St Luke
Saints day - 18th October
Name meaning – Bringer of Light
Patron Saint of: Doctors and Surgeons ; Artists; Bachelors; Bookbinders; Brewers; Butchers; Glass makers; Goldsmiths; Lace makers ; Notaries; Painters; Sculptors; Stained glass workers.
Born - Antioch in Syria
Died – c.84, there are many conflicting reports over the circumstances surrounding his death some early writers claim he was martyred, others say he lived a long life. Some say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. The earliest tradition we have says that he died at 84 in Boeotia after settling in Greece to write his Gospel.
Born to pagan Greek parents, and possibly a slave. One of the earliest converts. Physician, studying in Antioch and Tarsus. Probably travelled as a ship's doctor; many charitable societies of physicians are named for him. Legend has that he was also a painter who may have done portraits of Jesus and Mary, but none have ever been correctly or definitively attributed to him; this story, and the inspiration his Gospel has always given artists, led to his patronage of them. He met Saint Paul at Troas, and evangelized Greece and Rome with him, being there for the shipwreck and other perils of the voyage to Rome, and stayed in Rome for Paul's two years of in prison.
Luke the Evangelist (Hebrew: לוקא; Greek: Λουκᾶς Loukas) was an early Christian who is said by tradition to be the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the third and fifth books of the New Testament.
Luke's unique perspective on Jesus can be seen in the six miracles and eighteen parables not found in the other gospels. Luke's is the gospel of the poor and of social justice. He is the one who tells the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man who ignored him. Luke is the one who uses "Blessed are the poor" instead of "Blessed are the poor in spirit" in the beatitudes. Only in Luke's gospel do we hear Mary’s Magnificat where she proclaims that God "has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:52-53).
Luke also has a special connection with the women in Jesus' life, especially Mary. It is only in Luke's gospel that we hear the story of the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth including the Magnificat, the Presentation, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem. It is Luke that we have to thank for the Scriptural parts of the Hail Mary: "Hail Mary full of grace" spoken at the Annunciation and "Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus" spoken by her cousin Elizabeth.
Forgiveness and God's mercy to sinners is also of first importance to Luke. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the Prodigal Son welcomed back by the overjoyed father. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the forgiven woman disrupting the feast by washing Jesus' feet with her tears. Throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus takes the side of the sinner who wants to return to God's mercy.
Reading Luke's gospel gives a good idea of his character as one who loved the poor, who wanted the door to God's kingdom, opened to all, who respected women and who saw hope in God's mercy for everyone.
With many thanks to
www.wikipedia.co.uk
www.catholic.org/saints
www.saints.sqpn.com/saintl06.htm
www.newadvent.org/cathen/09420a.htm
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