On this feast of St. Mark, Jesus tells His disciples to spread the good news. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Mark lived out this mission by writing a Gospel. The first reading indicates that Mark travelled together with Peter. He may have been Peter's scribe. Mark wrote the earliest and most concise Gospel. His readers were people in Rome, some of whom were persecuted.

What are the unique traits of Mark's Gospel? Mark names various emotions Jesus experienced, for example, compassion (1:41), anger (3:5), grief (3:5), wonder (6:6), love (10:21) and sorrow (14:34). Mark reveals that they were far from perfect; they were afraid and slow to understand Jesus (e.g. 4:40-41, 6:52, 8:21). Interestingly, Mark frequently uses the word "immediately"; he portrays Jesus as active, energetic and swift.

Through Mark, we see that Jesus is divine and also truly human; Jesus had strong feelings.

The disciples would later become saints; though initially, they did not grasp what Jesus was saying. Today, if we do not always hear Jesus' voice or understand His desire for us, we can be comforted by this. Jesus knows we are imperfect...but He still calls us.