Mass Readings: 19 April – 26 April, 2020

by Tamar SC · Published April 17, 2020 · Updated April 15, 2020

Painted by Valentin de Bologne

The feast day of St Mark is April 25. Why is Mark the evangelist always portrayed with a lion?

This symbol comes from St Mark’s description of John the Baptist’s voice “crying out in the wilderness” upon hearing the Word of God (Mark 1:3). His voice is said to have sounded like that of a roaring lion. This lion symbolism also appears in a vision of the Prophet Ezekiel where four winged creatures represent the evangelists (Ezekiel 1:10).

St Mark, represented as a lion, is also derived from the prophetic visions contained in the verse Revelations 4:7. The lion is one of the four living creatures described in the book as a place around the throne of the Almighty and they are chosen as symbols of the four evangelists. Matthew is depicted as a human, Mark as a lion, Luke as a bull, and John as an eagle

The Lion of Saint Mark is also the symbol of the city of Venice. Venetian tradition states that when St. Mark was travelling through Europe, he arrived at a lagoon in Venice, where an angel appeared to him and said “May Peace be with you, Mark, my evangelist. Here your body will rest.” The remains of St. Mark are interred in the Basilica of St. Mark which is located in the famous St. Mark Square (Piazza San Marco) of Venice.

Info courtesy of St Mark the evangelist church, Tampa, Florida https://stmarktampa.org/

Liturgical Calendar
Year A – Weekday Cycle Year 2

Sunday April 19, 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31
Monday April 20, St Marcellinus
Acts 4:23-31, Psalm 2:1-9, John 3:1-8
Tuesday April 21, St Anselm
Acts 4:32-37, Psalm 93:1-2, 5, John 3:7-15
Wednesday April 22
Acts 5:17-26, Psalm 34:2-9, John 3:16-21
Thursday April 23, St George and St Adalbert
Acts 5:27-33, Psalm 34:2, 9, 17-20, John 3:31-36
Friday April 24, St Fidelis of Sigmaringen
Acts 5:34-42, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14, John 6:1-15
Saturday April 25, St Mark
1 Peter 5:5-14, Psalm 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17, Mark 16:15-20
Sunday April 26, 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14, 22-33, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11, 1 Peter 1:17-21, Luke 24:13-35