Friday, October 18, 2019 – St. Luke 2 Tim 4:10-17b; Lk 10:1-9 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Lk 10:1-2
St. Luke had many talents which he would use to enrich the world. As an artist, he could bring beauty to this world by his paintings. As a physician, he could save many lives. Yet, he chose another path of life. He left native Antioch and accompanied St. Paul on his mission journeys. He remained a faithful disciple. Paul writes about him that he was the only one with him until the very end (2 Tim 4:11). He could live a Christian life in the comfort of his birthplace as a son of wealthy parents, a talented artist and a successful doctor. He could follow Christ in his profession as a doctor and father of the family; he could depict Christ in his artistic work, but he decided to step out of his comfort zone and set out with Paul to proclaim Christ. Thus, even today, many centuries after his death, the Church can draw healing power from the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles he has left us.
Is there a moment in your life when you stepped out of the comfort zone? What do you want to sacrifice today to follow Christ?
“Life dedicated to missions is precious” St. Arnold Janssen
Words of Pope Francis