St. Barnabas’ name literally means “son of encouragement,” making him an exemplar for anyone who wants to encourage and build up others in the Christian life.

As we learn in the Acts of the Apostles, Barnabas was instrumental in helping the Church in Jerusalem to welcome the newly-converted Paul, once their terrorizing persecutor but now transformed by his encounter with Christ.

As Pope Benedict XVI noted, Barnabas “may have been interested in the topic of the priesthood.” He was himself a member of the tribe of Levi, and one early ecclesiastical writer, Tertullian, believed that Barnabas wrote the Letter to the Hebrews.¹

That makes Barnabas a fitting patron for anyone drawn to exercise this charism of encouragement in particular for our priests. Hence we are “Team Barnabas.”

We might be tempted to take the gift of the priesthood for granted, but imagine what our life of discipleship would be like without them! No Mass, no Eucharist, no opportunity for the sacraments of Reconciliation or Anointing of the Sick.

The Lord desires to prolong His Incarnation among us, through His sacred mysteries. He entrusted this mission to His Apostles, their successors the bishops, and their co-workers in the vineyard, our priests.

The patron saint of all priests, St. John Vianney, summed up their sublime vocation:

“The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.”²

While we can help priests in their ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and shepherding us in various concrete ways, it is essential for us to offer our spiritual support. No matter how small or inadequate our prayer might feel, the Lord multiplies our efforts to yield far more than we might imagine.

If the idea of praying for priests resonates with you, join us! As an online initiative, Team Barnabas is open to everyone.

You don’t have to attend meetings at a certain time or place, or commit to saying a specified number of prayers.

Just enroll to express your willingness to pray for priests, ideally every day if possible. It’s totally flexible and up to you, and how the Lord is leading you to pray.

While we especially want to pray for the priests who minister to us, we invite you to intercede for those who have helped your spiritual journey in the past, and for the priesthood in general as well.

Our website will feature prayers and other informative resources to help us grow in appreciation for the ministerial priesthood, and to support our priests as they pour out their lives for us.

1. Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience of January 31, 2007. ↩︎
2. Quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1589. ↩︎