Most of what we know about Saint 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.

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18 COMMENTS

  1. Saint Mark, please pray for all in this life that needs help, sickness, poverty, jobless, helpless, no food & clothes. Those on drugs that needs the LORD to take them out of their difficult situation. Help all children that have no one to turn too. Lord Graciously hear my prayers.

  2. O Glorious St. Mark
    through the grace
    of God, our Father,
    you became a great Evangelist,
    preaching the
    Good News of Christ.
    May you help us to know Him
    well so that we may faithfully
    live our lives as followers of
    Christ.
    Amen.

  3. O Glorious St. Mark
    through the grace
    of God, our Father,
    you became a great Evangelist,
    preaching the
    Good News of Christ.
    May you help us to know Him
    well so that we may faithfully
    live our lives as followers of
    Christ.
    Amen.

  4. St.Mark as you were GRACED being near some of the Disciples ,,,,,,,you were Blessed!!!!!!!!!!!
    Rightfully so,,,,,,,,the Winged Lion,,,,,,,,!!!!!!!!!
    May your symbol of STRENGTH,,,,,,,present itself,,,,,,For Others!!!!!!!!!Now I know where the words come from…………
    “””””””mark my words””””””””
    In JESUS CHRIST our LORD and SAVIOR,,,,,,,,give to US …..your ability to UNDERSTAND,,,,,,the MASSES,,,,,,,
    To……….see……the….LIGHT ……….. IN. THESE. TIMES. OF. ….UNIMAGINABLE…….SINS !!!!!!!!!……..
    PLEASE,,,,,,PRAY…..FOR….THOSE….WHO….ARE…..D I S G U A R D E D ,,,,,,,,FOR,,,,,ANOTHERS,,,,,,,,,PLEASURE!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. May God graciously bless St. Mark’s Parish in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. Through the intercession of St. Mark, fill it to overflowing with the divine presence of the Holy Spirit. A small, simple, humble church, let it flourish in remarkable ways. Amen.

    • Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, have mercy on us.
      Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
      Saints John the Baptist and Elizabeth, Anne and Joachim, Joseph, Matthew/Mark/Luke/John, pray for us.
      For prayer and reparation to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
      For increased; humility, purity, modesty, chastity, celibacy.
      For the long life and protection of Rev. Mark Goring. Amen.

      Ecce Crucem Domini. Fugite partes adversae.
      Vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David, Alleluia.

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