Today we honor one of the four Evangelists--Saint Mark. His name means God is gracious and is depicted with a lion. It is believed that he was the young man who ran away when Jesus was arrested in Mark 14. He was a disciple of Saint Peter and traveled with him to Rome. Peter often referred to him as "my son Mark." He was cousins with Saint Barnabas and traveled with him and Saint Paul through Cyprus. He evangelized in Alexandria, Egypt and established a Church there and served as the first bishop. He died as a martyr on April 25, 68 in Alexandria. His relics are in Venice, Italy.
He is the patron of many things:
--against insect bites
--attorneys / lawyers
--people imprisoned
--notaries
--stained glass workers
--Egypt and Venice, Italy
Mark begins his Gospel with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. He gets right to the heart of Jesus' ministry. Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. For commentary about the Gospel of Mark, visit the USCCB's website.
Here are some of my favorite lines from the Gospel of Mark:
Mark 1:11 -- "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
Mark 1:17 -- "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Mark 9:24 -- "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."
Mark 10:14 -- "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Mark 16:15 -- ""Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature."
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