Tag: Saint Luke

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist

From the responsorial psalm: “Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:1-9)

“Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”

Jesus appoints seventy-two disciples and sends them out in pairs to preach the Gospel. Sending them out as lambs among wolves, he gives them specific instructions on what to say and how to behave as guests. The source of peace he tells them to wish on each house they enter is from the love of the Father. In visiting towns, the disciples are instruments of God’s healing grace, and they open the door to the kingdom of God. What might open up to us today as we wish peace—spoken or silent—to every person we encounter?

God, help me trust in you today. In the hope I have for the many plans I would like to carry out today, give me the grace to put my hope in you alone and what you can accomplish through me. Allow me to be aware of what I have to offer you in the people and opportunities you present to me. Lift me up, Lord; empower me to accomplish your will. The seventy-two listened to Jesus and followed his commands, proclaiming your kingdom wherever they went. In accordance with your will, give me courage to do the same. Saint Luke, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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“The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” | Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist | 10.18.23

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:1-9)

Jesus said to the disciples: Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus commissions seventy-two disciples, sending them out ahead of him to do urgently what he himself will do: proclaim the Kingdom of God. His words are not meant only for those disciples at that time in history but also for every Christian who hears and responds to the Lord. In a world full of brokenness and division, Jesus commands those who follow him to be a means of peace and healing while proclaiming God’s kingdom. To take on such a task, the disciples are to depend on God for a roof over their head and a meal placed before them. Like lambs among wolves, the disciples are to rely on God’s guidance and provision, and the power to bring God’s work to fruition. Then, as today, the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Father in heaven, give me the grace I need to be steadfast every day in proclaiming your kingdom. Saint Paul describes the resistance he met in preaching and his isolation and exposure to mortal danger. Whatever I do in your name today, Lord, help me remember his complete reliance on you. As he writes in his letter to Timothy, “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” Stand by me today, Lord, as you give me every opportunity to love and serve others according to your will.

From the Gospel acclamation: “I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.” Saint Luke, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist

Jesus said to the seventy-two disciples, “Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”

Jesus instructs his disciples on how to go out into the world and tell people that the Kingdom of God is at hand for them. He is specific about the austerity of being sent: “no money bag, no sack, no sandals.” And, Jesus says, “first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.” These first disciples were sent literally on mission out into the world. Although it’s unlikely I will ever go out the same way as an evangelist, the literal world I face as an evangelist is my family, my church, my coworkers, and with people I happen to meet every day.

Help me understand, Jesus, that when a family member or someone I encounter asks for help, I am literally sent out in the same way you sent out the disciples. I tend to want to take my own aims into that situation, but let me remember “no money bag, no sack, no sandals.” Before helping someone, is it so much for me to say interiorly “Peace to you” and let that peace rest on them? Jesus, you say to me, “I am sending you like lambs among wolves”—that is, among my family, my fellow parishioners, my coworkers, and people I happen to meet every day. In the first reading, Saint Paul says that Alexander the coppersmith strongly resisted his preaching. Despite situations like this, give me the grace, Lord, to see and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

It’s unsettling, Lord, but true to think that I am at times like Alexander the coppersmith, doing wrong and resisting the splendor of your kingdom. For this reason, God, you sent your Son, and in that ocean of mercy my sins are drowned. Thank you, God, for the gift of your mercy! Teach me to be a means of your peace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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