Vigils Reading – St Luke

THE GOSPEL OF MERCY

From a commentary by Servant of God Dolindo Ruotolo4

◊◊◊

The Gospel of Luke is called by the Fathers “The Gospel of Mercy… The inspired author is a converted pagan, as it is usually believed, indicated by his very name Luke, which comes from the Roman name Lucius. He was from Antioch, he was an excellent medical doctor and fluent in the Greek language… He remained a virgin, did not marry, and once converted to the faith, he kept his purity blameless. True purity, the fruit of virtue and love, generates in the soul sensitivity and a compassion for the failings of the poor human heart.

The harshest judges of the poor fragility of sinners are not found among souls who are pure, but among those who know the slavery of the flesh. It is very possible that the human reason that motivated St. Luke to write his Gospel was indeed a feeling of compassion toward sinners. He heard the preaching of so many events on the goodness of Jesus and not having found them in any book, he thought to record them, almost as prescriptions of mercy to cure souls. The apostles, from fishermen became physician of souls… God is marvelous in every disposition of His goodness; he made use of the compassion of St Luke toward the sinners oppressed by sicknesses resulting from their sins, to leave to us a most precious memory of the mercy of our Savior.

St. Luke, who was a virgin, dealt more closely with the Immaculate Virgin, and he knew from Her the details of Jesus’ infancy… An evangelist virgin and doctor could talk to Mary, Mother of Mercy and gather from her most pure lips the stories of the fulfillment of the divine mercy upon earth with the Incarnation of the Word.

Being a physician, he could appreciate, more than others, the miracle of the virginal conception, and he could affirm it with the authority of a person who could not believe such an incredible miracle, if he had not perceived in the story of Mary… the splendor of that virginity which was beyond any comparison…

From the Blessed Mother he learned the beauty of virginity and mercy, and maybe for this reason he remained a virgin; his heart, in contact with the most pure lily, became spotless and perfumed, succumbing to the divine love. Fascinated with the divine mercy, he wrote his Gospel, to prove that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all people, be they Jews or pagans…

Let us collect ourselves to meditate on this precious book that can be called the Gospel of Mary. What our Blessed Mother kept in her immaculate heart and did not say to anyone, she told to St. Luke and we must be grateful to this evangelist who kept for us the memory of a story so tender and admirable. Had he kept for us only the Magnificat, he would already deserve all our devotion and gratitude… We can, therefore, go to him with our sicknesses and beg him to intercede for us with the Most Blessed Virgin, to obtain for us especially the health of our souls and the gift of eternal life