Born
on the Greek island of Aegina, Luke belonged to a family of farmers.
Saracen raiders forced his family to leave their homeland for Thessaly,
where Luke worked in the fields and tended sheep. He was a dutiful
child, but his charity towards the poor often frustrated his parents:
Luke would often give his own food and clothing to those less fortunate.
He was so charitable that God blessed him, and his family’s crops
flourished, but his parents still did not approve.
After his
father's death, Luke decided to become a hermit. The decision angered
his mother, who wanted her son at home. He left Thessaly to find a
monastery, but was captured by soldiers who mistook him for a runaway
slave. Imprisoned for a short time, he then returned to his mother after
he convinced his captors of his true identity.
Later, two monks
on their way to the Holy Land persuaded Luke's mother to allow him to
join a monastery in Athens. After only a short time, Luke’s superior
claimed that his mother had appeared to him in a vision calling for
help, and Luke was sent home.
Eventually, Luke's mother
understood her son's call to religious life and no longer opposed him.
Luke built his hermitage on Mount Joannitsa, near Corinth when he was
only eighteen. At times, Luke was seen suspended above the ground in
prayer. After his death, his cell was transformed into an oratory and
named the Place of Healing.
Sunday, February 7, 2021
St. Luke the Younger
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