St. Mark the Evangelist
He wrote the first story of Jesus
Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 9
We don’t know much about St. Mark’s early life. We know he lived in Jerusalem and that his mother was named Mary. His cousin was St. Barnabas. It was at his mother’s house that he met St. Peter and St. Paul.
People who have studied the Bible closely feel that Mark knew St. Peter very well. St. Peter called Mark “his son,” which means St. Peter may have been the one who baptized Mark. Some think he didn’t actually know Jesus personally but wrote down what St. Peter said about Jesus. Still others believe that he was there when Jesus was arrested in the Garden.
Whether he knew Jesus personally really isn’t important. What is important is that he wrote the story of Jesus’ life for us.
Bible scholars think he must have written his Gospel for the Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians because he explains so many details of Jewish life and faith. If his readers had been Jewish, they would not need these explanations. But if they were not Jewish, then these explanations helped them understand some of Jesus’ teachings.
They feel that he wrote his Gospel after both St. Peter and St. Paul were martyred, about 30 years after Jesus had died.
We know that St. Mark accompanied St. Paul and Barnabas on their first trip to preach about Jesus. Something went wrong, and Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. But when St. Paul was in prison a few years later, he asked for Mark to come to visit him.
The symbol for St. Mark is a winged lion.
St. Mark the Evangelist is the patron of the parish in Silsbee and of Venice in Italy. It is believed that his remains are buried under the cathedral in Venice.
The feast of St. Mark the Evangelist is celebrated April 25.
