Dear People of God, We celebrate the Feast of St Mark, the Evangelist. The readings are from 1Peter 5:5-14; and the Gospel from Mark 16:15-20. The Gospel of Mark is unique, brief, deep and the earliest manuscript nearer to the oral tradition. Being a friend of St. Peter, he presented a Gospel faithful to the teachings of Peter wrote in Greek. The Gospel was addressed to the Gentiles and for the Christians in Rome. Even though he was not the one of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit empowered him to write the Gospel of Salvation to reveal Jesus the courageous King. The first reading is encouraging Mark to be faithful to God because God will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish after all the little inconveniences and suffering for Christ. God offers a second chance for us to be faithful to him. God understands that how much suffering and pain we go through for our faith in Jesus. So we need to be “sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to demolish. Resist Satan, steadfast in faith.” (1Pet.5:8). The responsorial Psalm sings, “For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.” (Ps.89:2). The Gospel wants us to be the ambassadors for Christ in every place. “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.” (Mk.16:15). We do not need to be the chosen one to proclaim the Gospel. It is the great commission the Risen Lord wants everyone to be a partner. We are invited by Jesus to be the heralds of the Good News. The Lord is with and so let us begin to share the Gospel with someone from today. May God bless you and have a good day.
