Saints celebrated on the 22 May
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
ST MARK, HERMIT
Saint Mark (Marcus), who is said to have lived as a hermit near the monastery of Penthuenia - a location unfamiliar to us - is greatly revered by the Greeks.
HE OWNED NOTHING
Apart from a small garden next to his cell he owned nothing. He made a living from his work, which he only interrupted during the hours of prayer.
HE KEPT STRICT FASTS
He did not accept alms: "My hands," he said, "feed me and those who come to me for God's sake." He also kept very strict fasts, so that people said he was a man without physical needs.
HIS HAPPY DEATH
But he was able to continue this penitential life for 63 years. It is not known when he lived. He passed away "in peace" on May 20 or 22, according to the calendar of the Greeks.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints)
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