成人快手

Good morning.听

Today is the feast of the apostle and evangelist, St. Mark. Although his gospel is always listed as the second of the four in the Bible, scholars tell us that it was probably the earliest gospel to be written. As a result it is the shortest and most focused account of the life and ministry of Jesus.

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St. Mark is also well known as the patron saint of Venice where he is buried in St. Mark鈥檚 Basilica. No doubt many Venetians will have a good reason to celebrate this weekend when Pope John XX111 is declared a saint by Pope Francis at a ceremony in St. Peter鈥檚 Square in Rome. As Angelo Roncalli, John XX111 was the Archbishop and Patriarch of Venice until he was elected Pope in 1958. Another famous Pope will be declared a saint at the same ceremony 鈥� John Paul 11.

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When Mark wrote his gospel, all the baptized were called saints, having been 鈥渕ade whole鈥� through their faith in Jesus Christ. Suffering. Integrity, and holiness are all ways of describing the qualities which make a saint. Down through the ages saints have often revealed those qualities in lives of self-sacrifice, wisdom, and even martyrdom.

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Untold numbers of people known to God alone qualify for sainthood. The ceremony of canonization publically recognizes holiness and offers saint鈥檚 lives as an example to others of how to come close to God. The official language speaks about 鈥淗eroic Virtue鈥� as marking the identity of a saint. That description is good enough for me!

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Lord,

We praise and thank you

For the saints of this and every age

Whose lives, like seeds, dropped to the ground

Yet whose witness inspires us and bears fruit.

Amen.