St. Luke

Luke was not one of the Twelve Apostles.

He did not grow up walking beside Jesus in Galilee.

But he became one of the great storytellers of the Gospel.

Luke was a physician and a companion of St. Paul.

He listened carefully.

He investigated.

He gathered testimony.

And then he wrote.

Through his Gospel, generations of Christians came to know some of the most beloved stories in the Bible:

the Annunciation,

the Visitation,

the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem,

the Good Samaritan,

the Prodigal Son,

the repentant thief on the Cross,

and the disciples meeting the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.

Luke had a special eye for mercy.

Again and again, he showed Jesus seeking the lost, welcoming sinners, lifting up the poor, and bringing hope to those others ignored.

Then Luke continued the story in the Acts of the Apostles, showing how the Holy Spirit carried the Gospel from Jerusalem outward to the nations.

The physician became an evangelist.

And through his words, countless people have encountered Jesus Christ.

St. Luke, pray for us.

Who Was St. Luke?

St. Luke was an early Christian, physician, evangelist, and companion of St. Paul.

The New Testament refers to Luke as the “beloved physician.”

He traveled with Paul during parts of his missionary journeys and remained closely associated with the apostolic mission.

Luke is traditionally identified as the author of both the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

Together, these two books make up a major portion of the New Testament.

Luke the Physician

St. Paul refers to Luke as a physician.

That detail has made Luke especially beloved by doctors, nurses, and others who care for the sick.

His Gospel also shows a strong concern for human suffering.

Luke notices the sick.

The poor.

Widows.

Sinners.

Outsiders.

People who had been pushed to the margins.

Again and again, he shows Jesus moving toward them with mercy.

Luke and the Virgin Mary

Luke's Gospel contains some of the richest biblical passages about the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It is Luke who tells us about the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary.

Luke records the Visitation and Elizabeth’s greeting:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

He gives us Mary’s Magnificat.

He tells us about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the shepherds, the Presentation in the Temple, and the finding of the Child Jesus.

Because of these details, Christian tradition has often associated Luke especially closely with Mary.

The Gospel of Mercy

Luke’s Gospel is sometimes called the Gospel of Mercy because of the way it emphasizes the compassion of Christ.

Some of Jesus’ most famous parables appear only in Luke.

The Good Samaritan teaches us to love the neighbor in front of us.

The Prodigal Son reveals the mercy of the Father.

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector warns against spiritual pride.

Luke also tells us about Zacchaeus, a tax collector whose encounter with Jesus changed his life.

Again and again, Luke shows that no sinner is beyond the reach of grace.

The Birth of Jesus

Without Luke, our picture of Christmas would be very different.

Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem.

He tells us that Jesus was laid in a manger.

He tells us that angels appeared to shepherds.

He gives us the words:

“Glory to God in the highest.”

His Gospel has shaped Christian prayer, art, music, and devotion for centuries.

The Road to Emmaus

Luke also gives us one of the most beautiful Resurrection stories.

Two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem when the risen Jesus joins them.

At first, they do not recognize Him.

Jesus explains the Scriptures to them.

Then, when He sits with them at table and breaks the bread, their eyes are opened.

The story brings together two central parts of Christian life:

the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread.

Luke shows the risen Christ meeting His disciples in both.

The Acts of the Apostles

Luke did not stop his story with the Resurrection.

He continued it in the Acts of the Apostles.

Acts begins with the Ascension and then describes the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Luke tells how the apostles preached the Gospel, how the early Church grew, and how missionaries carried the faith outward.

Much of Acts follows the ministry of St. Paul.

Because Luke traveled with Paul, parts of Acts shift into the first person plural, speaking of what “we” did.

These passages give us a remarkable glimpse into the life of the apostolic mission.

Luke the Historian

At the beginning of his Gospel, Luke explains that he investigated the events carefully and arranged an orderly account.

He wanted his reader to have confidence in what had been taught.

Luke was not writing modern history in exactly the way historians do today.

But he clearly cared about testimony, sequence, places, people, and real events.

Christian faith, for Luke, was rooted in things God had actually done in history.

Was St. Luke an Artist?

A later Christian tradition says that Luke painted an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Child.

For this reason, he became a patron saint of artists and iconographers.

The historical evidence for Luke personally painting such an image is uncertain.

But the tradition reflects the Church’s long association of Luke with the visual and narrative beauty of the Gospel.

Few writers have painted scenes with words as vividly as he did.

What St. Luke Teaches Us

St. Luke teaches us to look at people the way Christ does.

He notices the poor.

He notices the sinner.

He notices the sick.

He notices the forgotten.

And he shows Jesus moving toward them.

Luke also teaches us the importance of telling the story of Christ faithfully.

He investigated.

He listened.

He wrote carefully.

And he handed the faith on to others.

Every Christian has the same basic responsibility.

We receive the Gospel.

Then we pass it on.

When Is the Feast of St. Luke?

The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist on October 18.

He is especially honored as an evangelist, physician, companion of St. Paul, and author of the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

Prayer Inspired by St. Luke

Lord Jesus Christ,

give us the compassion and faith of St. Luke.

Help us to see the poor, the sick, the sinner, and the forgotten with Your eyes.

Teach us to love Sacred Scripture and to recognize You in the breaking of the bread.

Give courage to doctors, nurses, missionaries, writers, and all who serve others.

And help us tell the story of Your mercy faithfully to the world.

St. Luke, pray for us. Amen.