His life
+ According to ancient tradition, Luke was born in Syria and was a physician.
+ A companion of Saint Paul the Apostle, he was in Rome with Paul at the time of his martyrdom. It is said that after Paul’s death, Luke traveled to Greece where he wrote his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
+ In his writings, Saint Luke presents a Christian community of equals where all things are held in common and shows us a Jesus who is a friend of sinners and outcasts (cf. Acts 2:42-44).
+ Saint Luke is believed to have died of natural causes around the year 84.
+ Honored as the patron of doctors and pharmacists, he is also celebrated as a patron of artists because of an ancient tradition that he painted the first icon of the Madonna and Child.
For prayer and reflection
“Saint Luke kept a certain historical order and revealed to us more miracles of the Lord, yet so that the history of his Gospel embraced the virtue of all wisdom. For what more excellent truth did he reveal concerning natural wisdom than that the Holy Spirit also gave rise to the divine Incarnation?”—Saint Ambrose of Milan
Spiritual bonus
On this day we also remember Saint Peter of Alcantara. A Franciscan friar, he was dedicating to recovering what he believed was the authentic spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi and he left an indelible mark on the Franciscan Order. He was also a friend of Saint Teresa of Avila, helping her in efforts to reform the Carmelite Order. He died in 1562 and was canonized in 1669. He is honored as one of the patron saints of Brazil.
Prayer
Lord God, who chose Saint Luke
to reveal by his preaching and writings
the mystery of your love for the poor,
grant that those who already glory in your name
may persevere as one heart and one soul
and that all nations may merit to see your salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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