Saint Mark – 25th April

Saint Mark, traditional author of the second Synoptic Gospel. Data on his life found in the New Testament are fragmentary, and most of their historicity has been questioned by critical investigation. The only unquestionably reliable information is in Philemon 24, where a certain Mark is mentioned as one of St. Paul’s fellow workers who sends greetings from Rome to the Christians of Colossae (near modern Denizli, Tur.), but the identity of this person is not indicated. That Mark was St. Barnabas’ cousin in Colossians 4:10 may also be authentic. The Egyptian church claims Mark as its founder, and, from the 4th century AD, the see of Alexandria has been called cathedra Marci (“the chair of Mark”). Other places attributing their origin to Mark are the Italian cities of Aquileia and Venice, of which he is the patron saint. His symbol is the lion.

Prayer to St. Mark

(Repeat the following Novena prayers every day for 9 consecutive days.)
O glorious St Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
[Mention your request here…]
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Amen.

(One ‘Our Father’)

Prayer to Jesus

You are our Saviour,
our hope and our life.
Thank you
for watching over us
as we learn and play.
Thank you for our patron,
Saint Mark, and his gospel stories.
His words about You show us
how to be respectful, loving
and peaceful.
Please be with us in all we do ,
so that we make choices that honor You. We ask this, in Your name.
Amen.
Say 1 Our Father…
Say 1 Hail Mary…
Say 1 Glory Be…
Saint Mark, Pray for us.
Saint Mark, Pray for us.
Saint Mark, Pray for us.

St. Mark Novena

Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Mark as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the devotion to You he showed in working as a missionary for Your Church.
St. Mark, we know from the Acts of the Apostles that you accompanied St. Paul on one of his missionary journeys. Though you probably found this lifestyle to be difficult, you continued to serve God.
Please bring my petitions before God Whom you served!
Despite your departure from Paul’s missionary journey, you devoted the rest of your life to serving God and His Church. It is believed that you even established the Church in Alexandria.
Pray for me, that I may always be eager to serve God in my life. Pray that I may never miss the opportunity to preach the Good News to others.

Please also pray for (Mention your intentions here).

St. Mark, pray for us!

Prayer to St. Mark

O Glorious St Mark,
through the grace of God
our Father, you became
a great Evangelist, preaching
the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him
well, so that we may
faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Amen.

COLLECT PRAYER

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, forever and ever.

THE COLLECT

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast instructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy Evangelist Saint Mark: Give us grace, that, being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of thy holy Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Anaphora of St. Mark

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
And with your spirit.

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them up unto the Lord.

Let us give thanks unto the Lord.
It is meet and just so to do.

It is truly good and right that we should worship you, sing to you, and give thanks to you with unceasing praise, Living One, Lord God, Father almighty.

You made all things in heaven and on earth. You made mankind in your holy image and gave them the delights of Paradise. When our first parents fell, you raised them up again with your promise of a Savior, who is your holy Wisdom, your true Light, your only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. …

You are above all power and dominion, might and authority, and every name in this world and in the world to come. Before you stand countless ranks of angels and archangels, who serve you day and night, and see the glory of your presence, crying out with unceasing praise. We join our voices with them, crying aloud and declaring the majesty of your glory:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Truly heaven and earth are full of your glory in the appearing of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. Give us your heavenly blessing by the indwelling of your Holy Spirit.

For the Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after the meal, he also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Amen.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
We proclaim your death, O Lord, and we confess your resurrection. …

We present to you the gifts you have given us, and we pray that you would send your Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Spirit of truth, that he would strengthen us with his power and enlighten us with his gifts. Bless and hallow this bread and wine, that through Christ’s body and blood we may be strengthened in faith, healed, sanctified, and renewed in body soul, and spirit, that your name may be praised, our sins forgiven, and in this and all places, your holy name may be hallowed, with your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen. …

The mercies of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
And with your spirit.

Our Father…
The peace of the Lord be with you all.
And with your spirit.