The Gospel of Mark

Preparing an issue of Echoing the Word focussed entirely on the Scriptures touches on the heartland of my spirituality as a Daughter of St Paul. The Founder of the Daughters of St Paul, Blessed James Alberione, placed great importance on the Word of God. He strongly believed that all people should have the possibility of knowing the Christian Scriptures and of encountering Jesus through the Gospels.

In each of the next three years the first issue of Echoing the Word will be dedicated to bringing you up-to-date scholarship on the the synoptic Gospel of that year. It will also bring you a range of teaching resources and activities that will be valuable throughout the year. This year we begin with the Gospel of Mark, the shortest of the four Gospels.

Fr. Michael Trainor's feature article is a great place to start for your own reflection and for all of your religious education colleagues. Margaret Carswell provides several ideas on how to begin looking at Mark's Gospel with students of different ages and Jan Grajczonek has once again reviewed some great books to use in the classroom.

In preparing this issue on the Gospel of Mark, I was reminded of how important it is that educators stay in touch with current and sound Catholic biblical scholarship - particularly in the area of the Gospels. In 2006, all students of Catholic schools and parishes are encouraged to become familiar with the Scriptures and to discover the person of Jesus through them. We have a treasure to hand on. The Gospels are our story; they are our history and they are also our future.

In Christ Jesus,

Editor