Commentary by Brother Francis, M.I.C.M.

This was Brother Francis' favorite Gospel. One of the reasons he was so enthused about Saint Luke's Gospel was that this sacred writer gave much prominence to the cooperative role of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her indispensable fiat. He gave us the account of the Annunciation and the Visitation with Our Lady's sublime canticle the Magnificat. He also gives chivalrous tribute to other women whose lives were touched by Our Lord, such as the woman with the issue of blood, who hoped to be cured by Our Lord by touching just the hem of His garment. A physician himself, Luke noted that she had "bestowed all her substance on physicians, and could not be healed by any." Luke was the only gentile writer of the New Testament. He was converted by Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. In fact he is styled Comes Pauli, the “companion of Paul,” having been with him on most of his missionary journeys. In this connection too, Luke provides a genealogy of Our Lord through Our Lady's ancestry all the way back to Adam, the father of all men. The symbol of Saint Luke is the ox, the primary sacrificial victim in the Temple of Solomon under the Old Law. That is our clue that the Gospel of Saint Luke emphasizes the priesthood of Our Redeemer. Although Our Lord's eternal priesthood was of a different order, that of Melchisedech, the King of Salem, Luke begins his Gospel with the story of Zachary, a priest of the order of Aaron, who was serving his course in the temple when visited by an angel. This is an excellent introduction to the Holy Gospels.

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