Oct 18 – XXI Sun of Pentecost / S Luke

It's the Feast of XXI Sun of Pentecost / St. Luke, 2nd Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: the meditation: "Divine Mercy", today's news from the Church: "The Appeal Against the Decree of Excommunication is Ongoing in Rome", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? [email protected] Sources Used Today:

"Divine Mercy" — From the Assumption to Adventhttps://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption

"The Appeal Against the Decree of Excommunication is Ongoing in Rome" (FSSPX.news) https://fsspx.news/en/news/communique-general-house-appeal-against-decree-excommunication-ongoing-rome-61602

The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press) https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop

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Saint Luke is traditionally remembered as a physician, a companion of Saint Paul, and the author of the third Gospel. But what makes him especially interesting is how differently he tells the story of Jesus compared with the other Evangelists.

For one thing, Luke wasn't writing primarily for a Jewish audience.

Matthew constantly points back to Old Testament prophecies, showing how Jesus fulfills the promises made to Israel. Luke certainly does that too, but he writes with a particular concern for the wider Greek-speaking world. His Gospel emphasizes that Christ came not only for Israel, but for every nation.

And he tells us something unusual right at the beginning.

Luke opens his Gospel almost like a historian. He explains that he has investigated the accounts handed down by eyewitnesses and carefully arranged them for a man named Theophilus, so that he can know the certainty of what he has been taught.

That's quite different from Mark, who launches almost immediately into John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness.

Luke also gives us stories we wouldn't have without him.

The Annunciation.

The Visitation.

The shepherds at Bethlehem.

The finding of Jesus in the Temple.

In fact, much of what Catholics know about the early life of Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin comes from Luke alone. Ancient Christian tradition has even suggested that Luke learned some of these details directly from Mary, although Scripture doesn't explicitly tell us that.

Then there are his parables.

The Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the Rich Man and Lazarus are all found only in Luke. Notice what they have in common: mercy, repentance, wealth, poverty, and the surprising ways God turns human expectations upside down.

Luke is especially attentive to people society overlooks.

Women appear prominently throughout his Gospel. So do the poor, tax collectors, Samaritans, and sinners. His account repeatedly shows Christ seeking people whom others have dismissed.

And Luke's story doesn't end with the Resurrection.

He also wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

That's a fascinating detail because Luke effectively gave the Church a two-volume history. His Gospel tells what Christ did during His earthly ministry. Acts shows how the risen Christ continued His work through the Apostles and the Holy Ghost.

Together, those two books make up more than a quarter of the New Testament.

There's also an old tradition that Luke painted the first image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Several famous icons, including ones venerated in Rome and the Christian East, have been attributed to him, although those artistic attributions cannot be historically verified.

That tradition is fitting, though.

Luke's Gospel has given Christian artists some of their most beloved scenes for nearly two thousand years.

Without Luke, we would know far less about Bethlehem, Our Lady's early experiences, the mercy of Christ, and the beginnings of the Church.

Saint Luke the Evangelist, faithful historian of Christ and herald of God's mercy, pray for us.

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