Sunday April 20th. 2008
St. Margaret’s, St. Joseph’s & St. Finnan’s
and moved outside the cities, forming communities devoted to living the Gospel in all its simplicity. The Alexandrian Jewish philosopher Philo described their lifestyle "In every house there is a holy chamber called a sanctuary or 'monastery', where they celebrate in seclusion the mysteries of the sanctified life, bringing in only the food required for bodily needs. They listened intently to spoken teachings of the priests, sang hymns, and did everything in a true spirit in their attempts to seek true holiness.
A large part of the day was spent in prayer and doing works of charity.”
The pagan leaders, infuriated by the progressive spread of Christianity in their domain, conspired to kill St. Mark. On learning of their evil plans, the Apostle ordained Anianus bishop and left to go to another part of Egypt where he would be safe for a while. When he returned later, he continued his apostolic labours, rejoicing in spirit at the abundant harvest of souls. At last, however, the pagan leaders, bitterly resenting his
authority, found opportunity to kill him
He was captured, and the account of his death was given as follows:
In the morning the Saint, a rope tied around his neck, was again led through the streets like some dumb beast, accompanied by a great crowd of jeering pagans. Utterly spent, the meek sufferer eventually collapsed and his soul, released from its earthly tabernacle, ascended to heaven.The pagans, not content with having killed the Saint, wanted to destroy also his lifeless body, but they had scarcely lit the bonfire that was to have consumed the body before there was a mammoth thunderclap; the earth shook and the sky loosed a storm of hailstones.The fire was quenched and the pagans dispersed, allowing the Christians to come and collect the sacred remains of their martyred bishop and father in the Faith.
A large part of the day was spent in prayer and doing works of charity.”
The pagan leaders, infuriated by the progressive spread of Christianity in their domain, conspired to kill St. Mark. On learning of their evil plans, the Apostle ordained Anianus bishop and left to go to another part of Egypt where he would be safe for a while. When he returned later, he continued his apostolic labours, rejoicing in spirit at the abundant harvest of souls. At last, however, the pagan leaders, bitterly resenting his
authority, found opportunity to kill him
He was captured, and the account of his death was given as follows:
In the morning the Saint, a rope tied around his neck, was again led through the streets like some dumb beast, accompanied by a great crowd of jeering pagans. Utterly spent, the meek sufferer eventually collapsed and his soul, released from its earthly tabernacle, ascended to heaven.The pagans, not content with having killed the Saint, wanted to destroy also his lifeless body, but they had scarcely lit the bonfire that was to have consumed the body before there was a mammoth thunderclap; the earth shook and the sky loosed a storm of hailstones.The fire was quenched and the pagans dispersed, allowing the Christians to come and collect the sacred remains of their martyred bishop and father in the Faith.
These they placed in a stone coffin in the place where they gathered for common prayer. Later, in the ninth century, Islamic invasions caused the relics to be transferred to Venice, where they are preserved to this day in the magnificent basilica dedicated to this holy Apostle and Evangelist, St. Mark.
St Mark’s Basilica, Venice