On April 25, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist. Although he was not a direct disciple of Jesus, Saint Mark is the author of one of the four Gospel accounts and played a vital role in spreading the Gospel as a missionary in the early Church.
St. Mark’s Gospel has a number of distinctive features that set it apart as a unique account in the New Testament. First, St. Mark emphasizes the timeliness of Christ’s actions. The Greek word eutheos – translated as “straightaway” or “directly” or “immediately” – appears over 40 times throughout his account, evoking Christ’s unhesitating commitment to His earthly mission. The Gospel has a great sense of “urgency.” Second, reading St. Mark’s Gospel, we notice that he starts many of the chapters with the word “and.” Though this may seem a small point of observation, this matter of “style” links each chapter to the section proceeding it, indicating the completeness and perfection of Christ’s earthly ministry. There is no break in His ministry! Christ’s work is a continuous series of acts of faith and service – in other words, a perfect life of devotion. Finally, St. Mark also mentions the word “Gospel” more times than any of the other Gospel writers. In fact, his eight mentions of the Gospel double the total of four mentions from all Matthew, Luke, and John put together!
Tradition has it that St. Mark made his way to Alexandria (Egypt), became the first Bishop there, was martyred for the faith there, and remains the patron saint of the city. Venice (Italy) has also accepted St. Mark as its patron saint and has built a beautiful Cathedral Church, along with a grand plaza in his memory.
Let us pray. “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 for ever and ever. Amen.”
