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Saint Mark
St.
Mark was an evangelist, or Gospel writer. In fact, he was the pioneer in
Gospel writing. His is the shortest and the oldest of the Gospels. Little is known
of Mark except from the New Testament. He was not one of the twelve apostles,
but was a member of the first Christian community. Mark had firsthand
experience of the early Church and apostolic life. He was a traveling
companion and assistant of Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey. Mark's
gospel was a great contribution to the Church. It included oral and written
tradition concerning the words and deeds of Jesus. Mark probably secured some
of his material from St. Peter. He shows Jesus as the suffering Son of God.
Mark knew that to accept the Risen Jesus meant to come to terms with the
cross. Jesus was glorified because he willingly allowed himself to suffer
death for our salvation. Mark writes that anyone who wishes to follow Jesus
must accept the cross. Mark
wrote to proclaim the Good News to a community of both Jewish and Gentile
Christians. His Gospel is direct and simple to read. He speaks to Christians
about Jesus, who understands their difficulties and sufferings and will one
day bring them to share with him eternal joy and glory. Traditionally
Mark is thought to have been founder and bishop of the Over
the years artists have given a symbol to each of the evangelists. Mark's symbol
is winged lion because his Gospel begins with the story of John the Baptist
who, like a roaring lion, called people to repent. He is also known as the
Patron Saint of Notaries, and his feast day is on April 25th.
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