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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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In today’s homily, Fr. Matt offers a sobering reminder: a nation cannot survive spiritually if its people abandon truth. As Catholics, we are called not only to believe the faith, but to study it, to guard it, and to allow it to shape our daily lives. The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Truth” (John 14:17), and when we invite Him into our hearts, He strengthens us to love what is good, reject what is false, and persevere through every trial. This is why the Catechism says that life in Christ transforms the whole of our existence (CCC 1691).
When Jesus warns that “it will be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God” (Lk 12:21), He invites us to ask a deeper question: What truly matters to God? Wealth itself is not evil — Scripture shows that God entrusts riches to some for the good of others. But when wealth becomes our comfort, our security, or our idol, it becomes a chain that binds the soul.
Father Matt reminds us that God never stops speaking — but too often, we are the ones who stop listening. Not because God is unclear, but because we already have our own plans, expectations, and conclusions. At the root of this resistance is a deeper struggle: We do not want to submit to God’s authority or His will.