of the Gentiles, given the commission to preach the Gospel to the Gentile nations. The two together brought Antioch’s donation to the community at Jerusalem during a famine and returned to Antioch with John Mark, a cousin to Barnabas. The three went on a missionary journey to Cyprus, Perga, the place where John Mark, weary of the hardships and dangerous obstinacy of the Jews, returned to Jerusalem. They went from there to Iconium in Lycaonia and then to Lystra, where Paul cured the cripple and they were acclaimed gods, but at the instigation of the Jews, Paul was stoned and left for dead. Miraculously healed, Paul returned with Barnabas to Antioch, ordaining priests in every church along the way.

When a dispute arose regarding the observance of the Jewish rites, Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem, where the first council of the apostles was held deciding pagans did not have to be circumcised to be baptized into the Church.

On their return to Antioch, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them but Paul objected because of John Mark’s desertion of them in Perga. Paul and Barnabas parted and Barnabas returned to Cyprus with John Mark whose rift with Paul was later healed . Tradition has Barnabas preaching in Alexandria, Milan and Rome and was ultimately stoned to death at the instigation of dissident Jews in Salamis around the year 61.

Source: Compiled by CatholicRadioDramas.com from: Butler’s Lives of the Saints; Dictionary of Saints – Delaney; Liturgy of the Hours.