8 May 2023 (MIA)

Macedonian Orthodox Church Calendar

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark

Mark was a companion and helper of the Apostle Peter in his journeys. Peter, in his first Epistle, calls him his son, not after the flesh but after the spirit (I Pet. 5:13). When Mark was with Peter in Rome, the faithful begged him to write down for them the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus, His miracles and His life. So Mark wrote his Gospel, which the Apostle Peter himself saw and testified to as true. Mark was chosen by the Apostle Peter to be bishop, and sent to Egypt to preach. And so Mark was the first preacher of the Gospel and the first bishop in Egypt. Egypt was oppressed by a thick darkness of paganism, idolatry, divination and malice. But, with the help of God, St Mark succeeded in sowing the seed of the knowledge of God in Libya, Ammonicia and Pentapolis. From Pentapolis, he went to Alexandria, whither the Spirit of God led him. In Alexandria, he succeeded in establishing the Church of God, in giving her bishops, priests and deacons and in rooting everything firmly in faithfulness and devotion.
Mark confirmed his preaching with many great miracles. When the pagans brought accusations against Mark as a destroyer of their idolatrous faith, and when the governor of the city began to search for Mark, he fled again to Pentapolis, where he continued his earlier work. After two years, Mark again returned to Alexandria, to the great joy of his faithful, whose number had already increased very greatly. Christians gave his holy relics, and through the ages they give healing to people from every pain and ill.

Catholic Calendar

Blessed Ulrika Franziska Nisch

Birth of Blessed Ulrika Franziska Nisch (1882-1913) Ulrika Franziska Nisch was born in 1882 in the village of Mittelbiberach-Oberndorf, Germany. She was admitted to the Sisters of the Cross order in 1904. She worked in the kitchen of the order. She reported numerous visions of angels and saints. Pope John-Paul II beatified her in 1987.