Liturgical Calendar

Divine Mercy Sunday:  The Catholic Church began celebrating this feast when the Vatican made it official on April 30^th of the Jubilee Year 2000. Divine Mercy Sunday always falls on the second Sunday of Easter. It commemorates Jesus's promise to St. Faustina for complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment for those sins on this day. Jesus told Faustina: "Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment" (Diary of Faustina, 300). It is the perfect time for fallen-away Catholics to return to the Church. However, to receive Holy Communion, one must be in a state of grace and without the stain of sin. Therefore, someone who wishes to return to full communion with the Body of Christ must go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to confess and repent their mortal sins. The confession of venial sins can be offered before Mass and forgiven in the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass. In Faustina's diary, she recorded that Jesus also promised He would be there in the confessional ready to embrace the sinner with His love: "When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here, the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy, souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity" (Diary of Faustina, 1602).

The Greek Orthodox and Eastern Rite Churches: These Churches calculate Easter Sunday differently from Latin Rite Catholics. This year, their Easter falls on April 16^th, and the miracle of the Holy Fire should take place on Holy Saturday, April 15^th. For centuries, the "Holy Fire" miracle has been observed on the Saturday before the Orthodox Easter when a ball of fire miraculously lights a candle the Orthodox Patriarch holds in the Tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Specular in Jerusalem.

St. Mark the Evangelist: The Church observes the Feast of St. Mark on April 25^th. St. Mark was the son of Mary of Jerusalem and, like his mother, a disciple of Jesus. Their house in Jerusalem was where Jesus and the disciples often met (Acts 12:12). He was also the inspired writer of the Gospel that bears his name. His name, Mark/Marcus, was Roman, and John/Yohanan was his Jewish name. Therefore, the New Testament refers to him as John Mark, and Mark. He was probably in his teens during the years of Jesus's ministry. His father was likely a Roman soldier since his Latin name (Marcus) is the name of the Roman god Mars, the patron god of Roman soldiers.

Mark's mother's house in Jerusalem may have been the site of the Last Supper, and he may have been the young man who ran away naked after the soldiers grabbed his garment when they arrested Jesus at Gethsemane. Mark is the only Gospel writer to record that event. Mark recorded that the young man's clothing was not a Jewish tunic but a Roman toga that was one piece of material (Mk 14:51). John-Mark was a relative of St. Barnabas (Col 4:10). He accompanied Saints Barnabas Paul to the Christian community in Antioch after they visited Jerusalem in c. 44 AD (Acts 12:25). He was a member of their first missionary journey (c. 45 AD) but soon decided to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). For this reason, Paul refused to take Mark on his second missionary journey. Therefore, Barnabas took Mark to preach the Gospel in Cyprus (Acts 15:37, 39). Mark later went to Rome, where he served as St. Peter's secretary and wrote Peter's account of Jesus's ministry that we call the Gospel of Mark (1 Pt 5:13). Mark mended his friendship with St. Paul, and Paul wrote that Mark stayed with him during one of Paul's several imprisonments (Col 4:10; Phil 24). When the Romans imprisoned Paul again in AD 67, Paul asked for Mark's company and assistance before he suffered martyrdom (2 Tim 4:11).

After Saints Paul and Peter's martyrdom (on the same day), Mark left Rome and preached the Gospel in Cyprus and Alexandria, Egypt, where he founded the Coptic Christian Church. He served as the first Christian Bishop of Alexandria for ten years until he suffered martyrdom. In an angry response to his great success in attracting Jews and Gentiles to Christ, an angry crowd bound and dragged him through the city to his death. Centuries later, Venetian Christians removed his bones to Venice, built a magnificent cathedral named for him to house his relics, and declared St. Mark their patron saint. The Church celebrates John-Mark's entrance into Heaven on April 25^th, the traditional day of his holy martyrdom in Egypt. St. Mark is the protector of notaries, opticians, glaziers, breeders, pharmacists, painters, shoemakers, tanners, secretaries, and interpreters. He is the patron saint of Venice and Pordenone, Italy.

St. Mark's symbol is the winged lion cherub from Revelation 4:6-7. The regal lion is a desert animal and the symbol of kings. It is an appropriate symbol for Mark's Gospel since he begins his Gospel with John the Baptist's story in the desert and presents Jesus as the prophesied Davidic King. According to the Church Fathers, Mark wrote his Gospel from St. Peter's reflections on the mission of Christ. Mark's Gospel is direct, straightforward, and filled with details that help us understand Jesus' human nature. He also challenges us to share in Jesus's sufferings.

Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2024 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.