August 03, 2014
First Mission begins in Cyprus
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 13, 1 – 12:
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.
So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had John also as their assistant. When they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a magician names Bar-Jesus who was a Jewish false prophet. He was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who had summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is what his name means) opposed them in an attempt to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths of the Lord? Even now the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind, and unable to see the sun, for a time? Immediately a dark mist fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he came to believe, for he was astonished by the teaching about the Lord.
Many Moslems today are becoming Christians but this is not published and no names can be given because the Moslems could kill them. I had a visitor some time ago who had been a Moslem all his life. After an apparition from the Lord, he became a Catholic and was instructed and was baptized. He went to church every Sunday and received Holy Communion. He had a great love for Our Lord. He came from Iran.
Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Savior given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,
“As I loved Barnabas and Paul, I also love you My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters who are not afraid to speak about Me to the people you meet. It was the Holy Spirit who had chosen Barnabas and Paul to travel to many parts of the world to teach the people about Me. Through their proclamation of the Good News, many people were converted and came to follow Me. While they were in Cyprus, they accepted into My Church the Proconsul who was in charge there. A false prophet tried to stop him from being a follower of mine, but Saint Paul told this false prophet that he was following the devil and now My hand was on him and he would become blind for a time. This happened immediately as Paul said these words. Many other people came to believe and accept Me as their Savior.
There are many people today who do not believe I want you all to pray for their conversion. They cannot be saved unless they believe in Me and follow Me. I bless you all.”
Father Melvin
P.S. We had another beautiful sunny day and I thank the Lord for giving us such wonderful days.