St Mark the Evangelist : A New Life

This is cross-posted from our sister blog The Life of Christ Our Lord. There you will be able to follow the Gospel according to St Mark, starting on his feast day, with illustrations by J-J Tissot and notes form Madame Cecilia's Scipture Manual. 

The Light of the World. Holman Hunt. c1850.
St Paul's Cathedral, London.

"Let therefore our chief endeavour be to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ"

1. He that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness,[1] saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ, which teach us to imitate His life and manners, if we would be truly enlightened, and delivered from all blindness of heart. Let therefore our chief endeavour be to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ.

2. The teaching of Christ exceeds all the doctrines of holy men; and he that hath the Spirit will find therein the hidden manna. But it happens that many, who often hear the Gospel of Christ, are yet but little affected, because they have not the Spirit of Christ. But whosoever would fully and feelingly understand the words of Christ, must endeavour to conform his life wholly to the life of Christ.

 

1. Qui sequitur me non ambulat in tenebris dicit Dominus. Hæc sunt verba Christi, quibus admonemur quatenus vitam eius et mores imitemur, si volumus veraciter illuminari, et ab omni cæcitate cordis liberari. Summum igitur studium nostrum, sit in vita Jesu meditari.

2. Doctrina Ejus omnes doctrinas Sanctorum præcellit, et qui spiritum haberet absconditum ibi manna inveniret. Sed contingit quod multi ex frequenti auditu Evangelii parvum desiderium sentiunt, quia spiritum Christi non habent. Qui autem vult plene et sapide verba Christi intelligere, oportet ut totam vitam suam illi studeat conformare.

[Book I, the Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis]

 [1]   I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Ego sum lux mundi : qui sequitur me, non ambulat in tenebris, sed habebit lumen vitae. John viii. 12.

It has become my custom to recite these words as a preamble to evening prayer, lighting a candle  at the very instant the word illuminari is uttered. At this point, I sometimes recall Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount:

But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.

Tu autem cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum tuum, et clauso ostio, ora Patrem tuum in abscondito : et Pater tuus, qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi. [Matth. vi 6]

 

Meditating on the Life of Jesus Christ

St Mark. Guido Reni. 1621. BJU, Greenville, SC, USA.

I have explored the Life of Christ in a previous series of posts, the last of which concluded in October 2020. The previous posts were based on the work in words and pictures of  l'Abbé Constant Fouard and J-J Tissot

The final line of my adopted motto (see end of post) is Ad Jesum per Mariam, and it seems that our Blessed Mother is inviting me to approach her Son Jesus through a new study, but from the perspective of my patron saint, Peter the Apostle. There is widespread agreement amongst commentators that St Mark's gospel has a particularly close connection to St Peter.[2] This, together with the providential occurrence of the the feast of St Mark today, persuaded me to explore the life of Christ as set out by St Mark, relying on a work by Madame Cecilia published in 1904 entitled The Gospel according to St Mark. I am familiar with her work because in the 1980's I acquired several hard copies in her series of scripture manuals. I gave them away but I have found a number of versions online (see Archive.org.)

[2] Papias (Eusebius, Church History III.39) asserts not later than A.D. 130, on the authority of an "elder", that Mark had been the interpreter (hermeneutes) of Peter, and wrote down accurately, though not in order, the teaching of Peter.

A short life of St Mark

Son of Mary who lived in Jerusalem...

Mark's mother was a prominent member of the infant Church at Jerusalem; it was to her house that Peter turned on his release from prison; the house was approached by a porch (pulon), there was a slave girl (paidiske), probably the portress, to open the door, and the house was a meeting-place for the brethren, "many" of whom were praying there the night St. Peter arrived from prison (Acts xii:12-13).

Peter spoke of Mark as his "son"

Mark may have been the young man who fled naked from Gethsemane [Mark xiv 51-52]

Cousin to Barnabas

Paul, Barnabas & Mark visit Antioch

Paul, Barnabas & Mark visit Pamphylia

Barnabas & Mark visit Cyprus (last mention in Acts)

AD 68: Present during Paul's last imprisonment, in Rome; 

Martyred in Alexandria

Relics transferred to Venice

Detail from the Venetian flag, showing the Lion of St Mark and the words:
"Peace be to thee Mark, my Evangelist." Tradition has it that St. Mark's
remains were transferred from Alexandria (where he suffered martyrdom)
to Venice where they are reserved in the
Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia!

It is with due acknowledgement to Michael Martin and his website, Treasury of Latin Prayers, that I reproduce his entry on the the Easter hymn of joy, the Regina Cæli:

Our Lady of Perpetual help. Papa Stronsay 2021.

The author is unknown, but the hymn has been found in manuscripts dating from the  9th and 12th centuries. One possible author in that time period is Pope Gregory V (+998). There is, however, a remarkable story attributing its composition to St. Gregory the Great. In 596, at Easter time, a plague was ravaging Rome. St. Gregory the Great called for a procession to pray for an end to the pestilence. He led the procession personally, holding the icon of Our Lady said to have been painted by St. Luke.  

The angel of Castel Sant'Angelo.  von Verschaffelt.

As he passed the Castle of Hadrian, voices could be heard from on high singing the Regina Cæli. The Pope responded in a loud voice with: "Ora pro nobis Deum. Alleluia!" 

At that moment an angel appeared and from that day the pestilence vanished. 

To commemorate this miracle, the name of the castle was then changed to Sant' Angelo and the words of the Regina Cæli were inscribed upon the roof of the Church of Ara Cœli.

Here is the hymn. The traditional concluding versicle and collect, which are not part of the original antiphon, are also given below.

REGINA cæli, lætare, alleluia:
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia.

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

 

O QUEEN of heaven rejoice! alleluia:
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, alleluia,
Hath arisen as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Gaude et lætare, Virgo Maria, alleluia,
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.

Oremus

Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum lætificare dignatus es: præsta, quæsumus; ut, per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuæ capiamus gaudia vitæ. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Let us pray

O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; grant, we beseech Thee, that through His Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam

Good Friday : An Act of Contrition

Mater Dolorosa. J-J Tissot.

Deus meus, ex toto corde pœnitet me omnium meorum peccatorum, eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum pœnas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed præsertim quia offendi Te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia Tua, de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen.

Oh my God, from all my heart I am sorry for all my sins, and I detest them, not only because in sinning, I deserve the penalties that you have justly established, but especially because I have offended Thee, who art the greatest good, and worthy beyond all my love. Therefore I firmly purpose, with the help of Thy grace, from henceforth to sin no more and flee the next occasions of sinning. Amen.

Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. J-J Tissot

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam

Christ's Bloody Sweate

Christ's Agony. J-J Tissot.

This post and the linked booklet have been prepared as a response in Holy Week to Our Saviour’s words when He suffered His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane:

And he cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and he saith to Peter: What? Could you not watch one hour with me? Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak.

Et venit ad discipulos suos, et invenit eos dormientes, et dicit Petro : Sic non potuistis una hora vigilare mecum? Vigilate, et orate ut non intretis in tentationem. Spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma. [Matth. xxvi 40-41]

 

For a PDF of the booklet, see 👉 Christ's Bloody Sweate by St. Robert Southwell

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam

David's Peccavi - Stanza 5 of 5

This is the final post in the series presenting the annotated stanzas of David's Peccavi, by St. Robert Southwell. 

Fifth Stanza

David in Prayer by Willem Vrelant.1460s

[25]  I phancy deem'd fitt guide to leade my waie

[26]  And as I deem'd I did pursue her track

[27] Witt lost his ayme and will was phancie's pray

[28] The rebell wonne the ruler went to wracke.

[29]  But now sith phancye did with follye end,

[30] Witt bought with losse will taught by witt will mend.

Notes

[25] phancy: as noun: Delusive imagination; hallucination; an illusion of the senses. Caprice, changeful mood; an instance of this, a caprice, a whim. Amorous inclination, love.

Obs. 1600 Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 63 Tell me where is fancie bred. ‘Something that pleases or entertains’ (Johnson). [OED]

As verb: To take a fancy to; to entertain a liking for; to be pleased with; to like. The connection of the word fancy to licentious uses has survived in modern English. Consider the following examples: fancy woman, a little of what you fancy.

1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. x. §8. 199 Ninus..fancied her so strongly, as (neglecting all Princely respects) he tooke her from her husband.

a1616 Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 12, I neuer yet beheld that speciall face, Which I could fancie, more then any other.[OED]

The word order in modern English would be: “I judged (my) fancy a fit guide to lead my way.”

[26] her: “phancy” or the actual object of his fancy : Bathsheba.

[27] pray: prey

[28] rebell: This refer to the choice David made within his soul to rebel against and reject what right reason (“the ruler”) revealed to him in his conscience.

[28] wracke: Damage, disaster, or injury to a person, state, etc., by reason of force, outrage, or violence; devastation, destruction. Cf. wrack and ruin.

[29] sith: since

[29] follye: folly, Foolishness or deficiency in understanding; lack of good sense. Also: unwise conduct. The OED includes some additional usage now obsolete but quite pertinent to the context: Wickedness, evil; wrongdoing; harm. Wantonness, lewdness; lechery, fornication, adultery.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 141 She turn'd to folly, and she was a whore.

1673 Reflexions on Marriage 150 Many commit those follies in Wedlock, that become matter of divertisement to some Persons, and and an extream scandal to others. [OED]

[30]: There is a remarkable compression of language here, a play on the ambiguity of the word “will,” and various interpretations as to what are the subjects and objects of the final verb “mend.” One possible paraphrase is: “I have paid dearly for greater understanding (wit) through my loss (allowing sin victory); my will has been instructed by this understanding; (and so) my will and my wit will mend.

Paraphrase of the fifth stanza

“In my mind, I decided to allow the promptings of my own desire to be my guide and, accordingly, I followed the path of desire. In doing this, I lost my reason and my will became slave to my desires. In making this choice, I allowed the rebellious spirit within me to triumph over the rule of my conscience, resulting in devastation and catastrophe. My desire was concealed in fancy dress, a fantasy that ended in crazy wantonness and evil. Allowing sin victory, I have paid dearly to attain true understanding; my will has been instructed by this understanding; and so my will and my reason have both been repaired and restored.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The study and meditation on David's Peccavi is offered in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

To see a PDF version of the five posts, see 👉 David's Peccavi

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam

David's Peccavi - Stanza 4 of 5

Fourth Stanza

David in Prayer by Willem Vrelant.1460s

[19] If wiles of witt had overwrought my will,

[20] Or sutle traynes misledd my steppes awrye

[21] My foyle had founde excuse in want of skill,

[22] Ill deede I might though not ill dome denye.

[23] But witt and will muste nowe confesse with shame,

[24] Both deede and dome to have deserved blame.

Notes

[19] wiles: from wile, A crafty, cunning, or deceitful trick; a sly, insidious, or underhand artifice; a stratagem, ruse. Formerly sometimes in somewhat wider sense: A piece of deception, a deceit, a delusion. Chiefly plural. [OED]

a1616   W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iv. iii. 10   Sure these are but imaginarie wiles, And lapland Sorcerers inhabite here. [OED]

[19] witt: The faculty of thinking and reasoning in general; mental capacity, understanding, intellect, reason. arch. 

1600 Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 203   I haue had a dreame, past the wit of man, to say; what dreame it was. [OED]

According to traditional Catholic teaching, the soul has three powers: the memory, the understanding and the will. The understanding is the intellectual or rational faculty and is higher than the will or affective faculty which expresses itself in a desire for a particular object. 

[19] overwrought: from to overwork: transitive. To influence or win over; To cause to work too hard; To make overexcited, distraught, or nervous; to agitate excessively. 

1645   J. Milton Colasterion 19   By overworking the settl'd mudd of his fancy, to make him drunk, and disgorge his vileness the more openly.

1816   Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III vii. 6   Till my brain became, In its own eddy boiling and o'erwrought, A whirling gulf of phantasy and flame. [OED]

[20] sutle: subtle : Of a person or animal: crafty, cunning, esp. in a deceitful or treacherous way; sly, wily; devious, underhand. Working imperceptibly or secretly; insidious.

1535   Bible (Coverdale) Gen. iii. A   The serpent was sotyller then all the beastes of the felde.

a1568   R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 15v   The sotle inticement of som lewd seruant. [OED]

[20] traynes:  train - Treachery, guile, deceit, trickery; prevarication. An act or scheme designed to deceive or entrap, a trick, stratagem, artifice, wile. Also: a lie, a false story.  A trap or snare for catching wild animals. Also in figurative contexts. Now rare (arch. and poet. in later use). 

1590   Spenser Faerie Queene i. vi. sig. F5   Thou cursed Miscreaunt, That hast with knightlesse guile and trecherous train Faire knighthood fowly shamed. [OED]

[21] foyle: A repulse, defeat in an onset or enterprise; A disgrace, stigma.

1573   G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 13   Considering what a foul shame and foil it had alreddi bene unto me. [OED]

[21] skill: Knowledge or understanding of something. Now archaic.

1587   Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxvii. 495   If thou eate of the tree of the skill of good and euill. [OED]

[22]  Ill: Morally evil; wicked, iniquitous, depraved, vicious, immoral, blameworthy, reprehensible.

1548   Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxixv   To amende and chaung his yll life.

[22] dome: Personal or private judgement, opinion. The faculty of judging; judgement, discrimination, discernment. Obsolete.

1596   E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. x. sig. K   The which did seeme vnto my simple doome, The onely pleasant and delightfull place. [OED]

Paraphrase of the fourth stanza

“If it were just the case that mental delusions had overexcited my will, or that insidious allurements had led me astray, then I might have been able to offer a lack of judgement as an excuse for my moral failure. I could then deny the charge of committing an evil act and plead guilty to poor judgement. But when I sincerely consider the thoughts in my mind and the desires of my will, I am shamed into confessing that I am guilty in both thought and deed.”

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam

David's Peccavi - Stanza 3 of 5

Third Stanza

David in Prayer by Willem Vrelant.1460s

[13] This is the change of my ill changed choise

[14] Ruth for my rest, for comforts cares I finde

[15] To pleasinge tunes succeedes a playninge voyce

[16] The doleful Eccho of my waylinge minde

[17] Which taught to know the worth of Vertues joyes

[18] Doth hate it self for lovinge phancies toyes.

[13] change:  The primary meaning here may be an exchange: the action of substituting one thing for another. 

1533   T. More Answere Poysened Bk. i. vii. f. xxiiiiv   They were not so gladde to put away theyr fawte, as to make a chaunge of one fawte for an other.

The sense then becomes: This is what I suffered in exchange when I chose to make an ill-advised change… 

Another meaning which might be read into the text is change as death, considered as a substitution of one state of existence for another. Obsolete. [OED]

1565   W. Allen Def. & Declar. Doctr. Purgatory i. vii. f. 65v   The fiere of loue in his lyefe tyme had such force in him, that the amending fyer after his chaunge should take no houlde of him at all. [OED]

This would link the idea back to the last two lines of the previous stanza:

My sleape is rather death then deathes allye

Yet kild with murdring pangues I cannot dye.

[13] choise: choice

[14] Ruth: Matter for sorrow or regret; occasion of sorrow or regret. Mischief; calamity; ruin. Obsolete. Sorrow, grief, distress; lamentation. Obsolete. [OED]

1591   Spenser tr. Petrarch Visions ii, in Complaints sig. Z2   O how great ruth and sorrowfull assay, Doth vex my spirite with perplexitie. [OED]

[15] playninge:  Displaying sorrowful emotion; sorrowfully lamenting; or ? moving pity, piteous. Obsolete.

1597   W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iii. 168   It bootes thee not to be compassionate, After our sentence playning comes too late. [OED]

[16] waylinge: wailing, expressing lamentation.

[17] Vertues joyes : This recalls the couplet in the first stanza:

Sometime o blissfull tyme was vertues meede

Ayme to my thoughtes guide to my word and deede.

[18] phancies : fancy’s: fancy : Delusive imagination; hallucination; an instance of this; = fantasy. In early use synonymous with imagination. Caprice, changeful mood; an instance of this, a caprice, a whim. Amorous inclination, love. Obs. Each of these could apply in the case of David’s enamourment.

1579   G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 86   A foolish madd worlde, wherein all thinges ar overrulid by fansye.

1600   Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 63   Tell me where is fancie bred. [OED]

[18] toyes: Amorous behaviour or sexual activity, caressing; dalliance, flirtation. Also: an act or instance of this. Obsolete.

c1525   Bk. Mayd Emlyn sig. B.ii   She was full ranke..In Venus toyes Was all her Ioyes. [OED]

A matter or thing of little or no value or importance, a trifle; a foolish or senseless affair, subject, etc.; (in plural): something which is superficially attractive or draws a person's attention, but is of little or no intrinsic or spiritual value.

a1616   W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. iii. 93   From this instant, There's nothing serious in Mortalitie: All is but Toyes.

Free interpretation of the third stanza

“This is the exchange I made in my ill-advised choice when I swapped Virtue’s reward for my own selfish pleasures: peace and tranquillity exchanged for regret and sorrow; comfort and consolation exchanged for care and anxiety; sweet and pleasing harmony exchanged for bitter and lamentable discord; a grim and sorrowful echoing of dark and mournful thoughts in a mind taught to know the value of Virtue’s joys but which now detests itself for yielding to the pleasures of love and of the flesh, Fancy’s toys.”

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam