Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke—the evangelist who
wrote the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. In
a special way, Luke fulfills our Psalm this morning—“Your friends make known, O
Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.” Luke did so by emphasizing in his ordered writings the poor,
women, Samaritans and others who were considered weak in the world’s eyes.
St. Luke holds a special place in
my heart as a symbol of the gift of the Sacred Scriptures God has given
us. He is represented on my
chalice, which my parents gave me for my ordination, with the symbol of the ox.
It is interesting to note that Luke
probably did not know Jesus personally.
At the same time, he can truly be called a friend of Jesus because Luke worked closely with St. Paul and Mary,
the Mother of Jesus—two of Jesus’ greatest disciples. In a different passage, Jesus says, “No longer do I call you
servants…I have called you friends…”
No one would convert the world for a master. No one would die for a master. St. Luke not only contributed to the world’s conversion but
also shed his blood for his friend.
We dare to live in friendship with
Jesus Christ. In so doing we
strive to evangelize our families, friends and coworkers, even if this costs
our very lives.
St. Luke, pray for us!
I know how significant the four evangelists are to you along with the whole subject of "friends". Thank you for this concise, meaningful commentary.
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