St. Mark, Evangelist
Saints for April |
April 11
St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr of Poland
If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first (John 15:18)
Even if we’ve never heard of St. Stanislaus of Krakow, we know his story.
It’s the story of so many martyrs for the faith. Born to a wealthy family,
Stanislaus underwent a conversion of his own and gave his wealth to the poor.
Ordained a priest, he soon attracted attention by the holiness of his life and
the power of his preaching. He became the Bishop of Krakow. He used his high
office to reprimand Poland’s new King, Boleslaus II, who lived a vicious,
dissolute life, and treated his people with abominable injustice. With “tears,
prayers, and admonitions,” Stanislaus urged the King to live a more Christian
life. Eventually, Boleslaus was excommunicated. This made him furious; he sent
soldiers to kill Stanislaus, but when they came to the place and found him in
prayer, they could not do it. Boleslaus went into the church where Stanislaus
was offering Mass and slew him at the altar.
Stanislaus’ story is the story of St. Thomas à Becket, or, closer to our own
time, Archbishop Oscar Romero. It is the story of Jesus himself.
Prayer in Honor of St. Stanislaus
Father, to honor you, St. Stanislaus faced martyrdom with courage. Keep us
strong and loyal in our faith until death. Grant this through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen. (The Sacramentary)
Mark, my son, sends you greetings (I Peter 5: 13)
As far as evangelists go, we know quite a bit about St. Mark! He accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey; he was a cousin of Barnabas, the apostle; and he was also a disciple of St. Peter, who mentioned Mark’s name affectionately in his first letter. It was probably from Peter that Mark got much of his information about Jesus. Mark’s Gospel is the most ancient of the four, and the shortest. It moves at a breathless pace, as we follow Jesus from wonder to wonder, listening to his teaching, witnessing his healings, and following him through his passion, death, and resurrection. As Father Ryan said in a recent homily, “Mark’s is probably the easiest gospel to read and hear since it is colorful and uncluttered, and the Jesus who emerges from its stories is wonderfully human, even though he gets our attention time and again by doing what God alone can do.”
In His Words
According to many scripture scholars, Mark is the “young man” mentioned in
his account of Jesus’ arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, and the scattering of
the disciples: “They all left him and fled. Now a young man followed him wearing
nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth
behind and ran off naked.” (Mark 14: 50-52)
The holy virgin Catherine steadfastly begged the Lord to restore peace to his holy Church (Antiphon for the Feast of St. Catherine)
Catherine
of Siena lived at a time when the divisions and corruption in the Church went so
deep that many wondered if the papacy would survive. The Popes no longer lived
in Rome; instead, they dwelt amid kingly pomp and splendor at their palace in
Avignon in southern France. When Catherine was born, the Popes had abandoned
Rome for more than 40 years. Catherine grew up, one of a numerous and prosperous
family, and from earliest childhood she was on fire with love for God. She had
many mystical experiences and visions, but this great mystic was also a very
practical woman, who possessed not only heavenly wisdom, but great charm and
practical advice. She became an ambassador for the Church, traveling far and
wide, speaking and writing on behalf of Church unity; and she so impressed
Gregory IX that at her urging he returned to Rome. Catherine offered her life
for the health of the Church. She died in Rome at the age of 33, filled with
joy. This young woman who was never taught to write (her ability to write is one
of the many miraculous events of her life) has since become a Doctor of the
Church.
In Her Words
Eternal God, eternal Trinity, you are a mystery as deep as the sea. The more
I search, the more I find, and the more I find the more I search for you. But I
can never be satisfied; what I receive will ever leave me desiring more. When
you fill my soul I have an ever greater hunger, and I grow more famished for
your light. I desire above all to see you, the true light, as you really are. (from
St. Catherine’s Dialogue on Divine Providence)