The Apostles THADDEUS and MARK

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Volume 1, Bonus Issue 1g
March 2014
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T he Sanctuary S eries XIII:
The Apostle
O
Thaddeus
n the Sanctuary wall behind the altar, to the left of Christ and fifth down (or second from the
bottom) is the Apostle Thaddeus. He is the son of Cleophas (Clopas), also known as Alphaeus, and Mary, who
stood at the foot of the Cross, and, therefore a brother of both Apostles Matthew and James the Less. Cleophas/
Alphaeus is also believed to be a brother of St. Joseph, and his wife a cousin of the Virgin Mary, making all three
men cousins of our Lord Jesus.
L
ittle is known about his occupation before his call to apostleship. In fact, there is a wide disagreement
among sources: each in turn list him as a farmer, a fisherman, a carpenter. Eusebius informs us (l. 3, c. 20) that St.
Thaddeus was a married man before he was an apostle, and that two of his grandsons were priests (possibly bishops)
that lived at least until the reign of Trajan (95ad).
Y
ou may be more familiar with the name Jude of James, or Judas Jacobi (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). His brother
James the Less was better known at the time, and it is believed that he was surnamed Thaddeus, from the vulgate, or
Lebbeus, from the Greek translation of Matthew, (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18) to differentiate him from Judas Iscariot.
Indeed, in the Gospel of John, when he is mentioned, it is that he is not Judas Iscariot: “Judas (not the Iscariot) said,
‘Lord, what is this all about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ ” ( John 14:22)
T
haddeus is from a Syriac word meaning praising or confession, and Lebbeus signifies a man of wit and
understanding, or generosity, from the Hebrew “Leb” for “heart.” Equally, as Rev. Alban Butler notes, it could mean
courageous, from the Hebrew word for lion. St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373) was a devotee, and was in fact told
(in a vision) by Jesus to turn to St. Jude with faith and confidence, and that in accordance with his surname “he will
show himself to be the most willing to give you help.” And to this day he is a popular saint, known for his powerful
intercession in times of desperate need.
H
e is often depicted with a flame above his head to signify his presence in the
Upper Room at the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and with a club since legend
tells us he was clubbed to death in Persia, or Armenia under Persian rule, possibly with St.
Simon the Zealot. In any case, he shares his Feast Day with St. Simon on October 28th.
St. Jude Thaddeus is patron of hospitals, and of desperate situations and lost causes.
– Article submitted by P.M.Bilenski
Sources of Information – “The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints” Rev. Alban Butler; The Catholic Encyclopedia,
NewAdvent.org; St. Jude Network; The Catholic Company; St. Jude Shrine; Catholic Online; StJudeNovena.org
© 2014 St. Ursula Parish Communications Committee
Photo by Dee Dee Dorenkott
V
arious writers from ancient times say that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumeaea, Syria,
Mesopotamia, and Lybia, and according to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in 62ad to assist at the election of
his brother, St. Simon (of Jerusalem) as Bishop of Jerusalem. He is believed author (as usual,
not all scholars agree) of The Letter of Jude in the New Testament, and because in it he
stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult
circumstances, we call on his intercession.
T he Sanctuary S eries XIV:
The Evangelist
T
Mark
he beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The preaching of John the
Baptist. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare
your way. A voice (like the roar of a lion) of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight
his paths.’ ” [Mk 1:1-3] And so begins the Gospel of St. Mark, as he likens St. John the Baptist’s voice to that
of a lion, hence, the symbolism of St. Mark as the winged lion, one of the four living creatures surrounding the
Throne of God – the lion, ox/calf, angel/human, and eagle, each representing the Four Evangelists – Mark, Luke,
Matthew, and John [Rev (4:6-8), Ezekiel (1:5-10)]. St. Mark’s symbol is located on the large crucifix on the
sanctuary wall at Jesus’ right hand.
S
t. Mark’s Gospel, one of the four canonical, and one of three synoptic, (bearing similarity in sequence,
wording, and many of the same stories) is the most concise, and believed to have been the first written of the gospels,
(often telling Jesus’ ministry in more detail than either Matthew or Luke). Mark stresses Jesus’ message about the
1
“mystery,” or open
secret, “of the kingdom of God now breaking into human life as good news [Mk 1:14-15],
and Jesus Himself
as the Gospel of God [Mk 1:1; 8:35; 10:29]. Jesus is the Son whom God has sent to rescue
humanity by
serving and by sacrificing his life. [Mk 10:45]” Mark’s gospel lets us hear the
words of the
centurions at the cross when they realize who they have killed: “Truly this
man was the
Son of God!” [Mk 15:39]. Mark also shows us a human side of Jesus, laden with
emotions:
pity [1:44], anger [3:5], triumph [4:40], sympathy [5:36; 6:34], surprise [6,9],
admiration
[7:29; 10, 21], sadness [14:33-34], and indignation [14:48-49]. Jesus also states,
“Therefore I tell you,
all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.” [Mk 11:24]
Mark was the young man in the Garden of Gethsemane who, “casting off the linen cloth, fled from them naked”
when
they attempted to restrain him – only Mark records this event in his Gospel. [Mk 14:51-52]
Tradition holds that the persons known as Mark, John Mark, and simply John, are one in the same; Mark the
Evangelist, who is mentioned in Acts [12:12, 12:25, 13:5, 13:13, 15:37, 15:39], once in each of three letters of St. Paul
[Col 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11; and Phlm 1:24], and in the first epistle of St. Peter [1 Peter 5:13], in which St. Peter calls
Mark “his son.” However, he is simply the son of Mary, a friend of the apostle St. Peter. Mark’s mother, Mary,
was one of the original converts to Christianity, and it is in her house that many of the early Christians gathered
(e.g.,
St. Peter returned to her house after an Angel of God released him from prison [Acts 12:12-13]).
Though not one of the original twelve apostles, St. Mark (as well as St. Luke) was one of the original
seventy-two Disciples of Christ who were sent out to spread the Gospel throughout Judea [Luke 10:1-20].
When Jesus spoke: “Except a man eat my flesh and drink my blood, he is not worthy of me,” many of the seventy-two
abandoned Christ, including Mark [ John 6:51-67]. However, tradition states that it was St. Peter himself who
brought Mark back to Christ (and Luke by St. Paul). It is believed that St. Peter himself baptized Mark.
M
ark, the cousin of Barnabas [Col 4:10; Phlm 1:24], accompanied Barnabas and Paul on various missionary
journeys [Acts 12:25; 13:3; 15:36-39], and was once the cause of dissension between them, leading to Barnabas’
decision to abandon Paul when Paul refused to take Mark on his second apostolic journey [Acts 15:37-40]. Papias, St.
Origen, and other Roman historians described Mark as Peter’s disciple and his “interpreter.” He also acted as an aid to
SS. Peter and Paul in Rome. Eusebius states that Mark recorded the sermons of St. Peter, leading to the writing of the
Gospel of St. Mark, which was written shortly before 70ad in Rome. St. Mark evangelized Asia Minor and founded
the Church in Alexandria, Egypt. It is believed that he suffered a martyr’s death in 68ad, having been dragged through
the streets of Alexandria to his death. St. Mark’s body was removed from Alexandria to Venice where his holy relics
are housed in the magnificent Basilica of St. Mark in Venice, Italy. St. Mark’s feast day is celebrated on April 25th.
He is the patron saint of notaries, lawyers, Venice.
– Article submitted by Janet Fisher
Sources of Information 1. New American Bible, rev. ed.: Mark: Introduction; 2. Catholicism.About.com; 3. Wikipedia: Mark the
Evangelist, Seventy Disciples; 4. New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Mark; 5. Catholic Online: Saints & Angels: St. Mark
© 2014 St. Ursula Parish Communications Committee