Churches of the Day

 St Mark, Apostle Evangelist
St Mark, an apostle who was closely connected the preaching of of Ss Peter, Paul and Barnabas.
He wrote the first and shortest of the Gospels. 

   C/f A short life of be this saint can found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING    

A reading from the first letter of St Peter          5:5-14
Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day

To the rest of you I say: do what the elders tell you, and all wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour the humble. Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day;
unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking after you.

Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat.
Stand up to him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world are suffering the same things. You will have to suffer only for a little while: the God of all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ will see that all is well again: he will confirm, strengthen and support you. His power lasts for ever and ever. Amen.

I write these few words to you through Silvanus, who is a brother I know I can trust, to encourage you never to let go this true grace of God to which I bear witness. Your sister in Babylon, who is with you among the chosen, sends you greetings; so does my son, Mark.

The Word of the Lord              Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm          Ps  88: 2-3. 6-7. 16.17, r/v 1
Response                               I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
Or                                             Alleluia!

1. I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.      Response

2. The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord; the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.
For who in the skies can compare with the Lord or who is like the Lord
among the sons of God?                                                       Response

3. Happy the people who acclaim such a king, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice the source of their bliss.             Response

Gospel  Acclamation         Ps 118: 29
Alleluia, alleluia!
We are preaching a crucified Christ, who is the power and the wisdom of God.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                     

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark     16:15-20
 Jesus final words: Go out to the whole World and proclaim the Good News to all creation.

Jesus said to the Eleven,
'Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation.
He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned.
These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name
they will cast out devils;
they will have the gift of tongues;
they will pick up snakes in their hands,
and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison;
they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.'

And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

The Gospel of the Lord.          Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.



 Gospel Reflection                  25 April            Feast of Saint Mark       Mark 16:15-20

Mark was the first to write a gospel. It always strikes me as strange that the gospel reading for his feast is taken from the longer ending of Mark which was probably a later addition to the gospel! According to early tradition, Mark was a disciple of Peter, which accounts for the first reading being from the first letter of Peter.

Mark’s gospel was the primary written source for the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In the early centuries the church seems to have found Matthew’s gospel in particular more helpful for the life of faith because of the large amount of the teaching of Jesus it contains, relative to Mark. As a result, Mark’s gospel was overshadowed somewhat in the early centuries by its larger relations, especially Matthew, and also John. Yet, without Mark’s gospel the church would not have had the gospels of Matthew or Luke in the form that they have come down to us.

In time, Mark came to be appreciated on its own terms, and not just as a poorer version of Matthew. It is now recognized for the wonderful literary and theological masterpiece it is. Mark portrays Jesus as the suffering Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve, and who was ready to lay down his life in the service of all. Mark’s portrait of the disciple mirrors that of Jesus. As disciples we are called to walk in the way of Jesus’ self-emptying service of God and God’s people, even when that means travelling the way of the cross. Mark is often unsparing in his portrayal of the failure of the disciples to imbibe this vision of Jesus and to live by it. Jesus struggles to open their eyes. As the gospel progresses, their failure become more pronounced, until, at the end, ‘they all deserted him and fled’.

Yet the gospel ends (the shorter ending) with the young man calling on the faithful women to tell the other disciples that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee where they will see him.  The risen Lord remains faithful to his failed disciples and his faithfulness finally allows them to see clearly and to go out afresh to preach the gospel. This faithfulness of the Lord is well expressed in today’s gospel reading, ‘the Lord working with them confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it’. This message of Mark’s gospel that the Lord continues to work with his disciples, in spite of past serious failings, is a message the church needs to hear today

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saint of the Day: 25 April; St Mark, evangelist 

As well a being the author of the second and shortest gospel,  Mark is famous for having founded the Church in Alexandria, from where his relics were brought to Venice in the ninth century. Among the evangelists, the lion is his symbol (Rev 4:7-8).

Patrick Duffy reviews what is known about him.

Identification with John Mark
Traditionally, Mark is identified with the young man described in Mk 14:51 who followed Jesus when he was arrested: "He had nothing on but a linen cloth; they caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked".
He is also mentioned in Acts 12:12 when Peter escaped from prison: "He went straight to the house of Mary the mother of John Mark in Jerusalem, where a number of people had assembled and were praying".
In Acts 12:25 John Mark accompanies Paul and Barnabas from Jerusalem to Antioch and goes on with them to Cyprus (13:5), but for some reason he went back from there to Jerusalem (13:13).

Violent Quarrel with Paul
Paul did not appreciate this and refused to take John Mark with him on his second missionary journey (Acts 15:38). After a violent quarrel Barnabas went with John Mark to Cyprus (Acts 15:39) while Paul took Silas as his companion to Asia Minor (Acts 15:40). Later Paul and John Mark were reconciled (Col 4:10 and 1 Tim 4:11).

Disciple of Peter
However, another tradition coming from a fragment of Papias of Hierapolis (2nd century AD) and quoted by the historian Eusebius (263–339) in his Church History III.39 sees Mark as a disciple of Peter who based his gospel - or at least the first draft of it - on what he learned from Peter:
 "Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a chronological narrative of the Lord's sayings. So Mark made no mistake in writing some things in this way as he remembered them. For of one thing he took especial care, not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements. Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could."



Peter refers to Mark affectionally as his "son" (1 Pet 5:13). Both Saints Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria mention that association.

Death at Alexandria
According to Eusebius and the prologue to the ancient Latin version of St Mark's Gospel, Mark died at Alexandria. The Divine Liturgy of St. Mark is the ancient, traditional main Liturgy of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

Patron of Venice

Early in the 9th century Mark's body was brought to Venice, where he is patron saint of the city and cathedral to this day.

(The basilica of St Mark in Venice contains his relics and a series of mosaics based on his life, death and the bringing of his remains to Venice.)

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Memorable Saying for Today

 “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”

~ St Mark 8:36 ~

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Fourth Sunday of Easter

This is  Good Shepherd Sunday
A Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious life, Married and Single life.
It is a call to a life of service in the Church and a call to live the Gospel mission as a representative of Jesus wherever and whenever we are.

FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 2:14. 36-41
God has made him both Lord and Christ.

On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice:
'The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.'

Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles,
'What must we do, brothers?'
'You must repent,' Peter answered 'and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.'

He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them,
'Save yourselves from this perverse generation'.
They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.

The Word of the Lord.            Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm         Ps 22: 1-6. R/v1
Response                             The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or                                            Alleluia!

1. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
    Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.
    Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit.                                Response

2. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name.
    If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear.
   You are there with your crook and your staff;  with these you give me comfort.    Response

3. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes.
    My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing.                                    Response

4. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.
    In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.                                            Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the first letter of St Peter            2:20-25
You have come back to the shepherd of your souls.

The merit, in the sight of God, is in bearing it patiently when you are punished after doing your duty. This, in fact, is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow the way he took. He had not done anything wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth. He was insulted and did not retaliate with insults; when he was tortured he made no threats but he put his trust in the righteous judge. He was bearing our faults in his own body on the cross, so that we might die to our faults and live for holiness; through his wounds you have been healed. You had gone astray like sheep but now you have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

The Word of the Lord.            Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation          Jn 10: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you              And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to John     10:1-10      Glory to you, O Lord
I am the gate of the sheepfold

Jesus said:
'I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.'

Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.
So Jesus spoke to them again:
'I tell you most solemnly, I am the gate of the sheepfold.
All others who have come are thieves and brigands;
but the sheep took no notice of them

I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.


The Gospel of the Lord.        Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.



For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/

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Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966,  by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.