Feast of Saint Mark, evangelist

Today's Mass Readings

Today is the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, so named for being the author of the Gospel of Mark. Tradition tells us that St. Mark was St. Peter's travelling companion in Rome, as evidenced in part by the comments at the end of today's first reading from the First Letter of St. Peter (5:13), and that the Gospel of Mark was a summary of St. Peter's preaching in Rome. In today's Gospel reading from Mark, we encounter Jesus' command to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). As the context makes clear, baptism and faith are key aspects of this Gospel, of this Good News.

This is a challenging command. We are all given the command to proclaim Jesus' gospel, following in the footsteps of the early Christians like St. Peter and St. Mark. In some instances this will involve us using words to explain the salvation to be found in Christ and in His Church. Most of the time, this proclamation will involve living lives of love and service. Our very lives, our actions, should shine forth in the world and proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

Let's take some time today to reflect on ways in which we already proclaim the gospel through our lives and through what we say. During this reflection, let us also pay attention to ways in which we neglect this obligation. How can we improve our proclamation of the gospel?

Let us really allow the reading for today to challenge us out of a complacency we may so easily fall into. Pope John Paul II once said that, "It is not enough to discover Christ, you must bring Him to others. The world today is one great mission land, even in countries of long-standing Christian tradition." We need, therefore, to preach the gospel to one another as well as to those who have never even heard of Christ. Let us proclaim Jesus, and do so with boldness, but above all with gentleness, love, and respect.

- Jeff Morrow