The Holy Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Luke. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Fortitude so he can zealously proclaim Christ to the world and by pursuing the Virtue of Piety so he can always seek the intercession of the Saints.
Liturgy
Feast of St. Luke – October 18 – Lk 10:1-9
Commentary
Having sent out His 12 Apostles on a similar mission (Lk 9:1-6), Jesus commissions an expanded group of 70 disciples on a second wave of evangelization. Jesus’ decision to send 70 men is prophetic: Moses appointed 70 men as elders (Num 11:24-25); Genesis describes the ancient world as having 70 nations (Gen 10), which Jesus will command to be evangelized (Mt 24:47).
Jesus confidently directs His 70 men (no women are sent on this dangerous mission) with precise instructions: He warns of attacks on evangelists (the wolves) and that people and whole cities will reject the Gospel, resulting in their doom (v. 12; see also v. 13-16); He tells the disciples to go in poverty (no purse, bag, sandals) and to rely on charity, establishing a firm base in each town with one receptive man; He directs them to miraculously heal the sick and to reveal the Kingdom of God has drawn near to them.
St. Luke was a Roman citizen, trained as a physician, was a disciple of St. Paul (Phil 1:24, Col 4:14, 2 Tim 4:11), experienced the many persecutions of Paul, and cared for him during his imprisonment. Charged by St. Paul to write an account of the Gospel and early Church, St. Luke was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write The Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles, which make up about a quarter of the New Testament. Using the discipline of a physician, St. Luke carefully incorporated existing Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark) as well as eyewitnesses (including the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Peter, St. Paul). St. Luke died of old age and his relics continue to be venerated at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague and several other places.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Be awed by how Jesus, with Divine Power and Knowledge, creates St. Luke at a precise time and with precise talents to fulfill the mission He gives St. Luke: as a physician, St. Luke sustains Paul by caring for his injuries and ailments; St. Luke’s physician training prepares him to write a systematic and disciplined account of the faith (Gospel of Luke/Acts); St. Luke incorporates the Blessed Virgin Mary’s accounts of Jesus’ early life and first-hand accounts of St. Peter and St. Paul’s establishment of the early Church; as a Greek, St. Luke is able to write in a way non-Jews will be able to understand.
Grow in fortitude to zealously proclaim Christ
Realize: Like the 70 men Jesus sent out as disciples, Luke was a zealous missionary witness for Him.
Believe: Reflect upon being a Missionary Witness (CCC 2044-2051) and the need for Zeal (CCC 584, 824, 2004, 2750).
Pray: St. Luke, pray that I grow in the Virtue of Fortitude so I, and every Catholic man, zealously take up the magnificent work of evangelization, I courageously persevere to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, and I patiently endure rejection and persecution as I seek to draw many to Jesus and His Holy Catholic Church.
Seek the intercession of the Saints
Realize: In the Communion of Saints, every Catholic man is blessed to be able to strive to imitate and seek the intercession of the Saints, the greatest human beings who have ever lived.
Believe: Reflect upon the Communion of the Saints (CCC 946-962, 2683) and Patron Saints (CCC 2156, 2165).
Pray: St. Luke, pray that I grow in the Virtue of Piety (a part of Justice) so I honor the Saints and I develop a veneration for those Saints who can help in my own particular struggles in the Spiritual Combat.