St Luke

Today we remember the holy apostle and evangelist, Luke.

A physician by profession, Luke was schooled in Tarsus, which ranked with Athens and Alexandria as a center of learning. He was a gentile, and probably Greek by birth. In the east, Luke is regarded as an artist. Tradition preserves an account of an icon which Luke painted of the Theotokos during her lifetime. Pious belief traces to this prototype several icons, such as the one called the Vladimir Mother of God, some icons on Athos, and one in Rome.

From the many references in the letters of St Paul, we surmise that Paul and Luke were close friends and travelling companions on several missionary journeys throughout Gentile territory. Luke preserved an account of these travels in the Acts of the Apostles. The third Gospel is also his work. Luke’s Gospel relates Christ’s life and message in a manner that reflects a strong compassion for the poor and outcast, and a spirit both joyful and urbane, qualities no doubt present in his own life as a physician and follower of Christ (NS)

St Luke

“Luke’s Gospel is marked by a special concern for the poor, the marginalized, women, and social outcasts. His account of the nativity, with its stress on the faith of Mary, emphasizes the humbleness of Jesus’ birth and its significance in fulfilling the hopes of the poor. It is in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus preaches, “Blessed are the poor” and where we find the parable of the rich man and the poor beggar Lazarus, offering such a striking image of the relation between mercy and justice in this life and in the life to come.”
– Blessed Among Us, by Roger Ellsberg, p. 600.

Saint Luke

Today the church remembers Saint Luke, the apostle and evangelist, “Scriba Mansuetudinis Christi” [writers of Christ’s gentleness] (Dante).

Known as the physician and evangelist of mercy.

History tells us that Saint Luke was a native of Syrian Antioch, and that he was a companion of the Apostle Paul (Phil.1:24, 2 Tim. 4:10-11). The Church historian and Father Eusebius (AD 260-340), described Luke in this manner: “Luke, who was by race an Antiochian and a physician by profession, was long a companion of Paul, and had careful conversation with the other Apostles, and in two books left us examples of the medicine for the souls which he had gained from them” (Eccl. Hist. 3.4.6; LCL 1:197)

One of the many key elements of Saint Luke’s Gospel and his Acts, is the reality of sacrifice that we all are forced to confront in our lives. No life has meaning without sacrifice. Hence, Saint Luke is also pictured with the symbol of the ox, a symbol of sacrifice connecting with the sacrifice of Jesus. Some scholars say the earliest date of Luke’s death is AD 84.

Saint Ananias

The Holy Apostle Ananias of the Seventy, baptizer of Saint Paul and the first bishop of Damascus. Saint Ananias is not a name Christians have on their lips. But they should. He is key in teaching what true faith in Jesus Christ meant. Today is the Byzantine Church’s observance for the saint yet the Latins celebrate him on January 25 –the same day as Saint Paul’s conversion, according to the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology.

The Lord ordered him to restore the sight of Saul, the former persecutor of Christians, then baptize him (Acts 9:10-19, 22:12). Saul became the great preacher and Apostle Paul –our first theologian. It is said that Saint Ananias boldly and openly confessed Christianity before the Jews and the pagans, despite the danger to his life and to the nascent community of Christian faith.

From Damascus Ananias went to preach at Eleutheropolis where he healed many people of their infirmities. Lucian, the prefect of the city, tried to persuade Ananias to offer sacrifice to idols. Because of Ananias’ staunch and solid confession of Jesus Christ, Lucian ordered that he be tortured. Harsh torments did not sway the witness of Truth. Then the torturers led him out beyond the city, where they stoned him. The saint prayed for those who put him to death. The relics first rested in Damascus before being transferred to Constantinople.

Saint Luke

We have in Saint Luke a man concerned to communicate the mercy of God.

With the Church we pray,

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.

Let’s offer a prayer today, do a charitable act, spend quality time with another on this feast of Saint Luke. As one of the Evangelists, Luke is known for his devotion to the Mother of God, to the poor and to evangelization. Saint Luke’s gospel and the sequel, The Acts, are works of hope and fidelity to the Lord’s promises. He is the patron of artists, students, doctors and butchers. His concern is ours.

Saint Luke the Evangelist

[Saint Luke] told of the power of the Lord, and his praise. (MP resp.)

Saint Luke is known to have brought light to a dark world with the writing of his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. As a disciple of Saint Paul, much of early Christian life that appears in Luke-Acts is due to this connection.

The particulars of his life are fuzzy, at least in this sense: we know he was born into a pagan (that is, unbelieving) family in Antioch and that he was a doctor of some sort and that he’s reported to have been an early convert to Christianity. His work as a painter, life and death are not well known. We commonly attribute a picture to Luke but certainty doesn’t exist. Some say he was martyred and others say Luke died of natural causes. The date of death is thought to be around AD 74. Saint Luke’s relics are venerated in Padua.

Saint Luke’s feastday is a traditional day to pray for healthcare professionals but also for artists, brewers,goldsmiths and laceworkers.

Saint Luke

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 the nations may merits to see Your salvation.

Today, let us pray for healthcare professionals, hospital chaplains and those others who care for the ill through Saint Luke’s intercession.

Saint Luke

Adrienne von Speyer speaks of Saint Luke in her Book of All Saints. There, von Speyer notes Luke’s “confessional attitude toward the Lord.” In another place she calls to mind that Saint Luke serves the Lord and the early Church -indeed all of humanity–with his whole being, completely spending himself. But he performs his service in a posture of dependence: he shows us what it means to be dependent on the Lord, the One who redeems us.

Subordinate to Saint Paul’s goodness, Luke learns from Paul that the Christ is only source on which to depend. It, therefore, it can be said that as a student of Paul, Saint Luke does everything to reflect what he’s been taught.

As Luke did everything “ad majorem gloriam Pauli,” so we must be humble enough to do whatever the Lord asks in obedience.