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.