St. Luke, Evangelist

For this Feast of the Evangelist St. Luke we were privileged to have at the seminary Mass Bishop Richard E. Pates as celebrant and homilist. I think that the presence of a successor of the apostles at one of our liturgies is a very special way to celebrate such a feast. In his homily today, the bishop emphasized the personal and compassionate characteristics of Luke that were crucial for the success of his ministry. St. Luke was "present, open and in touch with human nature" Bishop Pates said. These traits enabled Luke to reach many people in a profound yet caring way. St. Luke was a wonderful example of someone who "preached the truth in love."

Today's entry in the Liturgy of the Hours gives us these words about the Evangelist: "Saint Luke was born of a pagan family. Converted to the faith, he became a fellow-worker of the apostle Paul. From Saint Paul's preaching he compiled one of the gospels. He handed down an account of the beginnings of the Church in another work, the Acts of the Apostles, which tells of events up to the time of Saint Paul's first sojourn in Rome."

St. Jerome has similar remarks: "Luke, a physician of Antioch as his writings indicate, was not unskilled in the Greek language. An adherent of the apostle Paul, and companion of all his journeying, he wrote a Gospel" (On Illustrious Men, Ch. 7, Taken from newadvent.org: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm). Being born a pagan, he was at home in the Greek culture, which no doubt made him a valuabe asset as a companion of St. Paul, the "Apostle to the Gentiles." Being a physician one would seem assured that he had an extensive education. If so, Luke would also be an early example of a person who took advanced scientific knowledge and wedded it to the truths of the Gospel in an harmonious way. Granted his science would not be advanced at all given our standards today, but perhaps they were in the first century. With the significant advances in science we have today we can see questions arising in this area. Nonetheless, surely his knowledge as a physician was very helpful on the missionary path.

As St. Paul, St. Luke was not an eyewitness of our Lord during his earthly ministry. But he sought out those who were eyewitnesses, i.e. the Apostles. A couple of his emphases in the gospel are the universality of salvation brought by Jesus Christ and the need to live an authentically Christian life. Luke's gospel also contains the Canticle (Benedictus) of Zechariah (1:68-79), the Magnificat of Mary (1:46-55) and the Prophecy of Simeon (2:29-32)--each of which make up a part of Morning (Benedictus), Evening (Magnificat)and Night (Prophecy of Simeon) Prayers in the daily Liturgy of the Hours. He is depicted as a calf or ox in images and, although we don't know for sure, he is traditionally thought to be a martyr.