Let them glorify you, Lord, all your works, and your saints praise you. Let them talk about the glory of your kingdom, and let them talk about your power…» Psalm 145, 10-11.
How did today’s saint glorify God with his life, St. Luke?
St. Luke, the evangelist (+ around 80 AD), was probably born in the Syrian pagan city of Antioch in a wealthy family. Lukáš became a doctor and traveled a lot in Greece and Egypt. He was perhaps touched by preaching the Gospel from the mouth of St. Apostle Paul in Antioch. Luke then accompanied him on his apostolic journeys. In the year 51, he went with him and with other disciples, Timothy and Silas, to Philippi, Thessaloniki, Macedonia, and subsequently also to Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria, and Italy. He was the only one who stayed with him in prison in Rome and was with Paul even before his death, as Paul himself writes: “…only Luke is with me.” Apparently, at Paul’s instigation, Luke wrote a description of the life and activities of the Lord Jesus, that is, the Gospel
. St. told him about many events. Paul, but the fathers write that he was a close friend of the apostle St. John and the Virgin Mary and knew other apostles. So, he had enough sources to capture the performance of Jesus Christ reliably. He dedicated his gospel to the noble Theophilus. He probably wrote it after the fall of Jerusalem, between 80 and 90 in Greek. He addressed it to Christians who had converted from paganism. This is also evidenced by the fact that he always tries to explain Jewish customs in detail in the Gospel. In his gospel, he is the only one of the evangelists to provide a detailed description of the birth of the Messiah. He writes very beautifully about God’s mercy (the parable of the prodigal son, the good shepherd, the good Samaritan, Mary Magdalene, the penitent later). He begins his gospel with Zechariah’s sacrifice in the temple, which is why the bull became his symbol.
The Acts of the Apostles also come from the pen of St. Luke. He also dedicates them to Theophilus, for whom he wrote the Gospel. This second book aimed for him to witness a living Church that did not perish despite the heathen world raging around. It describes the ascension of the Lord and the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the book deals mainly with the work of St. apostles Peter and Paul. According to tradition, after Paul’s death (67), Luke preached the gospel in Dalmatia, Italy and Gaul. There are several reports about his death. One of them claims that he died a martyr’s death in Patras, Greece, at eighty-four. But others say he died of natural causes.
It is common among Christians that he was also a painter and painted a picture of the Virgin Mary. Some paintings in the East are even attributed to him. However, it is not likely. He certainly painted a spiritual picture of the Virgin Mary in his Gospel since he wrote about her the most of all the Evangelists. Although many places claim ownership, it is also uncertain where his grave is located. Scientific research from 1998 says that the place of his grave could be the Basilica of St. Justin in Padua (Italy).
How should we glorify God with our lives? Well, by painting a spiritual image of the Virgin Mary in our hearts by reading and thinking about the Gospel, just like Mary, who kept all these things in her heart and thought about them.
