FEAST OF ST MARK, EVANGELIST
‘The Lord is speaking to us in the Gospel: come, let us adore him, alleluia.’ (Invitatory antiphon)
Celebrations are an important aspect of life whether they be birthdays, anniversaries, sporting events, reception of sacraments etc. They are moments to be remembered. The Church celebrates particular Feast Days throughout the Liturgical Year. This time during Covid-19, celebrations take on a different shape.
Today (25 April) the Church celebrates the feast of St Mark. He was one of the four Evangelists. The other Evangelists are St Matthew, St Luke and St John. St Mark was a disciple of Jesus, though not one of the twelve apostles. St Mark’s Gospel is noted as the oldest and the shortest of the Gospels and as the most simple to read. St Mark accompanied Paul the Apostle and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. One can read about St Mark in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Bible. The message of St Mark’s Gospel is that if anyone desires to follow Jesus, he/she must accept the cross.
When studying the themes and lessons of the Grow in Love programme, the children read from the Gospel of St Mark. From today’s Gospel (Mk 16:15-20) children are familiar with Jesus’ message to the disciples, ‘Go and preach the Good News to everyone in the world.’ Jesus also encourages the disciples to believe in him and with God’s grace, they will be able to do great things e.g. love, forgive, pray, share, and use their gifts and talents. In this way disciples witness to the Good News.
The Blessed Virgin Mary was the first disciple. She recognised the great things that God did for her. Mary praised God in her ‘Magnificat’ when she prayed, ‘The Almighty has done great things for me: holy is his Name.’ (Lk 1:46-55). This prayer can be read in the Bible and in the e-books, accessible on VERITAS Grow in Love website.
Children are also taught about the Bible and the books therein. Resources for Bible study can be accessed on the website.
Logon: www.veritas.ie
Email: trial@growinlove.ie
Password: growinlove
Pupils are introduced to the Evangelists in GIL6, Fourth Class/P6. In the context of learning about the Bible, they learn about the four symbols commonly used to represent the Evangelists. These symbols were inspired by a vision that the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel (Ez 1:4-7,10) had from God. The four symbols are:
For Matthew- a winged man/ angel
For Mark: a winged lion
For Luke: a winged calf
For John: an eagle.
These four symbols are found in the e-book for Fourth Class/P6, available on VERITAS Grow in Love website.
Each of the four symbols point to the way the four Evangelists portrayed Jesus. Today’s Gospel is according to St Mark and because it is his feast day, the focus is on St Mark’s portrayal of Jesus. This Gospel gives a sense of the courage of Jesus in his suffering.
Children might like to search the e-books on the website and find familiar stories from St Mark’s Gospel. They might write down the Bible references.
PRAY with Grow in Love
/I nGrá Dé
Prayer on Opening the Bible
Bless me, O God, so that
in opening this Bible
I may open my mind and heart
to your Word.
May it nourish me
as it nourished Jesus. Amen.
Paidir ar an mBíobla a oscailt
Beannaigh mé, a Dhia, ionas
nuair a osclaím an Bíobla seo
go n-osclóidh mé m’intinn agus
mo chroí
do do Bhriathar.
Go gcothaí sé mé
faoi mar a chothaigh sé Íosa.
Áiméan.
Prayer on Closing the Bible
Bless me, O God, so that
in closing this Bible
I may enclose your Word
in my heart and in my mind
as Jesus enclosed it in his. Amen.
Paidir ar an mBíobla a dhúnadh
Beannaigh mé, a Dhia,
agus an Bíobla seo a dhúnadh agam
go gcionneoidh mé do Bhriathar
i mo chroí agus i m’intinn
faoi mar a rinne Íosa.
Áiméan.
SONGS might include, ‘Quiet and Still’, ‘Jesus loves Children’, ‘When Jesus was a boy’. ‘The Lord, He is my Shepherd (Psalm 23)’, ‘Sing Praise (Psalm 148)’, ‘The Bible Rap’, ‘There are many Rooms’, ‘Miracle Songs- The Loaves and the Fish, Jesus Calms the Storm, Jesus Helps a man to See’, ‘The Apostles’, ‘Zacchaeus’, ‘Go Tell Everyone’, ‘The Beatitudes’ ‘Where your Treasure Is’, ‘Wherever you Go’, The Parable Songs- The Mustard Seed, The Good Samaritan, The Lost Coin,’ ‘Magnificat’, – All on VERITAS website as lyrics or video lyrics.
‘Let us give thanks to Jesus Christ, who has sent teachers and evangelists to be ministers of faith to all peoples who believe in him, alleluia.’ (Benedictus antiphon)
‘Please listen carefully to each of my concerns’ (Psalm 88:2)
‘O Lord you have been my refuge from one generation to the next.’ (Psalm 26:2)
St Mark, pray for us
Sr Anne Neylon