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The Gospel of Mercy: St. Luke’s Legacy Lives On

Today we celebrate St. Luke the Evangelist—the physician, artist, and companion of St. Paul who gave us one of the most merciful portraits of Christ in all of Scripture. In his Gospel, we meet Jesus as the Divine Physician: healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and lifting the poor and forgotten into His Heart. From the parables of mercy—the prodigal son, the lost sheep, the good Samaritan—to Christ’s words from the Cross, “Father, forgive them,” St. Luke reveals the face of a God who is infinite in compassion.

Fr. Matthew Tomeny, MIC, reminds us that Luke’s Gospel does not end in the first century—it continues through us. The Acts of the Apostles, which St. Luke also wrote, ends openly because you are meant to carry the story forward. Christ’s mission of mercy did not stop at the Ascension; it lives on through every believer who chooses to love, to forgive, and to proclaim the Gospel.

Like St. Luke, we are called to make use of every tool at our disposal to bring the Good News to the world. Whether through words, works, or witness, let us become living Gospels—offering mercy to those in darkness, truth to those in confusion, and Christ’s love to every soul we meet.

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Father Matthew Tomeny, MIC, opens his homily by declaring that the true test of love which distinguishes Christians is the love of the enemy. He reminds us that Christ commands this love, and that it is the hallmark that sets the Church apart from both believers and non‑believers. By examining the lives of the saints, we see that genuine love is measured not by affection but by the willingness to wish the good of the other, especially their salvation, even when that person has caused us great pain.
The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011526.cfm Why would God allow Israel to be defeated even while the Levites were carrying the Ark of the Covenant before the army into battle? And why would Jesus heal a leper — then sternly command him to tell no one? In this homily, Fr. Mark Baron, MIC, brings these unsettling questions together and shows that they reveal the same spiritual danger: presumption.
The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021526.cfm Fresh from a visit to the Holy Land, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC reflects on standing atop the Mount of Olives, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, walking the Via Dolorosa, and entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—the very places where Christ taught, suffered, and redeemed us. Looking out over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, he recalls how Jesus wept over the city. Why? Because people would not receive His teaching.