Posted on 04/24/2005 5:40:50 PM PDT by Salvation
St. Mark
 Patron of notaries
The second Gospel was written by St. Mark, who, in the New Testament, is sometimes called John Mark. Both he and his mother, Mary, were highly esteemed in the early Church, and his mother's house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for Christians there. St. Mark was associated with St. Paul and St. Barnabas (who was Mark's cousin) on their missionary journey through the island of Cyprus. Later he accompanied St. Barnabas alone. We know also that he was in Rome with St. Peter and St. Paul. Tradition ascribes to him the founding of the Church in Alexandria. St. Mark wrote the second Gospel, probably in Rome sometime before the year 60 A.D.; he wrote it in Greek for the Gentile converts to Christianity. Tradition tells us that St. Mark was requested by the Romans to set down the teachings of St. Peter. This seems to be confirmed by the position which St. Peter has in this Gospel. In this way the second Gospel is a record of the life of Jesus as seen throuhh the eyes of the Prince of the Apostles. His feast day is April 25. He is the patron saint of notaries. |
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Saint Mark is credited with writing the oldest of the four canonical gospels. According to the Life of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark written by Severus, Bishop of Al-Ushmunain, in the late tenth century, Mark was one of the servants who poured out the water that Jesus turned into wine at the marriage at Cana, and that it was his house in which Jesus appeared to the disciples in hiding after His resurrection from the dead.
After that time, Saint Peter and Saint Mark went out to evangelize, and one night, Peter had a dream in which he was told to go, along with Mark, to Rome and to Alexandria. After preaching in Rome for a time, Mark went to Egypt and converted many to the Christian faith in the countryside; then leaving a small community of Christians there, he went to Alexandria. As soon as he entered the gates of the city, so the story goes, his sandal strap broke. He took it to a nearby shoemaker by the name of Anianus, who became his first convert in Alexandria. Mark soon discovered that he was being sought by his enemies, and so he appointed Anianus bishop, ordained three priests and seven deacons, and leaving them with orders to "serve and comfort the faithful brethren," he left the city.
He returned years later to find the community he had left growing and thriving, but his enemies soon discovered him and threw him in prison. The next day, they threw a rope around his neck and dragged him over the ground until he died. But when they tried to burn the body, they found that it could not be harmed and scattered in fear. The Christians claimed the body from the pyre and buried it with reverence in the church they had built. Saint Mark is revered as the founder and first martyr of the Christian Church in Egypt.
His feast day is April 25. He is the patron saint of notaries.
The Catholic church made him the patron saint of notaries and proclaimed a feast day for him?
This is definitely one of the things that separates the Protestants from the Catholics. Although I am glad of the choice of the new pope, there are some things the Catholic church adds over and above Scripture that make me pause.
Are you saying that you don't honor the four Evangelists who wrote the Gospels? That doesn't make sense to me, because of many Protestant held views regarding sola scriptura.
I'm not here to argue about the attributes of St. Mark. In reading his Gospel I know that his words are inspired -- hence he was chosen by God and blessed accordingly.
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ
Jesus and for all persons according to their needs.
We praise you, O God, holy Lord of power and might.
Sustain your Church in the confession of faith
proclaimed by the glorious company of apostles,
the noble fellowship of prophets, and the
white-robed army of martyrs. Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
All creation worships you, eternal God. Teach your
people to sing endless praise to you with all angels
and powers of heaven, and to care for the earth
you have made for our home. Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
The whole Church acclaims you: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Father of majesty unbounded, empower
those baptized in the triune name to reflect the love
expressed in the life, death, and resurrection of your
true and only Son, who is worthy of all praise.
Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
We sing to you, Holy Spirit, advocate, and guide.
Lead us to seek peace and justice for all people.
Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
You, Christ, are the king of glory. You overcame the
sting of death. Through us , your servants, come to all
who are hungry or thirsty or naked or sick or in prison.
Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
You opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Help those who do not know your grace, bring them
to faith. Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
We believe that you will come and be our judge. Save
us in that time of trial and deliver us from the evil one.
Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
Come, Lord, and help your people, bought with the
price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting. Lord, in your mercy,
HEAR OUR PRAYER.
Of course I respect him and his contribution. However, the Catholic church's proclaiming of "patron saints" is not biblical in nature.
As for "feast days," I would imagine there are enough patron saints by now to have thousands of feasts every year.
Smile
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April 25, 2005
 St. Mark
Most of what we know about Mark comes directly from the New Testament. He is usually identified with the Mark of Acts 12:12. (When Peter escaped from prison, he went to the home of Mark's mother.) Paul and Barnabas took him along on the first missionary journey, but for some reason Mark returned alone to Jerusalem. It is evident, from Paul's refusal to let Mark accompany him on the second journey despite Barnabas's insistence, that Mark had displeased Paul. Later, Paul asks Mark to visit him in prison so we may assume the trouble did not last long. The oldest and the shortest of the four Gospels, the Gospel of Mark emphasizes Jesus' rejection by humanity while being God's triumphant envoy. Probably written for Gentile converts in Rome—after the death of Peter and Paul sometime between A.D. 60 and 70—Mark's Gospel is the gradual manifestation of a "scandal": a crucified Messiah. Evidently a friend of Mark (Peter called him "my son"), Peter is only one of the Gospel sources, others being the Church in Jerusalem (Jewish roots) and the Church at Antioch (largely Gentile). Like one other Gospel writer, Luke, Mark was not one of the 12 apostles. We cannot be certain whether he knew Jesus personally. Some scholars feel that the evangelist is speaking of himself when describing the arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane: "Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked" (Mark 14:51-52). Others hold Mark to be the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Venice, famous for the Piazza San Marco, claims Mark as its patron saint; the large basilica there is believed to contain his remains. A winged lion is Mark's symbol. The lion derives from Mark's description of John the Baptist as a "voice of one crying out in the desert" (Mark 1:3), which artists compared to a roaring lion. The wings come from the application of Ezekiel's vision of four winged creatures (Ezekiel, chapter one) to the evangelists. Quote:
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Good Grief! I find it stunning that a nation can honor its important citizens by recognizing their birthdays; but in our faith, it is wrong for a Christian to recognize those that helped to bring our faith to us. Is Mark missing in your Bible? I know he's in mine.
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BTTT on the Feast of St. Mark, April 25, 2006!
BTTT on the Feast of St. Mark, April 25, 2007!
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