How the impetuous young naked saint changed the world – St. Mark

Who was St. Mark?

St. Mark was originally known as John Mark. In the scriptures, there are several references in scripture to “John, who was also known as Mark.” St. Mark was the son of Apostopolos and Mary, the sister or aunt of St. Barnabas. According to tradition, Mary was a great admirer of Jesus and followed Him everywhere to hear his preaching and perhaps sometimes, Mark went with her. He was born around 68 AD in Cyrene, Libya.

Mark was one of the attendants at the wedding in Cana. It is even said that St. Mark’s family home was a place where Jesus and the apostles often stayed and that it was in the upper room of the house where they had the Last Supper. This is also the place of Pentecost.

The imagery of the lion’s strength is sprinkled throughout the Old Testament. A vision from the Prophet Ezekiel is full of references to the lion. The winged lion is one of the symbols associated with St. Mark. One legend says that St. Mark and his father were walking down the road when two lions came out and blocked their way. Apostopolos and Mark began praying and immediately the lions fell down dead. Mark’s gospel starts with the story of John the Baptist as a voice crying out in the wilderness, much like a lion would do.

St. Mark and Jesus

St. Mark, was one of the youngest followers of Christ. When Jesus was arrested, Mark fled naked from the temple guards and left his tunic behind. St. Mark was a friend of St. Peter, and much of Peter’s testimony was used in the Gospel of Mark.

Mark’s gospel is one of action and it moves quickly. This isn’t the lofty rhetoric of John, or the precision of Luke, or the lessons from Matthew. This is what happened summarized for us very quickly. His gospel is the oldest and shortest of the four gospels as if it was written quickly with some haste to ensure the story is recorded.

Mark and St. Paul

After the Ascension, Mark traveled with St. Paul and St. Barnabas on their first missionary trip to Antioch, but for some reason, he returned back to Jerusalem. Perhaps he was sick or simply didn’t enjoy traveling, but whatever it was, St. Paul was reluctant to take him on his second trip. Eventually, St. Paul and St. Mark reconciled. Mark visited him regularly when St. Paul was imprisoned and became a trusted friend.

Eventually, Mark eventually preached the Gospel all the way to Alexandria, Egypt, He was arrested for his faith, bound and dragged by horses throughout the streets of the city for two days. Then his body was mutilated and burned. The Christians gathered up his ash and bones and he was interred. In 828 AD, his remains were taken to Venice, after the Muslims took over Alexandria..

St. Mark is the patron saint of attorneys, barristers, Venice, Italy, and Egypt.

Ways to Celebrate

• Attend mass or watch mass online
• Read the Gospel of St. Mark alone or with your family.
• In Italy, St. Mark’s Feast Day is the day of the blooming rose and it is customary to give a single rose to a loved one.
• Make a fun lion face mask like this one with little kids!