Without St. Luke, we may not know the Magnificat today, or the Canticle of Zechariah, or remember many of the most important Marian moments recorded in Scripture.
Want to know and love the Blessed Virgin Mary? Turn to St. Luke the Evangelist, whose feast day we celebrate on Oct. 18.
He was an early Christian convert from Antioch, a practicing physician (see Col 4:14), probably a Gentile, who made an outsized contribution to the Church.
Without St. Luke, we may not know the Magnificat today, or the Canticle of Zechariah, or remember many of the most important Marian moments recorded in Scripture. His Gospel and Acts of the Apostles are invaluable sources of the earliest history of the Church. Saint Paul depended upon him as a companion and helper, especially toward the end, shortly before Paul's martyrdom.
Salvation and mercy abound in St. Luke's Gospel, which contains some of Jesus' most beautiful parables, such as the lost sheep and the prodigal son.
We would be missing so much without St. Luke!
Simple, humble writing
It's the same throughout Christian history. People answer the call of Jesus, come to the Church to love and serve the Lord, and then leave an outsized impact on our history, on our hearts. Simple, humble service. Simple, humble writing, doing what's necessary for those engaged in ministry, in preaching, in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ - these will last until the end of the world, and into eternity.
All because someone like St. Luke heard the Word of God, converted, and persevered in following Jesus. All because someone went and spoke to Mary, went and spoke to the Mother of God who had known Jesus from the moment of His conception, and then recorded what he learned for the rest of the Church.
All because St. Luke loyally accompanied St. Paul to the end.
Universal call to holiness
Little things made great by the grace of God, by the reality of the sanctity of those with whom he served. Saint Luke was faithful to the universal call to holiness, the universal call for all Christians to evangelize, and will touch all ages as a result.
Let us ask St. Luke to pray for us, that we learn to be persevering in our commitments to the work of evangelization and building up the kingdom of God. Let us ask him to speak to the Blessed Virgin Mary on our behalf, that we learn to love Jesus as she did.
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