St. Mark - April 25th

 

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Mark, the evangelist. Even though Mark was one of the four gospel writers, he wasn’t one of the 12 apostles. He was a companion of St. Peter. It is believed, he spoke with Peter to obtain information which he would include in the gospel.

Mark accompanied St. Paul and St. Barnabas on St. Paul’s first missionary journey. Mark and Barnabas were relatives. After a sharp dispute between Paul and Barnabas, Paul took Mark with him to Cyprus.

Each of the four gospel writers is portrayed by an evangelist symbol. St. Mark’s symbol is that of the winged lion, because his gospel begins with the roar of a lion as John the Baptist prepares the way of the Lord.

Mark's mother was a prominent member of the earliest group of Christians in Jerusalem; Peter came to her house when he was released from prison. The house was a meeting-place for the brethren, "many" of whom were praying there on the night Peter arrived from prison (Acts 12:12-17).

There are some traditions about St. Mark, we don’t know whether they are factual or not. For example: Some believe Mark was one of the servants at the Marriage at Cana, who poured out the water that Jesus turned to wine (John 2:1-11). Mark is also said to have been one of the Seventy Apostles sent out by Jesus (Luke 10); It is believed, he was the servant who carried water to the house where the Last Supper took place (Mark 14:13); Some thought he was the young man who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:51-52); and the one who hosted the disciples in his house after the death of Jesus, where He appeared after His resurrection.

St. Mark is often called the founder of Christianity in Africa, because he was the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. It is believed that he performed many miracles during his life while in Egypt. He is said to have appointed a bishop, three priests, and seven deacons there. Mark left Egypt for a time, and upon his return he attempted to persuade the people to turn away from their traditional worship of the Egyptian gods.

They resented him for trying to turn them away from their gods, and accused him of being a magician since, he worked so many miracles. In 67 AD, they captured him while he was offering Mass. After which, they killed him by dragging him through the streets. They tried to burn his body. Afterwards, Christians removed his body from the ashes, wrapped it, and then buried it within the church they had built.

Today, as we celebrate the feast of St. Mark, let us strive to proclaim his gospel, by bearing witness, through our life of virtue in imitation of Our Lady of all Virtues, the Blessed Virgin Mary.