The daily Word of God
Friday, October 18th, 2024
Saint Luke, evangelist.
Luke 10:1-9. The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.
First Reading:
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
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
Gospel:
Lk 10:1-9
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.'"
The splendor of your kingdom
Some translations of today’s responsorial psalm say: Your friends express the glory of your kingdom. Although the words are not the same in all translations, the meaning is the same. The function of friends (strong friends of God and prophets spoken of in the book of Isaiah) is to manifest the glory, that is, the presence and light of God. It is said that when a child was once asked who the saints were, looking at the stained glass windows of a cathedral, he replied: “The saints are those who let the light pass through. Saints are those who do not obscure the presence of Christ with their lives or with their anti-witnesses.
Luke was one of these saints. Throughout his Gospel, he lets in the light of the joy and mercy of the Good News of Christ.
But not that everything is a bed of roses. The Gospel, which again recounts the sending of the 72 two by two, warns that such a sending is “like lambs in the midst of wolves”. They are sent into a hostile world…perhaps no more hostile than the one that surrounds us today, to sow mercy but to let in the light of truth. They are sent to heal all that is sick and crooked. And that is what we are called to do today: to be saints by letting the light shine through in a world that seems to give us a new slap in the face every day with ugliness, lies, darkness and corruption. And there, like lambs or like stained glass, we must let the light pass through. And this letting the light pass means to give peace wherever we go (desire peace in the house); to procure justice (the worker has the right to his wages); to proclaim the kingdom, which is salvation. All this is to express the glory of the Kingdom, which is the mission of the friends of God, of all the saints, of whom all Christians should be.
Carmen AguinacoFeast of Saint Luke, evangelist
IN THE HANDS OF GOD
Introduction
A man concerted from a heartless paganism is struck by Christ, the Lord, who is concerned about the poor and the downtrodden; a physician, he is fascinated too by a man who is more than a man, Christ the Lord who heals the sick body and soul. This is the evangelist Luke. A jewel of his style is the tender description of the holy family in his Infancy Narrative. Among his main themes are God’s boundless forgiveness, prayer, the seriousness of the Christian life, the role of women in the Church, the universalism of a Church destined for all. These themes constantly reappear in the two books he wrote: his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your evangelist Luke portrays with warmth
your Son Jesus Christ as the healer
of the ills of people,
and the friend and support of the poor.
May St. Luke open our eyes
to the needs of the poor and defenseless
and help us love them and care for them.
Make us poor of heart,
that we may understand the poor
and bring joy and liberation to them.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Intercessions
– For the Church, that it keep bringing healing to those physically and spiritually ill, we pray:
– For women, that we may appreciate more their great contribution to the vitality of the Church, we pray:
– For our Christian communities, that they may be open to all and welcome all, the poor and the rich, strangers and familiars, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may take our faith seriously and pray that it may stay strong and rich, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our caring God,
here are bread and wine,
simple food and the drink of joy.
By this gesture of offering,
We assume our responsibility for the poor.
With your Son, let us never remain indifferent
to the human and spiritual misery
of our brothers and sisters in need.
Accept the poverty of our own hearts
and be our only lasting riches,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God, Father of the poor,
your Son Jesus has been here among us
and he has knocked at the door of our hearts.
We have welcomed him,
but it was he who gave us to eat.
May we keep receiving him
and making him feel comfortable as our brother
every time someone begs for our help
or, when in need, is too timid
to express where it hurts.
We ask for this sensitivity
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Luke was a healer, like Jesus. With him may we bring the healing power of our faith and love to the people around us, and may God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
