St. Mark The Evangelist

It is thanks to men like St.Mark that we have the gospel stories. Mark a cousin of St. Barnabas
grew up in a household where his Mother was a follower of Jesus and he witnessed the growth of
the infant church in his mothers front room. he must have lived in exciting times witnessing many
miracles and observing new converts coming to faith. He was only a youngster at the time of
Jesus’ arrest. in fact the young man with only a linen cloth wrapped around him who ended up
scarpering away naked when the Cohort seized him is assumed to be St.Mark himself.
We find Mark accompanying his cousin Barnabas  and Paul on their first missionary journey
however, he didn't seem able to hack all the hardships and left them Perga in Pamphylia to return
to Jerusalem, something that Paul found hard to bear.

A while later as Barnabas and Paul were preparing for a second missionary journey Barnabas
broached the subject with Paul about allowing his young cousin to accompany them. Paul refused
as he didn't trust him. This caused Paul and Barnabas to split and go their separate ways. Mark
accompanied Barnabas to Cyprus. Time as they say is a great healer. and it wasn't long before
Paul and Mark were reconciled to each other and Mark was of great support to Paul when he
found himself banged up in prison.
Mark was also a great friend of St. Peter. It is believed that Mark wrote his Gospel under his
mentors influence because he gives some very in-depth insights which only Peter would have
known.
Not much is known about St. Marks later life. it is certain that he died a martyr in Alexandria where
he was the first bishop. There were many who did not want to hear the “good news” in that city,
they resented his efforts to turn the locals away from the worship of their traditional gods. so in A.D
68 they took him and placed a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets of
Alexandria  for two days until he was dead.

According to legend, in a bold act of piracy  St. Marks body was stolen in 828 by two Venetian merchants. Well that's according to one legend another says these two Venetians were given his
relics by some priests who were afraid that his relics might be damaged or destroyed by the
Saracens during the persecution of the Catholic community in Alexandria. His relics were smuggled out of Egypt by hiding them in a barrel of salted pork, which was highly unlikely to be searched by those in authority. The relics were taken to Venice where St. Mark now resides in the Basilica bearing his name.

The symbol of St.Mark is a winged lion, so on his feast day I like to make ,lion" cup cakes. Simple, easy and very tasty. See the photos to give you an idea.

Palm Sunday

I often wonder if anyone imagined how this week was going to turn out. I know Jesus knew, but did the disciples and the crowd who were part of that triumphant entry into Jerusalem? Their excitement at the things they had heard and seen over the past three years spilled over that day as they waved big palm branches and proclaimed their hosannas. Their hearts must have been full, joy, exploding all around them as they welcomed their long awaited Messiah and King.

The significance of Jesus riding a donkey and having his way paved with palm branches and cloaks would not have been wasted on some in the crowds it was a  a fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9)
"Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
Behold, your king comes to you,
Triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey."

But somehow I think they misunderstood the intentions of Jesus. They imagined that the Messiah was going to make this triumphant entry into the capital city on the feast of Passover and overthrow the rulers of their day. Once again they were going to be set free from the"overlords" who dominated their day to day living and restore the Jews to their rightful position.

We see very quickly as the week unfolds how this excited crowd very quickly turns into an angry mob who change their tune from "hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of The Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" To "Let him be crucified." Or do they?  I  always assumed  that the very same crowd who rang out the praises as Jesus arrived in the city were the same crowd who rejected him so quickly. I was very quick in my assumption that these were a fickle people but after doing some research I find myself, (as is usually the case) in error. In reading the gospels there is no real evidence to assert that this is necessarily the same crowd. Oh, I am sure there were some, who, disappointed at the lack of bloodshed and no real uprising were very quick to change their minds. But for the most part those who seemed to be baying for Christ's life were primarily made up of the Chief priests, elders, scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees and those that they could bribe or threaten into falsely accusing Jesus. I find it interesting that those who wanted to see Jesus' demise acted in "stealth" and at night when everyone else was asleep. In fact Jesus was crucified by nine in the morning, according to the gospel of Mark, just as most people were probably arousing from a nights sleep. Many would have had no idea about the shenanigans of the night before. In fact if they had
been asked they would have reported the miraculous healings's and cures that had taken place amongst them. This would have been evidence, but nobody asked for their opinion. There was a definite split in the city, two groups both holding onto their own convictions.one faithful and loyal,increasingly believing that this man truly was the Messiah as they listened to him preaching. The other filled with envy and hate, blinded by their own arrogance. Decided to circumnavigate the crowd and bring to an end this itinerant preachers rule. So when the crowds had dispersed and gone home,  in the dark of the night, they came with their clubs and weapons, ( must have been expecting trouble) to arrest him. And by morning it was all done and dusted, how smug they must have felt.

So as we enter in to this most Holy of weeks, let us lift up our hearts and sing our hosannas loud and clear to a world that is living in darkness.


To celebrate within the family, traditionally on a Palm Sunday "Pax Cakes" were distributed as people left church. These little cakes were a sign of "peace" and well wishing. Fig pudding was also eaten on this day as a reminder of the cursed fig tree, that, after Jesus found no fruit on it, he cursed it and it withered. Fig pudding is very similar to a Christmas pudding so I give a recipe for both the pax biscuits and figgy pudding.

Pax Biscuits

The recipe for pax biscuits seem to me to be more like a drop scone or scotch pancake. However there are also recipes for a shortbread type biscuit. I give the recipe here for the more traditional pax biscuit. With a modern twist!

 Ingredients
220g Self Raising Flour
Pinch of Salt
50g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
280ml Milk
Instructions
Sift the flour, salt & sugar into a large bowl.
Whisk the milk & eggs together in a separate bowl with a fork and gradually add to the dry ingredients whilst mixing on a medium speed.
Grease your griddle or frying pan with a little oil. Once hot, spoon a small amount of the batter (around 2 tablespoons) onto the griddle.
Your pancakes are ready to flip once bubbles have started to pop on top & they appear dry. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes & cook the other side for around a minute or until a golden brown.
Remove from the heat & butter. We love them with maple syrup but you can add all sorts of toppings.



Fig Pudding.

INGREDIENTS

½ teaspoon mixed spice
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons brandy
6 oz (175 g) dried figs, chopped
2 oz (50 g) self-raising flour
6 oz (175 g) fresh white breadcrumbs
4 oz (110 g) shredded beef or vegetable suet
8 oz (225 g) dates, stoned and chopped
3 oz (75 g) raisins
2 oz (50 g) preserved ginger, chopped
generous quantity of freshly grated nutmeg,



METHOD

Place the measured flour, breadcrumbs and suet in a mixing bowl.

Add the figs, dates, raisins and ginger, spices and the orange zest and mix together very thoroughly.

Next beat the eggs with the brandy and orange juice and add this to the mixture, stirring well to make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, then pack the mixture into the basin.

Cover with a double piece of buttered foil, pleated in the middle, and tie it under the rim of the basin with string. It's also a good idea to tie a piece of string across the top to make a handle.

Now place a saucepan over the heat and add boiling water from the kettle. When it comes back to the boil, put the pudding in the steamer and fit it over the saucepan.

Pop a lid on and steam the pudding for 4 hours, keeping the water at a steady simmer and topping it up when needed with boiling water from the kettle.

After 4 hours, take the pudding out of the steamer, carefully remove the buttered foil and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Now slide a palette knife all round it and turn the pudding out on to a serving plate.
Recipe courtesy of Delia Smith