Memory of the apostles

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist and author of the Acts of the Apostles. According to tradition, he was a physician and a painter.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 1,1-4

Seeing that many others have undertaken to draw up accounts of the events that have reached their fulfilment among us, as these were handed down to us by those who from the outset were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, I in my turn, after carefully going over the whole story from the beginning, have decided to write an ordered account for you, Theophilus, so that your Excellency may learn how well founded the teaching is that you have received.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Today the church remembers Luke, author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. The words we have heard are the beginning of Luke's Gospel account. From them, already we catch a glimpse of the reverence with which Luke approaches the Word of God. He is far from seeking to promote himself or make his presence noticed. He does not even state his name. He certainly belongs to the educated class of his time and knows the great historical and literary works. He however considers himself a minister at the service of the Word that he wants to transmit with absolute fidelity to all those who, like him, may have not known Jesus personally, but who have experienced him in faith within the Christian community. Some affirm that he may be one of the seventy-two or one of the disciples of Emmaus. He is also said to have painted the first portrait of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Church, receiving this work of his among the holy Books, has recognized in him a believer inspired by God who tried to connect the Christian message with the culture of his time. Luke, mentioned in the second Letter to Timothy (4:11), collects in his writings the witness of the apostles to the Lord and to the first communities, especially those founded by Paul, of whom he had become a follower. In his Gospel, Luke communicates to us the growth of the community of disciples, who were attracted by Jesus' mercy, by his limitless compassion for the poor and sick, no one excluded. Luke attests to the miracle of this merciful love that still today, also through his written work, continues to heal the hearts of many. His Gospel, which reports on what Jesus said and did, and the Acts of the Apostles, which follow the events of the Christian community from Jerusalem to Rome, are a living witness of the history of the Church, which, moved by the Holy Spirit, has no fear of trusting in the Lord and of communicating the good news until the ends of the earth.