My friends, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, the author of the shortest, fastest-paced, and arguably the oldest Gosp...
My friends, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, the author of the shortest, fastest-paced, and arguably the oldest Gospel. Mark was not one of the original Twelve Apostles. He was a younger man, an assistant to Paul and later a companion to Peter. Yet, his contribution to our faith is monumental. We can learn how to live out our own calling by looking at Mark’s life through three words: Humility, Herald, and Healing.
Our first word is Humility. In our first reading, St. Peter gives us an essential instruction: "Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." Mark had to learn this the hard way. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that Mark actually abandoned Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary journey because it got too difficult. He failed. But he was humble enough to return, ask for forgiveness, and start serving again. He became so trusted that Peter affectionately calls him "my son." Humility means acknowledging our weaknesses and casting all our worries on God, knowing He cares for us. We cannot do God’s work if we are full of ourselves.
When we empty ourselves in humility, we can become our second word: a Herald. A herald is a messenger who announces the news of a king. In today's Gospel, Jesus gives the ultimate command to His followers: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." Mark did exactly this, not by standing on a stage, but by using his pen. He wrote down the preaching of Peter so that the world would know who Jesus was. We, too, are called to be heralds. You might not write a book of the Bible, but your life is a Gospel that the people around you are reading every single day. The way you work, the way you speak to your family, the way you handle stress—these are all ways you proclaim the news of the King.
And what happens when we proclaim the Gospel? We see our third word: Healing. Jesus promises that signs will accompany those who believe. They will drive out demons, lay hands on the sick, and bring recovery. When we boldly live our faith, God uses us to bring spiritual healing to a broken world. The demons of despair, loneliness, and hatred are driven out when a humble Christian heralds the love of Christ.
Today, let us ask for the intercession of St. Mark. May we be clothed in Humility, may we boldly Herald the good news in our daily lives, and may God use our hands to bring His Healing to everyone we meet. Amen.
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