Feast of Saint Mark the Ascetic

Good morning. In today’s Gospel the Scribes and Pharisees are up to their usual shenanigans. The Gospel verse for today describes how the Scribes and Pharisees inquire as to where Jesus gets his authority. “…the elders approached him and said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?" (Mk 11: 27-28) I’m guessing they are challenging Jesus in this way because by this point in His public life he has become quite popular and they have grown to be rather jealous of Him. Lest we become too smug and judgmental it is not unusual for all of us to be envious at times, and the interesting thing about envy is it is often times accompanied with righteousness. We often justify our feelings of jealousy with suggestions of entitlement. “I deserve that!” It isn’t unusual to see feelings of jealousy creep into marriages. One area we often see this is in the area of money or jobs. Couples sometimes find themselves questioning who is the most successful based on salary or position or their amount of education. We sometimes forget that it is about ‘we’ and allow ourselves to be looking to where ‘I’ measure up with the other. We forget that marriage is not about whom the primary this or that is and who is the secondary this or that. We forget that marriage is about being one and lifting one another up despite what contributions we make to the marriage. Imagine the love found in a relationship free of envy, selfishness or any sense of competition. There is just no such thing as being too gentle or too kind and our Saint for today, Saint Mark the Ascetic suggests that if our intentions and actions are directed toward God, then our thoughts and actions where they involve our marriage will be on target. “Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God.” There is no room in a marriage for jealousy, selfishness or competition and if we are aiming in the right direction with God, we’ll hit the mark every time. What are you aiming for in your marriage today? Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Saint Mark the Ascetic.