Today is the Feast of St. Mark. Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, accompanied St. Paul on his first missionary journey and later went with him to Rome. He was a disciple of St. Peter whose teaching was the basis for Mark’s Gospel. The Gospel reading today is the end of Mark’s Gospel, where Jesus tells the Apostles to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
In the first reading from 1 Peter 5, Peter mentions Mark. This reading is filled with great wisdom, and great advice. St. Peter writes, “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.”
The Devil is prowling around. Truer words were never spoken. So many today want to discount the work of Satan. They like to say that he is just a figment of the imagination. Actually, that in and of itself is a work of Satan. If the Devil can get us to believe that he doesn’t exist, then he is way ahead of the game. Believe me, the Devil never gets tired; he is always working in overdrive. Therefore, we must never tire in our efforts to resist him. How do we do this? Just as St. Peter said, by remaining steadfast in faith.
Father, we know that we cannot resist the Devil on our own. Give us your grace that we may banish him from our lives. Amen.
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