The Feast of St. Luke

By Karls des Großen (via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the Feast of St. Luke on the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox calendars, and I’m thrilled to launch this blog with a post on the third evangelist. We’ll periodically do pieces on the lives of the saints, considering their personalities and legacies for purposes didactic and devotional, trying to listen well to those who’ve gone before us—and I get to kick off with someone who’s easily among the top five people I want to meet in the age to come. (He’s the patron saint of doctors, artists, brewers, and notaries. Draw your own conclusions.)

Luke’s familiar enough to us: beloved physician, faithful companion of Paul the apostle, probably the only Gentile contributor to the New Testament. Others have written better summaries of his life and theology than I could, but a few particulars strike me as worthy of reflection today.