The feast of St Luke the evangelist

Today we celebrate the feast of the well-loved evangelist St Luke who wrote the gospel which tells the story of Jesus and also the Acts of the Apostles which relates the formation of the early church and especially the groundbreaking work of St Paul. Luke begins his Good News with the parallel stories of the announcing of the birth of John the Baptist and then the Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary. Mary is the main person in the first chapters of the gospel and her hymn of praise, the Magificat, introduces an important part of Luke's story, concern for the poor. Luke mentions the Holy Spirit more than any of the other New Testament writers. Mary is told that she will have a son because, ''The Holy Spirit will come down upon you.' Jesus tells the people in Nazareth that he has been annointed to bring the good news to the poor because, ''the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.''(4:18). We too will receive the Spirit because ''the Heavenly Father will give Holy Spirit to those who ask him.'' (11:13). Luke also shows the importance of prayer in the life of Jesus who often spent the whole night in prayer to the Father especially before taking an important decision as when he chose the 12 apostles. In today's gospel we hear how Jesus sent out the 72 disciples and instructed them to be detached from material goods in order to concentrate on preaching the good news. Some of the best known stories that Jesus used for teaching about God's love are only found in Luke; the good Samaritan, the lost sheep and the Prodigal son. He ends his gospel reminding us that we are missionaries as just before the Ascension he tells his disciples, ''that repentance and forgivess of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations. You are witnesses to all these things,'' Like those disciples after the Ascension, may the Good News told by Luke fill us with great joy. (24:52)