A reflection from Saint Luke Institute President & CEO, Rev. Patrick J. McDevitt, CM, Ph.D. for the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, celebrated on October 18.
Patrons are important people for individuals and organizations to look to for guidance, direction, and inspiration in their mission. Patrons are heroes and heroines who mirror for us who we are and who we are called to become. These holy people remind us that the difficult – sometimes seemingly impossible – work of mission is indeed very possible.
St. Luke is the patron of Saint Luke Institute (SLI). SLI provides mental health, spiritual care, and wellness education for those who minister, and more. The patronage of St. Luke reminds SLI of the missionary call to seek out those in need of healing, support, and education.
St. Luke’s name is attached to the third of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament, as well as the Acts of the Apostles. Catholic Tradition holds that Luke is the only non-Jewish writer among the four gospels. A Gentile perspective, The Gospel According to Luke offered a necessary view to the early Church – that of the “friendly outsider” who desires and cares to know the sufferings and needs of all people, and to respond to them generously.
The therapeutic process of spiritual, emotional, and mental renewal requires just such a “seeking to understand,” and a willingness to explore the development of awareness and skills to foster healing and growth. The Gospel According to Luke reminds all of us at SLI that we are called to companion people in their quest for healing, knowledge, and deeper spiritual wisdom, as Jesus did for both spiritual outsiders and insiders.
St. Luke’s patronage at SLI comes through in another way: the Tradition which recognizes him as a physician and healer. SLI prides itself on achieving and maintaining the highest professional standards in mental health care, including state licensures and accreditation by The Joint Commission.
The professionals at SLI carry the spirit of St. Luke with them as they bring together in their daily work every aspects of their education, professional expertise, faith, spirituality, and mission values to offer the best care to our clients, and educational resourcing to clergy, religious, and other groups across the country in various ways throughout the year.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is presented to us as a missionary of God’s Reign and love for all people, especially those who are suffering, poor, those rejected by the community, or those otherwise pushed to the margins. Luke’s Jesus will go anywhere and bring newness, life and healing to anyone, regardless of who they are, their past failings and sins, their ethnicity or their social status. The Lucan Jesus is radically indiscriminate and inclusive of all people.
These are the same values espoused by SLI. In the healing spirit of Christ, we welcome and serve the mental health and spiritual needs of everyone. Our day-treatment program is now named after the encounter of the disciples with the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus – a symbol of the transformative power of Christ’s healing we know to be at work in our clients lives. Furthermore, the Lucan missionary Jesus demonstrates a commitment to change, adaptability, and growth for sake of the mission. Christ’s gift of the Holy Spirit moves the disciples from a locked upper room to the “ends of the earth” to proclaim the healing presence of God to all. For nearly fifty years, SLI has shown a willingness and capability to adapt to the mental health needs of the Church, and it continues to do so.
The Gospel of Luke shows that liberation, transformation, and things being “turned upside down” for the good are really possible. The people who are downtrodden will be lifted up and those oppressed and imprisoned will be set free. These themes of libration and freedom are most evident in the three Lucan Canticles – of Mary (1:46-55), Zechariah (1:68-79), and Simeon (2:29-32). (You may wish to read them as we approach St. Luke’s Feast Day, as part of your daily prayer.)
These canticles express the belief that hope is real and healing is possible for everyone, regardless of one’s status. Our patron, St. Luke, offers to SLI the assurance of faith that our ministry brings the same liberation and hope to our clients.
The Acts of the Apostles is also attributed to St. Luke. This book chronicles the beginnings of a diverse, complex, and often conflicted Christian community, with their many struggles, accomplishments, failures, and successes. The Lucan theme of missionary community is clear in that work as well. The work of SLI is always done as a community – as a team. Our interdisciplinary team of mental health, spiritual, and educational professionals are often recognized by church leaders and former clients for providing the highest quality of care. It is a team, sustained by the wisdom and spirit of St. Luke that always reflects on how to be an effective missionary community.
For almost 50 years, SLI has derived its inspiration from St. Luke to be a community of healers, missionaries, and liberators in service to the Church for its healing, and the healing of the world. As we look to our upcoming Annual Benefit and to our long-term future, we recommit ourselves to the great example and wisdom of St. Luke.
St. Luke, pray for us.