Homily for the Feast of St. Mark
April 25, 2023
1 Pet 5: 5-14
Mark 16: 15-20
Christian Brothers, St.
Joseph Residence, New Rochelle
“Your
opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone
to devour” (1 Pet 5: 8).
Today’s
image might well be the lion. St. Peter compares
the destructive power of Satan to the strength and vicious appetite of a hungry
lion. Our Lord Jesus, whom the Book of
Revelation calls “the Lion of Judah” (5:5)—that came up in the Office of
Readings on Saturday—“has taken his seat at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19)
to empower all believers to overcome the roaring lion that hunts our
souls. The Lion of Judah is more
powerful than Satan.
And the lion is the symbol of St. Mark (as well as of Mark’s city Venice), who preached the Gospel of Christ’s victory and left us a record of his preaching, which expresses “the mighty hand of God” (1 Pet 5:6) at work in Christ and in the living Word “preached everywhere” and confirmed by the lives of believers (Mark 16:20). Our lives as disciples of Jesus are the surest sign that Jesus accompanies us, that the mighty hand of God cares for us.
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