• October 18th - Luke the Evangelist

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Thu Oct 17 09:08:19 2019
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    October 18th - Luke the Evangelist

    Almost all that we know about Luke comes from the New Testament. He
    was a physician (Col 4:14), a companion of Paul on some of his
    missionary journeys (Acts 16:10ff; 20:5ff; 27-28). Material found in
    his Gospel and not elsewhere includes much of the account of Our
    Lord's birth and infancy and boyhood, some of the most moving
    parables, such as that of the Good Samaritan and that of the Prodigal
    Son, and three of the sayings of Christ on the Cross: "Father, forgive
    them," "Thou shalt be with me in Paradise," and "Father, into thy
    hands I commend my spirit."

    In Luke's account of the Gospel, we find an emphasis on the human love
    of Christ, on His compassion for sinners and for suffering and unhappy
    persons, for outcasts such as the Samaritans, tax collectors, lepers,
    shepherds (not a respected profession), and for the poor. The role of
    women in Christ's ministry is more emphasized in Luke than in the
    other Gospel writings.

    In the book of Acts, we find the early Christian community poised from
    the start to carry out its commission, confident and aware of Divine
    guidance. We see how the early Christians at first preached only to
    Jews, then to Samaritans (a borderline case), then to outright
    Gentiles like Cornelius, and finally explicitly recognized that
    Gentiles and Jews are called on equal terms to the service and
    fellowship of Christ.

    Luke makes many casual references throughout his writings (especially
    in Acts) to local customs and practices, often with demonstrable and
    noteworthy precision. To mention just one example, he refers to two
    centurions by nomen (the second of the three usual names of an ancient
    Roman male), Cornelius in Acts 10 and Julius in Acts 27, and he calls
    them both by nomen only, rather than by nomen and cognomen (The third
    and usually last name of a citizen of ancient Rome) [Sergius Paulus in
    Acts 13;7] or cognomen only (Gallio in Acts 18:12), as he does when
    speaking of civilian officials. It is a distinction that would have
    been routine at the time that Luke is writing about, but one that had
    largely died out by, say, 70 AD. His preserving it shows either that:

    He wrote fairly close to the events he described, or he was describing
    persons and events on which he had good information, or he was an
    expert historical novelist, with an ear for the authentic-sounding
    detail.

    Luke is commonly thought to be the only non-Jewish New Testament
    writer. His writings place the life of Christ and the development of
    the early Church in the larger context of the Roman Empire and
    society. On the other hand, his writings are focused on Jerusalem and
    on the Temple. His Gospel begins and ends in the Temple, and chapters
    nine through nineteen portray Jesus as journeying from Galilee to
    Jerusalem. Similarly, the Book of Acts describes the Church in
    Jerusalem (and worshipping in the Temple) and then describes the
    missionary journeys of Paul as excursions from and returns to
    Jerusalem.


    Saint Quote:
    "Charity is the queen of virtues. As the pearls are held together by
    the thread, thus the virtues are held together by charity; as the
    pearls fall when the thread breaks, thus virtues are lost if charity diminishes."
    --St. Padre Pio


    <><><><>
    Jesu Dulcis Amor Meus,
    a hymn in honor of the Holy Wounds of Christ:

    Jesus! As though Thyself wert here I draw in trembling sorrow
    near; And hanging o'er Thy form divine, Kneel down to kiss
    these wounds of Thine.

    How pitifully Thou art laid! Bloodstained, distended, cold and
    dead! Joy of my soul, my Saviour sweet, Upon this sacred
    winding-sheet.

    Hail, awful brow! Hail, thorny wreath! Hail, countenance now
    pale in death! Whose glance but late so brightly blazed, That
    angels trembled as they gazed.

    And hail to thee, my Saviour's side; And hail to thee, thou
    wound so wide: Thou would more ruddy than the rose, True
    antidote of all our woes!

    Oh, by those sacred hands and feet, For me so mangled!
    I entreat, My Jesus, turn me not away, But let me here
    forever stay.
    --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
    * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)