Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist
A physician by profession and disciple of St. Paul, he is the author of one of the canonical Gospels, and of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Bible. He was personally acquainted with the Blessed Virgin, and according to ancient tradition, painted a portrait of Her. He is believed to have been martyred in Greece, but the date of his death is not known.
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Mass Readings
First Reading – 2 Tm 4:10-17b
Beloved: Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Luke is the only one with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in the ministry. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, the papyrus rolls, and especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. You too be on guard against him, for he has strongly resisted our preaching. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! 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.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18 (R.12)
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
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. R.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations. R.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth. R.
Gospel – Lk 10:1-9
The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. 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.'”
Featured Saints
St. Peter of Alcantara, priest (†1562). With his example of a penitential and austere life, he reformed the regular discipline of the Franciscan monasteries in Spain. He was counsellor of St. Teresa of Avila in the Carmelite reform.
St. Asclepiades, bishop (†218). Outstanding confessor of the Faith during the persecution in Antioch, present-day Turkey.
St. Amabilis, priest (†fifth century). Pastor of Riom, France, known as “a man of admirable sanctity,” for his virtues and gift of miracles.
St. Monon, martyr (†c. 630/640). Pilgrim of Scottish origin who became a hermit in Ardennes, France, and was stoned to death in Nassongne, Belgium, by a band of criminals who were filled with hatred at the sanctity of his life.
St. Julian the Hermit (†fourth century). He embraced a solitary and ascetic way of life for love of Christ and lived in a small cell near Edessa, Mesopotamia, later making his abode on Mount Sinai.
Blessed José Serrano Pastor, priest and martyr (†1936). Religious of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians) religious killed at the age of 37 during the religious persecutions of the Spanish Civil War.
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