Believed to be born around the year 12 AD, St. Mark the Evangelist is most well-known for writing the first—and also the shortest—of the four Gospels. We know that St. Mark the Evangelist was not one of the Twelve Apostles, and it seems unlikely that he ever knew Jesus personally. It appears that St. Mark was close to St. Peter, who called him “my son”, and it’s likely that St. Peter is the primary source of St. Mark’s Gospel. Historians believe that he was a member of the first Christian community, and he traveled with Sts. Paul and Barnabas spreading the Gospel message. He is credited as being the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, and he met a martyr’s death there in 68 AD.
CHALLENGE
St. Mark is depicted in art as a roaring winged lion, coming from his description of St. John the Baptist as a “voice crying out in the desert” and Ezekiel’s vision of four winged creatures. Today, read and compare the following passages from the Gospel of Mark: Chapter 6 verses 34-56, Chapter 7 verses 31-35, and Chapter 8 verses 1-25.
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