Feast day – October 18

 St. Luke was the author of the Gospel of St. Luke and The Acts of The Apostles. His identity as author of these books of the Bible has been confirmed by the early Church Fathers, St. Jerome, and Eusebius. He was a disciple and companion of the apostle St. Paul and accompanied him until St. Paul’s martyrdom. He has been identified inSt. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians (Col4:14) as “Luke, the beloved physician”. St. Luke was not a Jew. He was a gentile. And, therefore was able to write and communicate with the gentiles based on their tradition and customs. He lived in the Greek city of Antioch which is ancientSyria.

 He was a very well educated man and a physician by trade. He was also a very talented artist and painter. St. Luke is said to be the first painter of Christian icons. Among the icons painted by St Luke are pictures of The Blessed Mother Mary – Our Lady of Czestochowa and Our Lady of Vladimir, St. Peter,St. Paul, and other icons of Jesus and Mary.

 The Gospel of St. Luke contains many of the most well known and loved parables preached by Jesus to instruct us on our path to holiness. Among them are:

• The Parable of The Good Samaritan which describes the charity of a stranger
• The Parable of The Prodigal Son which describes the all merciful love of a father
• The Parable of The Lost Sheep explains how Jesus as the shepherd seeks the lost sinners and brings them back to his fold
• The Conversion of the repentant sinner on the cross illustrates God’s mercy and forgiveness
• The Conversion of Mary Magdalene, the repentant sinner and sister of Lazarus again illustrated God’s mercy and forgiveness

 Of all of the four gospels, we find in the Gospel of Luke a focus on the infancy of Jesus. We hear a most beautiful description of the birth of Jesus in the manger at Bethlehem surrounded by Mary, Joseph, and the barn animals. And, Luke tells us of how the shepherds were called by the angels and told of the great birth of the Messiah.

 The Gospel of Luke also shows us the great love of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In this Gospel we see the love St. Luke had for Mary and it is believed that he received the information about Mary found in his Gospel directly from Mary.

 St. Luke is the patron saint of physicians, surgeons, artists, and painters. His writing and art have provided wonderful contributions to our knowledge of the life of Jesus, Mary, and the early Church. We can express our devotion and appreciation to this wonderful saint as we wear a beautiful St. Luke saint medal.

Please follow and like us: