Today is the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. St. Luke was a companion of St. Paul the writer of the Gospel bearing his name and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. He was also believed to be a physician which is why we will have a healing rite at both morning services this Sunday. Luke’s gospel gives us the familiar narratives of the Annunciation to Mary, the Visitation with Elizabeth, the birth of John the Baptist, and Jesus born in the manger. Early tradition holds that Luke wrote his gospel in Greece and died in Boeotia, a regional unit in Central Greece. He is considered the patron saint of artists and physicians.

It has been a busy month so far, but still to come is Evensong this Sunday at 5, our Costume Blessing and Fall Festival on October 27, as well as our month-long outreach Trick-or-Treat so Others Can Eat food drive. We have a busy November coming up as well with our celebration of All Saints’ Sunday, Diocesan Convention, Kirkin’ O’ the Tartans, Choral Evensong, Thanksgiving, and the end of the Pentecost Season and the Church Year.

Before we close out October, however, there are two more Saints’ feast days coming up: St. James of Jerusalem (Oct. 23) and Sts. Simon and Jude (Oct. 28). Named in Matthew’s Gospel and Paul’s letter to the Galatians as the Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, St. James of Jerusalem eventually became the Bishop of Jerusalem. James figured prominently in the Council of Jerusalem as he helped settle disputes about what to do with Gentile converts to the faith. He was eventually placed on the pinnacle of the temple and told to persuade the people to turn away from Christ but, instead, testified for the Lord and was martyred for it. Saints Simon and Jude, two of the twelve disciples, are celebrated for the missionary work they did together. Tradition says they carried the way of Christ to Persia and Armenia and were later martyred together in Beirut. Simon is typically referred to as “the Zealot,” and Jude has long been regarded as the patron of desperate or lost causes. The Epistle of Jude is also attributed to him.

Given all that is going on in the world today, the Collect for St. Luke’s day seems very appropriate as we pray for healing.

Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Please continue to pray for one another, for our Cathedral family, for our nation, and the world.

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