The Collect for the Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist:
“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, one God, for ever and ever.”
Reflection
St. Mark was a disciple of St. Peter and is best known for writing one of the four Gospels. From what we can tell, St. Mark’s Gospel is really a written record of Peter’s experience of Christ. Our collect today begins by acknowledging that it is God’s grace which made St. Mark into an evangelist and an author of the Gospel. This is meant to inflame our faith in His ability to use us to build up the kingdom. Thus, we go on to pray for our own ability to follow in Christ’s footsteps, grateful to have the help of Mark’s Gospel.
So, for your daily contribution to the Church’s collection of prayer,
Evaluate how well much you rely on yourself instead of God’s grace. For every saint, we give glory to God so remind yourself that “success” as a Christian is God’s work in you, not your own. Perhaps spend a few minutes reading from Mark’s Gospel. Next, pray to more deeply rely on God’s grace and to stay close to the story of Christ handed onto us by the Church. Then spiritually unite that prayer to all the Masses throughout the world today. That way, when the priest says “Let us pray,” you can be a part of that “us” even if you don’t get to attend Mass.
