St. Mark was an evangelist, or Gospel writer. In fact, he was the pioneer in Gospel writing. His is the shortest and the oldest of the Gospels. Little is known of Mark except from the New Testament. He was not one of the twelve apostles, but was a member of the first Christian community. Mark had firsthand experience of the early Church and apostolic life. He was a traveling companion and assistant of Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey. Something happened to Mark on that journey, perhaps homesickness, so he returned to Jerusalem. The incident caused a quarrel between Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas, Mark’s cousin, was sympathetic toward Mark, but Paul would not hear of Mark accompanying them again. Later Paul and Mark must have been reconciled, because when Paul wrote to Timothy during his final imprisonment, he asked for Mark’s help. Mark’s Gospel was a great contribution to the Church. It included oral and written tradition concerning the words and deeds of Jesus. Mark probably secured some of his material from St. Peter. He shows Jesus as the suffering Son of God. Mark knew that to accept the Risen Jesus meant to come to terms with the cross. Jesus was glorified because he willingly allowed himself to suffer death for our salvation. Mark writes that anyone who wishes to follow Jesus must accept the cross. Mark wrote to proclaim the Good News to a community of both Jewish and Gentile Christians. His Gospel is direct and simple to read. He speaks to Christians about Jesus, who understands their difficulties and sufferings and will one day bring them to share with him eternal joy and glory. Traditionally Mark is thought to have been founder and bishop of the church of Alexandria, Egypt, where he was martyred. Over the years artists have given a symbol to each of the evangelists. Mark’s symbol is a winged lion because his Gospel begins with the story of John the Baptist who, like a roaring lion, called people to repent.

One Blood's Big Red Bus is coming back to St. Mark on Saturday, April 27th, from 3:45 PM to 7:45 PM; and again on Sunday, April 28th, from 9 AM until 2 PM. Please consider taking an hour of your time to help give life to someone by donating your blood....receive a great appreciation gift in return.

The Right to Life Group will be praying the Rosary at 11:30 AM in the Church before the noon Mass. We meet every 4th Sunday of the month to pray the Rosary. Join us to pray for the safety of all the unborn as well as the continued success of the Alpha Center.

Join us in honoring the Feast of Divine Mercy on Sunday, April 28th, beginning at 1 PM immediately after the 12 Noon Mass. There will be Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Church. Confessions will be heard at multiple stations throughout the afternoon service. Singing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 PM, then Litany to the Divine Mercy followed by Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament at approx. 4 PM.

Immediately following the 10 AM Mass on Sunday, May 5th, join us for the first May Crowning Ceremony happening in our new "Our Lady of Lourdes Prayer Garden" Lead by the Knight of Columbus Color Corps, we will process out to the grotto for the crowning. The ceremony will be officiated by Fr. Mariusz. Anyone who would like to is welcome to stay for recitation of the Rosary after the crowning ceremony.

Join Father Dominik this September 27th - October 7th on Royal Caribbean’s “Adventure of the Seas.” Enjoy a 10-night cruise from Cape Liberty sailing to Old Quebec via a tour of New England, enjoying the fall foliage. Father will be celebrating Mass for you each morning. The tour highlight is a visit to the Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre on the St. Lawrence River. Forms are available in the Narthex or reserve online at ww.AnmarTravel.com, click on Fr. Dominik/St. Mark’s Cruise, or call Annette McAuliffe at 352-653-3898.

If you have not yet completed a pledge envelope, please do so now. Envelopes are available in the Narthex. WE NEED EVERY REGISTERED PARISHIONER TO COMPLETE AN ENVELOPE. You can complete and return an envelope in 3 ways: 1) make your pledge, complete and return the envelope; 2) if you can make only a small one-time donation, enclose it with the completed envelope; 3) if you are unable to make a donation at this time, complete an envelope anyway and indicate on it "unable to pledge at this time" and return the envelope. If we do not receive an envelope from you, we must at the direction of the Diocese, contact you by mail with a letter requesting your participation. Please save both you and us the bother of having to send letters by completing an envelope as soon as possible. Thank you!

You have the opportunity right now to be a part of our new Prayer Garden which was just blessed and dedicated on February 10th by Bishop John Noonan. (Check out pictures in the Photo/Albums section.)Memorialized Paver Bricks are available in two sizes. You may donate a brick for yourself or someone else, to commemorate special occasions, or to honor or remember special loved ones. 4" x 8" brick(s) are $75 each; 8" x 8" brick(s) are $115 each. Order forms are available on the large bulletin board in the Narthex, right below the display of our new garden. Samples of the bricks are also on display in the Narthex by the forms. You can also download the order form by clicking the link above.

To our seasonal residents: Please contact the Office at least 2 months prior to leaving FL if you do not want your Offertory envelopes sent to your Florida address, or if you want them mailed to an alternate address. Envelopes are mailed out every 2 months. The next cycle to go out is May/June. The other cycles are July/August, September/October, and November/December. Either call the Office at 352-347-9317 or email to: reception@stmarkrcc.com. Thank you.

Please welcome this new program at St. Mark's to benefit the children of St. Paul's Catholic School in Leesburg. Just cut out the "Box Tops" symbol found on 100's of products you use every day. Drop the "Box Tops" into the specially marked wooden box located in the Narthex. That's all there is to it! Your efforts will go a long way in helping to provide these children with a new school bus.

We are again offering the opportunity for you to have Masses said by Father Rafal Glinkowski or Father Sebastian Hanks at our Pauline Fathers Monastery in Kittanning, PA. Fathers will be offering Masses for our St. Mark intentions. These Masses will be announced in the bulletin on the first weekend of the month following the month in which the masses were offered. If you would like to have a Mass offered in Kittanning, please stop by the Parish Office during regular office hours to complete your request.

The Adult Religious Education Ministry is drawing near the end of its 2018-2019 Season. We still have classes scheduled thru the end of May. There's sure to be one to interest everyone. These remaining classes are all afternoon classes from 2 to 4 PM. Be sure tp review the classes offered and the registration form via the link above. Please note: REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES.

Save yourself time and effort by setting up automatic payments with your financial institution. They will mail a check for your contribution directly to St. Mark. Process is as follows: You need to be enrolled for on-line banking with your financial institution, which is free of charge. Arrange authorization with your financial institution to make weekly or monthly payments to St. Mark. You will need to provide your bank your 4-digit Parishioner ID Number (which is the number printed on your envelopes); if you are unsure of your ID number, please contact the parish office. In the memo section of the bank check, please have it identified where the money is going (i.e. Weekly Offertory, St. Vincent de Paul, special collection, etc.) Please note this can only be done from a savings or checking account, NOT your credit card. Please be sure to let our office know if you no longer require the bi-monthly sets of offertory envelopes.

PLEASE RECYCLE!! You can recycle your old newspapers, magazines and office paper (including shredded) just by dropping them off in one of the big green and red bins which are located right along the drive at the northeast end of the property. NO CARDBOARD OR PLASTIC BAGS PLEASE! All profits from the recycled papers will benefits projects here at St. Mark.

If you missed getting your copy of the new Parish Directory, they will be available at the Parish Office. Parishioners who had their Lifetouch portraits taken for the Directory are entitled to a FREE copy. Other registered parishioners may purchase one for just $5.

Wedding anniversaries will no longer be allowed to be a Mass Intention; however they may be a Sanctuary Lamp Intention and the special occasion will be announced from the Altar. Anniversary blessings at Mass will continue. If you are celebrating a “SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY” in 2019, please notify the Parish Office as soon as possible to book your special occasion.

Beginning in 2019, St. Mark's Lending Library is open each Monday thru Thursday from 8:00 AM till 3:00 PM in addition to the last Sunday of each month during "Donut Sunday." The Library is now operating on an "Honor System" where you can check out and return books and other media yourself. There will not be a "Library helper" on premises. Stop by our new super comfortable location on the side of the Social Hall and check out all the many resources available to read, watch, or listen to. Entrance to the Library is thru the Social Hall only. To view our catalog, simply click the photo of the library on the left. You will be redirected to our Library Resources.

Shop our Lighthouse Rack located in the Narthex. We offer a great selection of inspirational CDs and books that come in handy as gifts or for your own personal use. Right next to the Lighthouse rack you will find a beautiful selection of "Care Notes." These are free booklets covering almost every occasion where someone needs some comfort and support.