Today is the feast of St. Barnabas ( son of encouragement) – he is not only remembered for his missionary zeal but for his openness as well. For he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith (Acts 11:21-26;13:1-3). While others were scared of Paul because they judged him as a bad person who later became a Christian, Barnabas saw in Paul a good man who had a bad past. And, Barnabas and St. Paul undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against a faction which insisted on circumcision. No matter how good we are, we…