"Mark my words" is a phrase often used when we want to emphasise something, rather like the way famous politicians tend to say "Read my lips".
Marking words takes on a different meaning for churchgoing Catholics this year, as most of the Sunday gospel readings until the end of November apart from Lent and Eastertime and August, are from the Gospel of Saint Mark.
He comes across as a blunt "tell it like it is", no nonsense reporter, without frills or any of the kind of embellishment or ornamentation to be found in other gospels. He was probably not as well educated or sophisticated as Matthew (tax collector) or Luke (doctor) or mystical like John. It’s broadly accepted that his was the first Gospel written – so he is perhaps the purest Gospel.
Mark's main interest was clearly in the person of Jesus himself, and you can notice in the extracts read from one weekend to the next how he follows Jesus through his public ministry in Galilee, then outside Galilee and on to Jerusalem immediately before and through his passion. At the very heart of Mark’s gospel is Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is "Christ the son of the Living God" in answer to the question "Who do you say I am?" While all of the gospels are of course, Christ Centred, Mark's seems more so than the others because of the no frills, no nonsense approach I have mentioned.
So this year, don’t mark anyone else’s words, mark Mark’s.
(Comments to Tom at tomascox@eircom.net )