Posted on 04/24/2015 7:54:38 PM PDT by Salvation
Saint Mark, Evangelist
Feast Day
April 25th
Saint Mark the Evangelist - Donatello [Florence - 1428 - 43]
Polychrome stucco, diameter 215 cm
Old Sacristy, Church of San Lorenzo, Florence, Italy
Saint Mark was the son of a woman called Mary in whose house Peter sought refuge after being freed from jail. He aided Saint Paul and his own cousin Saint Barnabas in the evangelization of Cyprus. Later, Mark became the companion and secretary of Saint Peter in Rome. He wrote the second Gospel, which emphasizes the miraculous powers of the Savior.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
O God, who raised up Saint Mark, your Evangelist,
and endowed him with the grace to preach the Gospel,
grant, we pray,
that we may so profit from his teaching
as to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading - 1 Peter 5:5-14
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you. Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking
someone to devour. Resist him, firm in you faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. To Him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God; stand fast in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with the kiss of love.
Gospel Reading - Mark 16:15-20:
And He[Jesus] said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover. So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.
[Scripture translations are from the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition]
Feast Day: April 25
Born: 1st century AD, Palestine
Died: April 25, 68 AD, Alexandria
Major Shrine: Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Cairo, Egypt) Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria, Egypt) Basilica di San Marco (Venice, Italy)
Patron of: against impenitence, against struma, attorneys, barristers, captives, glaziers, imprisoned people, prelature of insect bites, Ionian Islands, lawyers, lions, notaries, prisoners, scrofulous diseases, stained glass workers, struma patients, Venice
St. Mark the Evangelist
Feast Day: April 25
Died: 68 AD
Mark lived at the time of Jesus. Although he was not one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, he was a cousin of St. Barnabas, an apostle. Mark is called an evangelist because he wrote one of the four Gospels. Mark's Gospel is short, but it gives many little details that are not in the other Gospels.
While still young, Mark went with the two great saints, Paul and Barnabas, as missionaries to bring the teachings of Jesus to Cyprus and other new lands. Before the journey was over, though, Mark had an argument with St. Paul and immediately returned to Jerusalem. Paul and Mark later made peace with each other. In fact, Paul wrote from prison in Rome that Mark came to cheer and help him.
Mark also became a beloved disciple and was like a son to St. Peter, the first pope. St. Mark was made a bishop and sent to Alexandria, Egypt. There many people who heard him preach became Christians. He worked hard to spread love for Jesus and his Church and founded the first famous Christian school in Alexandria.
He went through long and painful sufferings before he died a martyr for his faith. St. Mark's relics were brought to Venice, Italy. He is the patron saint of that famous city. People go to the beautiful basilica of St. Mark to honor him and to pray to him.
Reflection: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation." (Mark 16:15)
Saturday, April 25
Liturgical Color: Red
Today is the Feast of St. Mark the
Evangelist. St. Mark was a disciple of St.
Peter and accompanied him to Rome,
writing one of the gospels. He later
established the Church in Alexandria
serving as its bishop until he was
martyred in 68 A.D.
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24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." 30 And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone. 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand upon him. 33 And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; 34 and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Eph-phatha," that is, "Be opened." 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
the children first: The children of Israel hold first claim to the blessings of the New Covenant (Mt 15:24; Rom 1:16; 9:4-5; CCC 839). Only after Jesus' Resurrection is the gospel systematically proclaimed to all nations (Mt 28:18-20; Acts1:8).
dogs: Often a derogatory term in the Bible (1 Sam 17:43; Phil 3:2; Rev 22:15). Jesus uses it to illustrate the progress of the gospel: just as children are fed before pets, so the gospel is offered to Israel before the Gentiles. The woman's acceptance of this epithet reveals her humility, and her unwillingness to be turned away reveals her perseverance.
April 25, 2015 by Liz Estler
St Mark the Evangelist, a cousin of Barnabas, accompanied St. Paul on his first missionary journey and later went with him to Rome. He was a disciple of St. Peter whose teaching was the basis for Mark’s gospel. Mark is said to be the founder of the church of Alexandria [cf the Office of Readings, for the Feast of Mark, Evangelist (April 25), Liturgy of the Hours]. Some have speculated that he was the young man wrapped in a linen cloth in the Garden of Gethsemene, who left the cloth behind and ran away naked in Mark 14:51-52.
He is represented as a lion because of the words at the beginning of Mark’s gospel “A voice of one crying out in the desert” (Mark 1:3a). The lion can be found in the symbolism of Revelation, Ezekiel and elsewhere in Scripture. The lion also has symbolized Christ, the Resurrection, courage, fortitude, and kingliness. He is the patron saint of attorneys, barristers, captives, lions, notaries, prisoners, and Venice, among others.
Daily Readings for:April 25, 2015
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, who raised up Saint Mark, your Evangelist, and endowed him with the grace to preach the Gospel, grant, we pray, that we may so profit from his teaching as to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
o Cherries and Pecorino Cheese
ACTIVITIES
o Explanation and Origin of Rogation Days
o Family and Friends of Jesus Scrapbook Album
o Family Procession for a Blessing on the Crops
o Pope St. Gregory the Great and Cherries
PRAYERS
o Blessing of Sprouting Seed, Rogation Days
o Blessing of Crosses Placed in Fields and Vineyards
o A Child's Gospel Night Prayer
o Novena to St. Catherine of Siena
LIBRARY
o Decet Quam Maxime (On Abuses In Taxes And Benefices) | Pope Clement XIV
o The Gospels — Direct Testimonies or Late Writings? | Marie-Christine Ceruti-Cendrier
· Easter: April 25th
· Feast of St. Mark, evangelist
Old Calendar: St. Mark; The Greater Litanies
St. Mark, the author of the second Gospel, was the son of Mary whose house at Jerusalem was the meeting place of Christians. He was baptized and instructed by St. Peter. In about the year 42 A.D. he came to Rome with the Prince of the Apostles. There at the request of the faithful he wrote his Gospel about the year 50 A.D. His Gospel is a record of St. Peter's preaching about Our Lord and pays special attention to the head of the Apostles. The Gospel was written for Roman Gentile converts. It rarely quotes the Old Testament, and is careful to explain Jewish customs, rites and words. It excels in portraying the emotions and affections of both Christ and His hearers. St. Mark preached in Egypt, especially in Alexandria and was martyred there by the heathen.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the Feast of St. Mark, and the Major Rogation. While no longer required after Vatican II, Rogation Days can still be observed by the faithful. Fasting and penance were required, and the faithful would especially pray Litanies on this day.
What are Rogation Days?
"Rogation Days are the four days set apart to bless the fields, and invoke God's mercy on all of creation. The 4 days are April 25, which is called the Major Rogation (and is only coincidentally the same day as the Feast of St. Mark); and the three days preceding Ascension Thursday, which are called the Minor Rogations. Traditionally, on these days, the congregation marches the boundaries of the parish, blessing every tree and stone, while chanting or reciting a Litany of Mercy, usually a Litany of the Saints".
St. Mark
John Mark, later known simply as Mark, was a Jew by birth. He was the son of that Mary who was proprietress of the Cenacle or "upper room" which served as the meeting place for the first Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12). He was still a youth at the time of the Savior's death. In his description of the young man who was present when Jesus was seized and who fled from the rabble leaving behind his "linen cloth," the second Evangelist might possibly have stamped the mark of his own identity.
During the years that followed, the rapidly maturing youth witnessed the growth of the infant Church in his mother's Upper Room and became acquainted with its traditions. This knowledge he put to excellent use when compiling his Gospel. Later, we find Mark acting as a companion to his cousin Barnabas and Saul on their return journey to Antioch and on their first missionary journey. But Mark was too immature for the hardships of this type of work and therefore left them at Perge in Pamphylia to return home.
As the two apostles were preparing for their second missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take his cousin with him. Paul, however, objected. Thereupon the two cousins undertook a missionary journey to Cyprus. Time healed the strained relations between Paul and Mark, and during the former's first Roman captivity (61-63), Mark rendered Paul valuable service (Col. 4:10; Philem. 24), and the Apostle learned to appreciate him. When in chains the second time Paul requested Mark's presence (2 Tim. 4:11).
An intimate friendship existed between Mark and Peter; he played the role of Peter's companion, disciple, and interpreter. According to the common patristic opinion, Mark was present at Peter's preaching in Rome and wrote his Gospel under the influence of the prince of the apostles. This explains why incidents which involve Peter are described with telling detail (e.g., the great day at Capharnaum, 1:14f)). Little is known of Mark's later life. It is certain that he died a martyr's death as bishop of Alexandria in Egypt. His relics were transferred from Alexandria to Venice, where a worthy tomb was erected in St. Mark's Cathedral.
The Gospel of St. Mark, the shortest of the four, is, above all, a Roman Gospel. It originated in Rome and is addressed to Roman, or shall we say, to Western Christianity. Another high merit is its chronological presentation of the life of Christ. For we should be deeply interested in the historical sequence of the events in our blessed Savior's life.
Furthermore, Mark was a skilled painter of word pictures. With one stroke he frequently enhances a familiar scene, shedding upon it new light. His Gospel is the "Gospel of Peter," for he wrote it under the direction and with the aid of the prince of the apostles. "The Evangelist Mark is represented as a lion because he begins his Gospel in the wilderness, `The voice of one crying in the desert: Make ready the way of the Lord,' or because he presents the Lord as the unconquered King."
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Against impenitence; attorneys; barristers; captives; Egypt; glaziers; imprisoned people; insect bites; lions; notaries; prisoners; scrofulous diseases; stained glass workers; struma; Diocese of Venice, Florida; Venice, Italy.
Symbols: Winged lion; fig tree; pen; book and scroll; club; barren fig tree; scroll with words Pax Tibi; winged and nimbed lion; lion.
Often Pictured as: Man writing or holding his gospel; man with a halter around his neck; lion in the desert; man with a book or scroll accompanied by a winged lion; holding a palm and book; holding a book with pax tibi Marce written on it; bishop on a throne decorated with lions; helping Venetian sailors; rescuing Christian slaves from Saracens.
Things to Do:
The Greater Litanies
This day is honored in the Liturgy by what is called Saint Mark’s Procession. The term, however, is not a correct one, inasmuch as a procession was a privilege peculiar to April 25 previously to the institution of our Evangelist’s feast, which even so late as the sixth century had no fixed day in the Roman Church. The real name of this procession is The Greater Litanies. The word Litany means Supplication, and is applied to the religious rite of singing certain chants whilst proceeding from place to place in order to propitiate heaven. The two Greek words Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy on us) were also called Litany, as likewise were the invocations which were afterwards added to that cry for mercy, and which now form a liturgical prayer used by the Church on certain solemn occasions.
The Greater Litanies (or processions) are so called to distinguish them from the Minor Litanies, that is, processions of less importance as far as the solemnity and concourse of the faithful were concerned. We gather from an expression of St. Gregory the Great that it was an ancient custom in the Roman Church to celebrate, once each year, a Greater Litany, at which all the clergy and people assisted. This holy Pontiff chose April 25 as the fixed day for this procession, and appointed the Basilica of St. Peter as the Station.
Several writers on the Liturgy have erroneously confounded this institution with the processions prescribed by St. Gregory for times of public calamity. It existed long before his time, and all that he did was to fix it on April 25. It is quite independent of the feast of St. Mark, which was instituted at a much later period. If April 25 occur during Easter week, the procession takes place on that day (unless it be Easter Sunday), but the feast of the Evangelist is not kept till after the octave.
The question naturally presents itself—why did St. Gregory choose April 25 for a procession and Station in which everything reminds us of compunction and penance, and which would seem so out of keeping with the joyous season of Easter? The first to give a satisfactory answer to this difficulty was Canon Moretti, a learned liturgiologist of the eighteenth century. In a dissertation of great erudition, he proves that in the fifth, and probably even in the fourth, century, April 25 was observed at Rome as a day of great solemnity. The faithful went, on that day, to the Basilica of St. Peter, in order to celebrate the anniversary of the first entrance of the Prince of the Apostles into Rome, upon which he thus conferred the inalienable privilege of being the capital of Christendom. It is from that day that we count the twenty-five years, two months, and some days that St. Peter reigned as Bishop of Rome. The Sacramentary of St. Leo gives us the Mass of this solemnity, which afterwards ceased to be kept. St. Gregory, to whom we are mainly indebted for the arrangement of the Roman Liturgy, was anxious to perpetuate the memory of a day which gave to Rome her grandest glory. He therefore ordained that the Church of St. Peter should be the Station on that auspicious day. April 25 comes too frequently during the octave of Easter that it could not be kept as a feast, properly so called, in honour of St. Peter’s entrance into Rome; St. Gregory, therefore, adopted the only means left of commemorating the great event.
But there was a striking contrast resulting from this institution, of which the holy Pontiff was fully aware, but which he could not avoid: it was the contrast between the joys of Paschal Time and the penitential sentiments wherewith the faithful should assist at the procession and Station of the Great Litany. Laden as we are with the manifold graces of this holy season, and elated with our Paschal joys, we must sober our gladness by reflecting on the motives which led the Church to cast this hour of shadow over our Easter sunshine. After all, we are sinners, with much to regret and much to fear; we have to avert those scourges which are due to the crimes of mankind; we have, by humbling ourselves and invoking the intercession of the Mother of God and the Saints, to obtain the health of our bodies, and the preservation of the fruits of the earth; we have to offer atonement to divine justice for our own and the world’s pride, sinful indulgences, and insubordination. Let us enter into ourselves, and humbly confess that our own share in exciting God’s indignation is great; and our poor prayers, united with those of our holy Mother the Church, will obtain mercy for the guilty, and for ourselves who are of the number.
A day, then, like this, of reparation to God’s offended majesty, would naturally suggest the necessity of joining some exterior penance to the interior dispositions of contrition which filled the hearts of Christians. Abstinence from flesh meat has always been observed on this day at Rome; and when the Roman Liturgy was established in France by Pepin and Charlemagne, the Great Litany of April 25 was, of course, celebrated, and the abstinence kept by the faithful of that country. A Council of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 836, enjoined the additional obligation of resting from servile work on this day: the same enactment is found in the Capitularia of Charles the Bald. As regards fasting, properly so called, being contrary to the spirit of Paschal Time, it would seem never to have been observed on this day, at least not generally. Amalarius, who lived in the ninth century, asserts that it was not then practiced even in Rome.
During the procession, the Litany of the Saints is sung, followed by several versicles and prayers. The Mass of the Station is celebrated according to the Lenten Rite, that is, without the Gloria in excelsis, and in purple vestments.
Excerpted from The Liturgical Year by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
Things to Do:
Saint Mark, Evangelist
These signs will accompany those who believe. (Mark 16:17)
The New Testament includes several references to the Mark whom Peter mentions in today’s first reading. Also known as John Mark, he was the cousin of Barnabas, whom he accompanied, along with Paul, on their first missionary journey. Later, he worked closely with Peter in Rome and became his trusted companion. Tradition tells us that Mark evangelized in Alexandria, and some believe he was the young man in Gethsemane who ran away naked from the soldiers (Mark 14:51-52). Finally, he is revered as the author of the Gospel that bears his name.
When we read the words of Jesus preserved in Mark’s Gospel, we get a sense that Mark saw some of the “signs” that accompany those who believe (Mark 16:17). After all, he helped spread Christianity both by his writing and by the missionary work he shared with some of the most renowned preachers of his day. Casting out demons, healing the sick, speaking in new tongues, being unharmed when picking up snakes or drinking poison—these spectacular feats seemed to have been common in the early Church.
Instead of focusing on Jesus’ lengthier sermons, which we find in the other Gospels, Mark pays more attention to Jesus’ power over sickness and evil. Then, as today’s reading shows, he makes it clear that the miracles are not supposed to stop with Jesus. Mark expected that Christians of all eras would work wonders in order to bring people to faith.
That includes you! The Holy Spirit is more than capable of working in your life and making you into a living testimony to the kingdom of God. Remember: miracles are not relics of the past; they are meant for every age and every situation. It may be hard to expect healings or spectacular signs when we pray or share the gospel, but that’s what faith is all about. Keep on believing that God wants to manifest his kingdom through you. Ask the Spirit to deepen your confidence. Ask him for the assurance that he really can make you an instrument of his grace.
“Holy Spirit, use me to bring God’s kingdom into the world. Help me to expect great things from you. Lord, I want to proclaim your good news!”
1 Peter 5:5-14; Psalm 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17
Daily Marriage Tip for April 25, 2015:
Some arguments just arent worth fighting. If you and your beloved have an ongoing disagreement, consider whether its time to forgive and let this one go.
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who by His Cross makes all things new. Amen.
Mark | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Mark 16 |
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15. | And he said to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature. | Et dixit eis : Euntes in mundum universum prædicate Evangelium omni creaturæ. | και ειπεν αυτοις πορευθεντες εις τον κοσμον απαντα κηρυξατε το ευαγγελιον παση τη κτισει |
16. | He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned. | Qui crediderit, et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit : qui vero non crediderit, condemnabitur. | ο πιστευσας και βαπτισθεις σωθησεται ο δε απιστησας κατακριθησεται |
17. | And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues. | Signa autem eos qui crediderint, hæc sequentur : in nomine meo dæmonia ejicient : linguis loquentur novis : | σημεια δε τοις πιστευσασιν ταυτα παρακολουθησει εν τω ονοματι μου δαιμονια εκβαλουσιν γλωσσαις λαλησουσιν καιναις |
18. | They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. | serpentes tollent : et si mortiferum quid biberint, non eis nocebit : super ægros manus imponent, et bene habebunt. | οφεις αρουσιν καν θανασιμον τι πιωσιν ου μη αυτους βλαψη επι αρρωστους χειρας επιθησουσιν και καλως εξουσιν |
19. | And the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God. | Et Dominus quidem Jesus postquam locutus est eis, assumptus est in cælum, et sedet a dextris Dei. | ο μεν ουν κυριος μετα το λαλησαι αυτοις ανεληφθη εις τον ουρανον και εκαθισεν εκ δεξιων του θεου |
20. | But they going forth preached every where: the Lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that followed. | Illi autem profecti prædicaverunt ubique, Domino cooperante, et sermonem confirmante, sequentibus signis. | εκεινοι δε εξελθοντες εκηρυξαν πανταχου του κυριου συνεργουντος και τον λογον βεβαιουντος δια των επακολουθουντων σημειων αμην |
Cod. Cor. 3 is one of the most lavishly illuminated books of the fifteenth century. It comprises seventeenth historiated initials, in addition to the three that have been removed. Folio 59 contains the Ascension in an initial V, which begins the introit to the Mass for the Ascension.The blue and pink initial V is framed within a painted mosaic border punctuated by truncated quatrelobe medallions at the corners and centres, each containing a bust-length figure of a prophet. Within the initial is a rocky landscape with the Twelve Apostles kneeling in wonder as two angels point out to them the figure of Christ in glory on a bank of clouds above their heads.
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