What does “Gospel” mean? “The word ‘gospel’ means good tidings, the good news God sends to mankind through his Son. The content of this good news is, in the first place, Jesus Christ himself, his words and his actions.” [1] The term used in the Greek is euangelizo and it is actually a verb that means to announce good news. We must remember that the gospel is something to be shared.
Who wrote the Gospels? “The Gospels were written by men who were among the first to have the faith and wanted to share it with others.” [2] “The four Gospels are the books written by the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which have for their central object Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son: his life, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church’s beginnings under the Spirit’s guidance.” [3] We hold the tradition that Matthew and John were written by the apostles Matthew and John who were by the side of Jesus throughout his life. Luke and Mark were written by followers of Paul and Peter respectively. They were given the Apostolic Tradition of the true teachings of Christ. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are commonly referred to as the “synoptic gospels” because they are relatively in sync with their stories of Christ. The gospel of John stands in its own category.
Activity – Memorize the Gospel with the animal
Each of the gospel writers has a unique animal that represents them. The imagery of the animals and the gospel writers comes from the book of Ezekiel where he speaks of seeing a vision from Heaven and the throne of God being carried by four creatures (cf. 1:1-11). It is also mentioned in the book of Revelation, “The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a human being, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.” (Rev. 4:7) Many theologians have debated which animal belongs to which writer, but we normally follow the thought of St. Jerome: Matthew-Angel, Mark-Lion, Luke-Ox and John-Eagle. A way to memorize which animal goes with which gospel is the acronym “ALOE”.
Angel (Matthew)
Lion (Mark)
Ox (Luke)
Eagle (John)
If you can memorize Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John then just add the letter to the book and this should help memorize and link the two. Why are the gospel writers given their specific animal and not a different one? (For example, why is Matthew connected to the Lion or Luke with the eagle)? As stated before, we follow St. Jerome’s thought. He wrote explaining why he assigned the animals the way he did by saying, “The first face of a man signifies Matthew, who began his narrative as though about a man: ‘The book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.’ The second [face signifies] Mark in whom the voice of a lion roaring in the wilderness is heard: ‘A voice of one shouting in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ The third [is the face] of the calf which prefigures that the evangelist Luke began with Zachariah the priest. The fourth [face signifies] John the evangelist who, having taken up eagle’s wings and hastening toward higher matters, discusses the Word of God.” [4]
How were the Gospels formed? The formation of the Gospels are distinguished in three categories: [5]
[1] Navarre Bible, Gospel of Mark pg. 67
[2] CCC 515
[3] CCC, Glossary, pgs. 880-881
[4] Preface to the Commentary on Matthew, summary and excerpts from N/PNF 2, 6.1036-37
[5] CCC 126
[6] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Introduction to the Gospels, pg. xvii
[7] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Introduction to the Gospels, pg. xvi
[8] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary, pg. 235
[9] CCC 514
[10] CCC 514
[11] CCC 1229
[12] CCC 139
[13] St. Therese of Lisieux, ms. Autob. A 83v.
[14] CCC 2419
[15] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Introduction to the Gospels, pg. xv