Canisius College Catholic Studies Program

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Today, the Church commemorates the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist. Early historians record him as living from 12-68 AD and being associated with St. Peter in the early travels of the church.

Mark's gospel is the shortest, not featuring a narrative of the birth of Jesus but, rather, starting at His Baptism. There is also a widely held view among theologians that Mark's is the first Gospel written in full, though many scholars also reject the notion that Mark himself is the author based on accounts of who mark is and how the gospel's attribution with this person came about; though, this is disputed.

The symbol most commonly associated with St. Mark is the winged lion, an allusion to his description of St. John the Baptist as "a voice of one crying out in the desert." (Mk 1:3). This traditional symbol is featured in artistic renderings of St. Mark (including the painting above), and notably at the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice.

This painting is entitled "Saint Mark" by Valentin de Boulogne, a French painter who lived from 1591–1632. It is oil on canvas, measures 47 1/4" × 57 1/2",and was likely painted between 1624–26. It is currently on loan to (but not displayed at) the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, NY. See: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/663775.

The Gospel for Daily Mass today (Mt 6:7-15) features Jesus teaching his disciples the "Our Father." Here is a performance of Tatiana Yashvili's setting of that prayer in Ukrainian by the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir(Toronto, ON), under the direction of Zhanna Zinchenko (performance was on 7 November 2015). For links to the words, including an English-alphabet transliteration, and a brief reflection on music in war-torn times and Music Mission Kiev by the composer herself, please see the comments of this post.

Отче наш (Our Father), St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir Вірую (The Creed – I Believe) (Татяна Яшвілі) (Tatiana Yashvili), performed by the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir (Свято-Миколаївська Українськ...