Ordinary Time: June 11th
Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle; Ember Wednesday
Other Commemorations: St. John of San Facundo, Priest (RM)
MASS READINGS
June 11, 2025 (Readings on USCCB website)
PROPERS [Show]
COLLECT PRAYER
Memorial of St. Barnabas: O God, who decreed that Saint Barnabas, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, should be set apart to convert the nations, grant that the Gospel of Christ, which he strenuously preached, may be faithfully proclaimed by word and by deed. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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Today is the Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle, who was designated by the Holy Spirit to share the charge and mission of the twelve Apostles, is venerated by the Church as one of them. He played an important part in the first extension of Christianity outside the Jewish world. It was Barnabas who presented St. Paul to the other Apostles when, after his long retreat in Arabia, he came to Jerusalem for the first time after his conversion to submit for Peter's approval the mission to the Gentiles entrusted to him by the Master Himself. Barnabas was Paul's companion and helper on his first missionary journey and returned with him to Jerusalem, but left him when he set out on his second journey and went to Cyprus. The name of St. Barnabas is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.
It is traditionally Ember Wednesday of the Summer or Pentecost Embertide. These Ember Days fall during the week after Pentecost (the traditional octave of Pentecost), near the summer solstice. The three focal points for the Ember Days of this period of the year are: 1) to ask God to bless especially the wheat harvest, 2) to thank God for the season of summer, and 3) to ask for special graces for those being ordained as priests during this season.
Pentecost Ember Days
Originally the summer Ember Days served as a time of thanksgiving at the end of the wheat harvest in Mediterranean countries. The present liturgy (pre-Vatican II), only faintly suggests or alludes to harvest time; rather, wheat and harvest time are used as symbols of supernatural realities. For us wheat is the Eucharistic "Bread of Life", and the harvest is the that of souls reaped by the Holy Ghost. "The floors shall be filled with wheat, and the presses shall be filled with wheat, and the presses shall be filled with oil and wine (Lesson for Ember Friday).
Ember week is a recognized time for spiritual renewal, an occasion to review the past as well as to scan the future. And during these days after Pentecost we can sense more easily the original import and the spirit of joyous gratitude proper to Ember week. Gratitude, not penance, should be the dominant Ember spirit. Even fasting can be an act of thanksgiving! Let us stress positive rather than negative values in our Christian life, cultivate the consciousness of being God's holy children rather than feel ourselves as outcasts and sinners.
Wednesday of Ember week is dedicated to Mary, it is a day of interior recollection. Friday is devoted to penance, while Saturday lays greatest stress on thanksgiving. Make a summary review today of the past quarter year. These three months, covering the Lenten and Paschal seasons, were certainly the most important segment of the Church's year of grace. What tremendous graces we received! But how did we use them? Are they producing fruit? Will there be a spiritual harvest?
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace by Pius Parsch
See Summer or Pentecost Ember Days and Contemporary Observation of Ember Days for more information.
Ember Wednesday after Pentecost
Station with Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major):
Perseverance in prayer, unity of mind and heart and "station" with Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, such must be the dispositions in our heart if the mysteries of this Ember Wednesday are to bear fruits for eternity. May the pure spouse of the Holy Spirit, the golden lamp on which burnt the brightest pentecostal flame pray for us, that the Spirit of the Lord may fill our hearts, and enkindle them with the fire of His love. (Msgr. Martin Hellriegel)
For more on Santa Maria Maggiore, see:
For further information on the Station Churches, see The Stational Church.
St. Barnabas
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
Patronage: against hailstorms; barrel makers; coopers; weavers; invoked as peacemaker; Antioch; Cyprus; Italy: Florence and Marino; Spain: Marbella, Costa del Sol
Symbols and Representation: Dalmatic; three stones; book and staff; St. Matthew's Gospel; pilgrim's staff and wallet; burning pyre; cross; hatchet; ax; lance;
Often portrayed as: middle-aged bearded apostle, often bearing a book or olive branch; standing on or near a pile of stones while holding a book; stones; with Saint Paul
Highlights and 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.
- Learn more about St. Barnabas:
- Christian Iconography has some beautiful images of St. Barnabas.
St. John of San Facundo (also known as John of Sahagún)
John came from a wealthy family. During a serious sickness he vowed to embrace an ascetic way of life upon recovery. In fulfillment of his resolve, he gave the better of his two garments to a beggar who went about almost naked, and joined the hermits of St. Augustine at Salamanca (1463); at the time that monastery was universally respected because of its strict rule and discipline. He was often granted the privilege of seeing Christ the Lord at holy Mass and learning the deepest secrets directly from God Himself, the secrets of men's hearts and the secret events of the future. Through his prayers the seven-year-old daughter of his brother was raised to life. His death was probably due to poisoning.
John's special charism was to calm passions and to restore peace. How quickly disputes and quarrels arise! Yet we must practice the beatitude: "Blessed are the peacemakers." Remember that the prayers for peace and the kiss of peace in the Mass should not be empty ceremonies.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patronage: city and diocese of Salamanca, Spain
Symbols and Representation: A hermit of St. Augustine, walking upon the sea; holding a chalice and host surrounded by rays of light
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Read more about St. John:
- St. John's remains are located in the Old Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain.
