Monday, April 25, 2011

Happy St. Mark's Day!

Most Catholics can celebrate the feast day of a saint that shares their name. Today is St. Mark's Day.

Before I was born, my parents apparently had the plan that they would name any boys they had after the four Gospel writers. As a result, I ended up being named Mark, which is a pretty common first name for people of my generation -- there were 3 other Marks in my high school class, which out of a class of 150 is rather a lot.

As saints go, Mark is a pretty good patron to have. Mark was not one of the Twelve but came to the faith early and worked with both St. Paul and St. Peter. He also wrote the second Gospel. His works took him to Asia Minor and he was reportedly martyred in Alexandria some time after the year 60 AD. He is also associated with Venice, where St. Mark's Cathedral is located.

Of the four Gospels, Mark's is the shortest and he takes almost a Jack Webb approach to the matter. He lays out the facts of Jesus's life and pays most attention to the miracles, with less attention given to the teachings. Mark worked closely with St. Peter to write his Gospel, which is one reason why the details matter.

My parents couldn't have known that their son would some day wish to write. Although they were both clear communicators, neither were especially writerly in how they lived. Perhaps they knew something, though, when they chose my name. I do know this -- if you are going to have a patron, Mark is a pretty good one to have.

8 comments:

Douglas said...

While I'm not a Catholic, I'm still ticked off that there is no St. Douglas.

And no, that doesn't make any sense. Your point being?

Mr. D said...

LOL, Douglas! I would assume St. Douglas is the patron of crossword puzzles.

Night Writer said...

John was more prolific than Mark.

Not in the current blogosphere, though.

Mr. D said...

Not in the current blogosphere, though.

True, but St. Mitch leaves us all in the dust.

CousinDan 54915 said...

@Douglas

I recall that outside the Biblical spectre, in gangsta rap there is a Dougy Fresh but also a Marky Mark. So you have that neat descriptor going for you, which is nice.

Gino said...

there is not a St Gino, and i've found the expectations easy to live up to.

Bike Bubba said...

Count me surprised that with something like 12,000 canonized saints in Catholicism, there is no St. Gino or St. Douglas.

I googled the former, and Bing sent me to Gino's East on Superior, which is as close to Heaven as I can think of on this earth. I figure Gino might appreciate the link, too.

Mr. D said...

Count me surprised that with something like 12,000 canonized saints in Catholicism, there is no St. Gino or St. Douglas.

I figure it gives Gino something to shoot for, but he'll probably have to lay off the Rebel Yell and the Natalie Portman movies.