October, 2018

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention

Evangelization – The Mission of Religious That consecrated religious men and women may bestir themselves, and be present among the poor, the marginalized, and those who have no voice.

'Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this and you dissolve the unity of the Church.'

St. Thomas Aquinas

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3697914/posts?page=2

Saint of the Day — Saint Luke

Saint Luke, physician who chronicled Christ's life, to be celebrated October 18
Christmas - Gospel According to Saint Luke
Life of St. Luke the Evangelist
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Orthodox Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist
The Life Of The Holy Apostle And Evangelist Luke
It Could Be St. Luke's Body, After All.
Happy St. Luke's!
Body of St Luke Gains Credibility

Information: St. Luke

Feast Day: October 18

Born: Antioch, Turkey

Died: Greece

Major Shrine: Padua, Italy

Patron of: Artists, Physicians, Surgeons

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Thursday, October 18

Liturgical Color: Red

Today is the Feast of St. Luke the
Evangelist. He is the author of the third
Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He
accompanied St. Paul on many of his
travels, returning to Greece after Paul's
death.

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: October 18th

Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist

MASS READINGS

October 18, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Lord God, who chose Saint Luke to reveal by his preaching and writings the mystery of your love for the poor, grant that those who already glory in your name may persevere as one heart and one soul and that all nations may merit to see your salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Our Lady of Perpetual Help Icon Has Colorful History | Michael Dubruiel

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Old Calendar: St. Luke, evangelist

St. Luke, the inspired author of the third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles, was a native of Antioch in Syria and a physician, and one of the early converts from paganism. He accompanied St. Paul on a considerable part of his missionary journey. He was also his companion while in prison at Rome on two different occasions. His account of these events, contained in the Acts, is firsthand history.

Luke's Gospel is, above all, the Gospel of the Merciful Heart of Jesus. It emphasizes the fact that Christ is the salvation of all men, especially of the repentant sinner and of the lowly. Legend says that Luke painted the Blessed Virgin's portrait. It is certainly true that he painted the most beautiful word-picture of Mary ever written.

St. Luke
St. Luke came from Antioch, was a practicing physician and was one of the first converts to Christianity. He accompanied St. Paul, who converted him, on his missionary journeys and was still with him in Rome when St. Paul was in prison awaiting death. We hear no more of him afterwards and nothing is known of his last years. The Church venerates him as a Martyr.

St. Luke's Gospel is principally concerned with salvation and mercy; in it are preserved some of our Lord's most moving parables, like those of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. Dante calls St. Luke the "historian of the meekness of Christ." It is also St. Luke who tells us the greater part of what we know about our Lord's childhood.

"According to tradition he was an artist, as well as a man of letters; and with a soul alive to all the most delicate inspirations, he consecrated his pencil to the holiest use, and handed down to us the features of the Mother of God. It was an illustration worthy of the Gospel which relates to the divine Infancy; and it won for the artist a new title to the gratitude of those who never saw Jesus and Mary in the flesh. Hence St. Luke is the patron of Christian art."
-Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

St. Luke did not personally know our Lord, and like St. Mark, the author of the second Gospel, he is not included among the apostles. For this reason the Gospel chosen for their feast is the account of the sending forth of the seventy-two disciples. According to St. Jerome, St. Luke died in Achaia (Greece) at the age of 84, and it is unknown whether or not he died a martyr's death. His name means "bringer of light" (= luke).

Patron: Artists; bachelors; bookbinders; brewers; butchers; glassworkers; goldsmiths; lacemakers; notaries; painters; physicians; sculptors; stained glass workers; surgeons.

Symbols: Winged ox; winged calf; ox; picture of the Virgin; palette and brushes; phials of medicine; physician's robes; easel; book and pen; hatchet; wooden horse; books of his Gospel and of the Acts; bishop; painting an icon of our Lady.

Things to Do:

Read the Acts of the Apostles. St. Luke accompanied St. Paul on his missionary journeys — we could spiritually adopt a missionary and accompany him or her with our prayers.
See St. Luke, Evangelist and Artist for some excellent ideas on how to incorporate this feast into your family life.
St. Luke depicted Mary vividly in words. Learn and pray the three precious canticles preserved for us by him — the Benedictus, the Magnificat, and the Nunc Dimittis.
Pray for doctors and those who care for the sick through the intercession of St. Luke, patron of physicians.
Foods this day to honor St. Luke would include some beef dish, as he is known as the "ox" and is the patron of butchers. For dessert, bake some raisin Banbury Tarts to evoke the festivals of England on this day, or a cake in the shape of a book with decorations of a calf or ox for this evangelist.
Today is also known as "Sour Cakes Day" in Scotland, because baked cakes were eaten with sour cream in Rutherglen.
Around this feast is known as "St. Luke's Little Summer," a period of summer-like days that occur around October 18 named to honor the saint's feast day. It's similar to the the term "Indian Summer," which officially occurs between November 11-20). St. Luke gives us some golden days before the cold of winter.
Read more about St. Luke and his writings from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 10:1-9

Saint Luke, Evangelist (Feast)

The Kingdom of God is at hand. (Luke 10:9)

Did you know that St. Luke wrote more than 25 percent of the New Testament? In addition to the Gospel that bears his name, he also wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

In the Book of Acts, Luke offers a clear historical account of the birth and growth of the early Church. His Gospel, which follows a loosely constructed historical outline, focuses much more on telling us about Jesus’ message. Let’s look at a few of Luke’s favorite themes.

First, the message of Jesus is one of joy (Luke 1:14, 44, 47, 58). Luke alone tells the stories of the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Luke is also the only one who speaks about the joy that erupts in heaven when the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son are found (15:1-32).

Second, Jesus’ message is one of mercy. Luke tells how Jesus comforted a repentant woman who anointed his feet with perfume and how he shared a meal with Zacchaeus, a notorious tax collector (7:36-50; 19:1-10).

Third, Jesus’ message is about caring for the poor. Luke tells us that Jesus was born into poverty. He warns us about the dangers of riches (Luke 6:24). And he warns us not to get ensnared by the desire for wealth (12:16-21). His parable about the rich man and the poor Lazarus gives us a chilling image of what can happen if we close ourselves to the needy (16:19-31).

Fourth, Jesus’ message is about prayer. Luke depicts Jesus as praying at every important moment in his life: at his baptism (3:21), when he chose his apostles (6:12), at the Transfiguration (9:28-29), and in the Garden of Gethsemane (22:41).

Finally, Jesus’ message is about being filled with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist, Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and Simeon were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Just before he ascended into heaven, Jesus promised that we too will be filled (Acts 1:5, 8).

Joy. Mercy. Caring for the poor. Prayer. The Holy Spirit. These are all ways that Luke has told us that God’s kingdom is “at hand” (10:9). Let’s take hold of that kingdom today!

“Lord, fill us with your joy as we live for you today.”

2 Timothy 4:10-17
Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18

Daily Gospel Commentary

Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407)
priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
3rd Homily on the inscriptionto the Acts of the Apostles; PG 51,87

Saint Luke, the evangelist : « I have decided…to write it down in an orderly sequence» (1:3)

The reading of holy Scripture is a spiritual meadow and paradise of pleasure, far more agreeable than the paradise of former times. God has not planted this paradise on earth but in the souls of the faithful. He has not set it in Eden nor in some precise location in the East (Gn 2:8) but has spread it all over the earth and displayed it to the ends of the inhabited world. And since you understand that he has spread out holy Scripture through all the inhabited world, listen to the prophet who says: “Their voice resounds through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps 18:5; Rm 10:18)…

This paradise also has a source like the former one (Gn 2:6.10), a source from which innumerable rivers flow… Who says so ? God does, who made us the gift of all these rivers : « Whoever believes in me, » he says, « as Scripture says : rivers of water will flow from within him » (Jn 7:38)… This source has no equal, not only for its abundance but still more by its nature. In effect, these are not rivers of water but gifts of the Spirit. This source is shared amongst the souls of all the faithful yet it is not lessened. It is divided but not stanched… Wholly in all and wholly in each: these are indeed the gifts of the Spirit.

Do you want to know what the abundance of those rivers means ? Do you want to know the nature of these waters? How they differ from waters here below because they are superior and more splendid? To understand the abundance of the source listen again to Christ speaking to the Samaritan woman: “The water I shall give to one who believes will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14)… Would you like to know its nature as well? Use it! In fact it is of no use for life here below but for eternal life. So let us spend our time in this paradise: let us receive an invitation to drink from this source.

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for October 18, 2018:

Social media rules for couples: Make it clear on your profile that you are married and refer to your spouse in complimentary ways. Share your passwords with each other readily. Limit your time online.

Regnum Christi

October 18, 2018 – Me? An Apostle?

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist

Father Daniel Ray, LC

Luke 10: 1-9

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

Petition: Lord, increase my faith so that in any trial I will trust in you.

Amazing Graces: Luke, whose feast we celebrate in today’s liturgy, is the only gentile author in the New Testament. It was part of God’s design that he be chosen by God to be the author of one of the Gospels and the Book of Acts. “Who am I to receive such a grace?” Luke might easily have said to himself, marveling at the gratuitousness with which he received his role within the Church. An honest look at the great grace we have received in being called to be part of God’s Church should bring us to say the same thing: Who are we to receive such an incredible blessing?! Why did we receive this grace and our next-door neighbor did not? Why have so many souls in the history of the world never had the opportunity to know about Christ, but we have? Only one answer comes close. God wants it, and it is part of his plan of love for all mankind.

More Hands on Deck: Here is a true situation at a parish on the West Coast: After five draining hours in the confessional, the priest climbs out to verify that no one else is in line. This is the normal Sunday morning routine there. During those hours the priest was witness to several powerful conversions, souls finding peace after years of struggle, other saintly souls whose delicate consciences were cause for admiration, and still others moving along with a “more-or-less” attitude in their response to God, but who were helped by the grace of reconciliation. Many more confessions could be heard, but there simply aren’t enough priests to meet the need. The more confession is offered, the more the faithful take advantage of the opportunity, and the more the Church grows in holiness. Do we pray that God send more laborers to the harvest?

A Lamb without Sandals: Christ’s comparison almost seems cruel: “I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals….” If he considers the apostles to be like lambs, why on earth would he send them among wolves? As always, Christ wants to stretch the faith of the apostles. “My Father’s providence will take care of you and protect you” is the message he wants them to accept and live. Later he tells them to take these items with them (cf. Luke 22:36), but he also reminds them, “‘When I sent you out with no purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?’ They said, ‘Nothing.’” He wants us to rely on him, not on our own skills or talents. While we always need to apply all our God-given human intelligence and prudence, we still need to rely on God to bless our work and fill in for what is lacking.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, so much of what I’m faced with each day seems to be beyond my capabilities, yet I see clearly that you want me to continue pushing forward, trusting in your providence. This isn’t easy! Help be to have confidence in you.

Resolution: If faced with an obstacle today, I will pray for God’s assistance rather than rely only on myself.

Homily of the Day

October 18, 2018

St. Luke was the only Gentile among the four evangelists. Because of him, we have gotten to know much about Jesus’ nativity, his ministry, passion, and resurrection. We also learned a great deal about the mission works of Sts. Peter and Paul through Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. Luke’s contributions to the New Testament and to the growth of the Church are invaluable.

But perhaps we should be reminded that Luke was more a disciple than a writer. He was more of a companion and friend than a historian or fiery missionary. This is seen in the 2nd book of Timothy. At the height of Paul’s loneliness, Luke was with him. We know that Luke was a doctor of medicine and most probably treated the people who were sick during his ministry and travels from town to town.

Such was Luke that we can gather with confidence that he met every qualification he himself wrote in today’s Gospel. He was probably meek as a lamb and did not have much he could call his own. Yet he went with Paul and the other disciples from town to town and through the far reaches of the Roman Empire. He was also most likely a vibrant member of each of all of the Christian communities.

Let us thank God for Luke not only because he documented the activities of Jesus and the Apostles, but also for because he was a great disciple who, together with Sts. Peter and Paul, lit the flame of Christian faith throughout the world.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 6

<< Thursday, October 18, 2018 >>

St. Luke

2 Timothy 4:10-17
View Readings

Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18

Luke 10:1-9
Similar Reflections

DISCIPLE, DOCTOR, ARTIST,

EVANGELIST, AND MISSIONARY "I have no one with me but Luke." �2 Timothy 4:11

St. Luke was a physician (Col 4:14). Physicians usually have greater powers of observation than most other people. This enables them to make better diagnoses. Traditionally, Luke also has been known as an artist. Artists likewise have greater powers of observation.

Luke accompanied St. Paul in his missionary work (see 2 Tm 4:11). For many years, Luke saw firsthand the wondrous works of the Holy Spirit in the Church's first generation.

Luke probably completed the final editing of his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles around 85 A.D. Thus, Luke had the opportunity to witness much of the first fifty years of the Church.

Luke left his profession of being a doctor so he could give his life to the Lord as an evangelist and a missionary.

Luke's natural talents, training, missionary experience, and years of total commitment to Jesus gave him exceptional, penetrating insights into God's plan of salvation. He saw the centrality of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life (e.g. Lk 4:18; 11:13; Acts 1:8; 2:4). He recognized forgiveness (e.g. Lk 15:11ff) and prayer (e.g. Lk 18:1; Acts 1:14; 2:42) as keys to life in the Church. Luke saw how important in God's plan are the poor, the Samaritans, and women. Most importantly, Luke saw clearly that Christ's disciples are to be missionaries who live and die to proclaim the Gospel to all nations.

Read Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Look into the heart of the Gospel. Come, Holy Spirit!

Prayer: Father, let my strongest and deepest desire be to share the Gospel of Jesus.

Promise: "The Lord appointed a further seventy-two and sent them in pairs before Him to every town and place He intended to visit." —Lk 10:1

Praise: St. Luke, physician and evangelist, healed souls as well as bodies.