Today, Saturday, April 25, 2026, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist. In the liturgical calendar, this is a day that calls our attention directly to the roots of the "Good News" and the primary mandate of the Church. As I sit with the readings provided by the USCCB for this feast, I am struck by how a commitment to daily Scripture does more than just offer personal peace: it fundamentally recalibrates how we perceive our place in the global family of faith.
In my work and my social media presence, I often talk about the "Global Church." But for many, the "Church" is defined by the four walls of their local parish, the specific face of their pastor, or the familiar hymns of their community. While these are beautiful and essential, they are only a small window into a vast, vibrant landscape. Daily engagement with the Word of God breaks those windows open and forces us to look at the horizon.
The Universal Mandate: Mark 16:15-20
In today’s Gospel, we hear the Risen Christ deliver the "Great Commission": “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
When we read this daily, we are reminded that the Church is, by her very nature, missionary. She does not exist for herself; she exists to be "sent." This realization shifts our perspective from a "consumer" model of faith: where we ask what the Church can do for us: to a "missionary" model, where we ask how we can participate in the Church’s global outreach.
When we see the words "the whole world," we are invited to think of the regions where the Gospel is still a new seed being planted. We think of the Pontifical Mission Societies and our role in ensuring that "every creature" has the opportunity to hear the message of salvation.
Solidarity in the Spirit: 1 Peter 5:5b-14
The first reading today from the First Letter of Peter offers a profound insight into the psychology of the global believer. St. Peter writes: “Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.”
This is the "Global Church" in its most raw form. Daily Scripture reading reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles. Whether it is a seminarian in Nigeria facing economic hardship, a sister in Thailand serving the marginalized, or a family in the Amazon seeking the Sacraments, we are bound by a common experience of faith and trial.
By immersing ourselves in these texts daily, we develop a "missionary heart." We stop seeing "foreign missions" as a charity project and start seeing them as a family obligation. We recognize that the priest serving in a remote village in Malawi is just as much "our" priest as the one in our home diocese.
The Society of St. Peter the Apostle: A Legacy of Formation
As we reflect on the Gospel's call to "proclaim," we must ask: Who will do the proclaiming? This brings us to the core mission of The Society of St. Peter the Apostle, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies.
The history of this Society is a testament to the power of seeing the Church globally. Founded in 1889 in Caen, France, by Jeanne Bigard and her mother, Stephanie Bigard, the Society was born from a response to a specific plea from a missionary bishop in Japan. Bishop Cousin realized that for the Church to truly take root, it needed "native" or local clergy: priests who were born and raised in the mission territories, who knew the language, the culture, and the hearts of the people.
The Bigards’ vision was simple yet revolutionary: Catholic communities in established areas should support the formation of seminarians in mission lands. They understood that the "Global Church" isn't just about sending westerners abroad; it’s about empowering local leaders to lead their own people.
The Impact of the Society Today:
- Support for Seminarians: Providing bursaries and financial aid for the education of thousands of young men in mission territories.
- Infrastructure: Helping to build and maintain seminaries in Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
- Religious Formation: Extending support to novices in religious orders, ensuring that the "army of the Lord" is well-trained and spiritually prepared.
Why Daily Scripture is the Engine of Support
You might wonder how reading the Bible every morning leads to supporting a seminary in a different hemisphere. The connection is the Holy Spirit, working through the Word.
When you read about the Apostles’ journeys, you realize the Church has always been a network of small, local communities connected by a shared message. Daily Scripture provides the "theological map" of this network. It humbles us (as St. Peter suggests in today’s reading) and reminds us that we are stewards, not owners, of the faith.
When we are "clothed in humility," we recognize that the growth of the Church in "mission lands" is not a side-story; it is the main story of the Church’s vitality in the 21st century. While some parts of the world see a decline in vocations, mission territories are often overflowing with young men and women eager to serve. Our role, through the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, is to ensure that no vocation is lost due to a lack of resources.
Seeing the World Through the Eyes of the Evangelist
Saint Mark, whose feast we celebrate today, was a companion to both Peter and Paul. He was a bridge-builder. His Gospel is often described as the "Gospel of Action": it is fast-paced, direct, and focused on the power of Jesus.
By reading Mark and the rest of the New Testament daily, we adopt that same sense of urgency. We realize that the mission is not "eventually"; the mission is now.
How to expand your global vision through Scripture:
- Read the Daily Readings: Use the USCCB website or a missal to follow the universal prayer of the Church.
- Pray for a Specific Mission Territory: Each week, pick a country where the Church is growing and offer your Scripture reflection for the priests and religious there.
- Learn the Names: Familiarize yourself with the stories of the saints from mission lands, such as the Ugandan Martyrs or St. Lorenzo Ruiz, to see how the Word has taken root globally.
A Call to Matter-of-Fact Action
The work of The Pontifical Mission Societies is not based on fleeting emotion but on the steady, daily commitment of the faithful. If you feel moved by the mandate in today’s Gospel to "go into the whole world," I invite you to consider a practical response through the Society of St. Peter the Apostle.
The formation of a priest is a multi-year journey of academic, human, and spiritual growth. In many mission territories, the cost of one year of seminary training is surprisingly modest by Western standards, yet it is often beyond the reach of local families and dioceses.
By supporting this work, you are directly answering Christ's call to ensure the Gospel is proclaimed. You are becoming a modern-day co-worker with St. Mark, ensuring that the "Good News" continues to reach every creature.
Contact Information and Resources:
- The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States
- Address: 70 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018
- Phone: (212) 563-2200
- Website: www.propfaith.org
Let us pray today that our daily engagement with the Word of God would strip away our parochialism and replace it with a truly "Catholic": that is, universal: heart. May we see the Global Church not as a distant abstraction, but as our own family, deserving of our prayers, our attention, and our support.
– Fr. Deji