Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 25, 2026
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
As a Dominican Friar, the line, “They went forth and preached everywhere,” speaks to the very core of my being. When Saint Dominic was given papal approval for the Order of Preachers, he immediately sent out the brethren, some of whom had been with him for years, to preach throughout Europe. He is often quoted as saying, “Gathered grain rots,” as justification for his decision.
So often, we can deceive ourselves into believing that we are not ready, qualified, or able to share the Good News of Jesus with others. We perceive our sins, our lack of training or education, our inexperience, and ineloquence as disqualifying.
When Saint Dominic sent the first friars out, it was in emulation of the apostles going forth: All they had was an encounter with the Risen Lord, and they were a part of the church. That was more than enough.
Little is known for certain of Saint Mark, yet we know from his Gospel that he knew the risen Lord and the disciples and apostles. That was enough. Today, in celebration of Saint Mark’s feast day and in response to the invitation of Jesus, go into the world and proclaim the Gospel. You are enough. The Gospel is enough.
Prayer
Guide us, Lord, in your ways during these Easter days. Like Saint Mark, may we share the new life you give us through water and the Spirit and so help others to know the blessings of your presence. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Saint of the Day
St. Mark is the author of the earliest record of Jesus’ life and death that we have in Scripture.
Some believe he is the young man who makes an appearance in that Gospel’s account of the arrest of Jesus (Mark 14:51-52)—the young man who was nearly captured but escaped.
Known also as John Mark, he was a follower of St. Peter and makes other appearances in the Scriptural accounts of the early Church (Acts 12:25). He and his mother were important figures in the early Christian community—his mother’s house was a gathering place for followers, for example.
He traveled with Peter to Rome and he also accompanied Paul and Barnabus, who was Mark’s cousin, to Cyprus as they preached the good news. Tradition tells that he established the Church in Alexandria where he served as bishop, founded the first famous Christian school, and was later martyred. Because of the tradition linking Mark to Egypt, he is one of the chief saints of the Coptic Christian Church.
His Gospel was composed sometime around the year 70, and it seems to have been intended for a non-Jewish audience facing persecution. Some ancient writers describe Mark as Peter’s interpreter—that Mark's Gospel was written from Peter's eyewitness account of Jesus' life.
All four of the Gospel writers are depicted with a symbol that comes from imagery in the Book of Revelation (4:7): a lion, a calf, a human, and an eagle. Mark’s emblem is the lion because his Gospel begins with a scene in the desert, and the lion is considered lord of the desert.
The city of Venice, Italy, is said to hold his body, and relics of St. Mark also rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus. Mark is depicted in several places on campus, most notably in this painting from the ceiling of the Basilica.
St. Mark, the first Evangelist to write down the story of Jesus's life—pray for us!