Luke, the physician reminds me of a doctor I once knew, who always had a waiting room packed elbow to elbow with patients. He took as much time as he needed with individual patients. When he came into the crowded waiting area to speak to one of his patients, the only one who could hear him was the patient he was speaking to. When I was trying to think of what Luke was like, I think that Luke would have been a physician of this type.
On a happier note we are grateful to Luke for bringing us the account of the Christmas Story, and for recording Mary's Magnificat, "I proclaim the greatness of the Lord...for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant..." It is said that Luke heard the story of Christ's birth from the lips of Our Blessed Mother, herself. She is said to have had a fondness for him, and that out of the portraits that have been painted of her, she prefers Luke's the best.
This praise from Mary is telling us everything about Luke that we really need to know.
Luke is Patron Saint of artists, bachelors, bookbinders, brewers, butchers, doctors, glassmakers, glass workers, lacemakers, lace workers, notaries, painters, sculptors, stained glass workers and surgeons.
His feast day is October 18th
Links:
Catholic Religious Education Webzine
http://www.silk.net/RelEd/ezinel.htm
The October issue by Gilles Cote is devoted to the Saints, with an article by Sheila M. Coyle on "How The Saints Help Us." She talks about her book, Katie Marie and St.Therese's Website. The webzine is an excellent resource for Christian educators. It has lesson plans, prayers and poems, and articles on the Saints while explaining the canonization process, and links to many other sites on the Saints.
Five Stars
The Guild of St. Luke, St. Cosmas and St. Damian; Hong Kong
http://www.medicine.org.hk/guild
An interesting site in English and Chinese founded in 1953 as a result of local Catholic medical practitioners and dentists desiring a group to which they could relate discussing bioethical issues such as cloning and euthanasia in the realm of Catholic morality. This site contains an article "Dangers of Genetic Manipulation" by his holiness Pope John Paul II addressing members of the World Medical Association on October 29, 1983
