Saint Mark the Evangelist: Go Into the Whole World
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
-Mark 16:15-18
The Acts of the Apostles and ancient tradition tell us about Mark (who is often identified with the John Mark named in Acts 12 and 15), the companion of Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas. Originally a disciple of Saint Peter (cf. Acts 12:12), Mark later became a collaborator of Saint Paul in his mission to the Gentiles and seems to have been with Paul during his imprisonment in Rome (cf. Colossians 4:10 and 2 Timothy 4:11). Eusebius, the famed Church historian, tells us that Mark spent his last years serving as the bishop of Alexandria in Egypt.
“Either faith has a missionary dimension, or it is not faith. Faith is not something only for myself, so that I may grow with faith… Faith always leads you to come out of yourself, to go out. The transmission of faith; faith must be transmitted, it must be offered, above all by witness: ‘Go, so that the people see how you live.’”—Pope Francis
Saint Mark is, of course, most especially celebrated as the author of the Gospel that bears his name. while he himself was not an eyewitness to the works of Jesus, he is traditionally regarded to have been the “interpreter and mouthpiece” of Saint Peter. We can be sure, however, that Mark did not write his Gospel only to serve as an historical summary of Jesus’ life and ministry for his own community, but as a testimony to the One who is Truth, urging all his fellow believers to be faithful and united in their commitment to follow Christ. As Saint Irenaeus of Lyons wrote in his Treatise Against Heresies:
“The church, which has spread everywhere, even to the ends of the earth, received the faith from the apostles and their disciples… Having one soul and one heart, the Church holds the faith, preaches and teaches it consistently as though by a single voice.”
This sentiment of Saint Irenaeus was echoed by Pope Francis:
“The Bible is book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity. The word of God unites believers and makes them one people.”
-from Aperuit Illus, no. 4
The celebrations of the feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists that are spread throughout the Church Year invite us to reflect on the lives and witness of these men who dedicated themselves to sending out “their streams for the good of others” (Saint John Chrysostom). Beyond celebrating the gift of their witness, however, these feasts also become an opportunity for us to rediscover and reflect upon what is most essential in our Christian Faith. In a time when it is easy to focus all of our attention and energy on what separates us, these feasts are opportunities for us to give thanks for the spiritual legacy that unites us as God’s People.
As we celebrate the Feast Saint Mark the Evangelist, take time to offer a prayer of thanks for the gift of the witness that has been shared with us in the scriptures. But also take time to reflect on the witness you offer in your own life. As women and men who have come to share in the Apostles’ and Evangelists’ belief in the Risen Lord (whom we encounter in the words of Scripture, in the sacraments, and in the life of the Church), we too are called to the same evangelizing mission that was entrusted to them.
“Go into the whole world; proclaim the Good News to every creature” (Mk 16:15). This does not mean becoming someone who proselytizes, as if you were recruiting people to a football team or to a non-profit organization. It means that you show the revelation, so that the Holy Spirit might work in people through witness: as a witness, with service. Service is a way of life…
This passage of the Gospel is so tender! But where is the certainty? How can we be sure that by going out of ourselves we will be fruitful in the transmission of the faith? “Proclaim the Good News to every creature” (Mk 16:15) and you will work wonders (see vv. 17-18). And the Lord will be with us until the end of the world. In the transmission of ideologies there are teachers but when I act out of faith, the Lord accompanies me. I am never alone in the transmission of faith. It is the Lord with me Who transmits faith. He promised: “I will be with you all days even till the end of the world” (see Mt 28:20).
May God grant us the grace to live and profess our faith in this way.
O God, who raised up Saint Mark, your Evangelist,
and endowed him with the grace to preach the Gospel,
grant, we pray,
that we may so profit from his teaching
as to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist
