Homily: April 25 - Feast of Saint Mark - Evangelist & Martyr

In the midst of our Easter festivities this year we celebrate the feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist.  Mark was not one of the twelve apostles, but from the Acts of the Apostles.  We know that he was a disciple of Saint Peter. 

Saint Peter refers to Mark as “my son” in his first letter, which we heard today, which could mean that Mark had been baptized by Peter.  Mark was not an eyewitness to the actions and teachings of Jesus; he learned the details of Jesus’ Ministry which he put into his Gospel from Peter.  For this reason Saint Mark’s Gospel has sometimes been called the “Gospel of Peter”.  Saint Mark’s Gospel can be read easily in a single sitting, as the shortest of the Gospels.  It wouldn’t be a bad thing to read it today.

Mark also accompanied Saint Paul on a mission to Cyprus, after going from Jerusalem to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.  Saint Paul even speaks of Mark as his coworker and his consoler during his imprisonment in Rome. 

According to the historian Eusebius, Mark ended his days as bishop of Alexandria.

Early this month, a group of pilgrims from Saint Columbkille parish were able to visit the famous basilica of Saint Mark in Venice, Italy.  Saint Mark is the patron saint of Venice and his relics were brought there from Alexandria in the ninth century.  Atop the basilica is the figure of a lion because the lion is the symbol for Saint Mark’s Gospel. 

Mark is represented as a lion because his Gospel begins with the voice of John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness.  The voice of one crying in the desert: Make ready the way of the Lord. 

The Lion is also a symbol of courage, and Saint Mark courageously faced a martyr’s death.  While he was celebrating Mass in Alexandria, his persecutors seized him, tied a rope around him and dragged him through the streets, then imprisoned and killed him.

The Entrance Antiphon, like the Gospel of the Mass, recalls the missionary apostolate mandated by Christ: “Go out to the whole world, and preach the Gospel to all creation.”

May Saint Mark’s example and prayers help us to carry out the Gospel of Christ throughout the world, proclaiming it to all creation, for the Glory of God and Salvation of souls.