What Is LukeLive?
Revitalize your parish or church with the Luke Live mission presented in person by priest, actor and singer Fr. James DiLuzio.
“This was a very special spiritual journey. We have never experienced anything quite like it before. We will never read the scripture in the same way again. You made the stories jump right off the page. We couldn’t wait to go home and read the Bible with ‘new eyes.’ God has truly blessed you with great talent!”
–Susan and Tony Petruzzi
Church of Saint Ann
Lawrencevillle, NJ
Fr. DiLuzio has committed the book of Luke to memory and performs it as a one man show, incorporating popular music along with reflections on the meaning of scripture in relation to modern life. At each session of the mission visit, he recites part of the Gospel and pauses to invite the attendees to reflect and relate the New Testament story to their own experience. To keep the evening lively and upbeat, he incorporates hymn, popular music and Broadway songs. The performances come naturally to Fr. DiLuzio who pursued a career as a professional actor and completed a masters degree in drama at the University of Southern California.
In the early 1980s, when he was working in customer service at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, DiLuzio began attending Mass at the church of St. Paul the Apostle. He found himself drawn to the Paulist mission of evangelization through engagement. The attraction drew him into the order and he was ordained a priest on May 8, 1993.
After serving nine years in parish and campus ministry, he wanted to find a way to integrate his dramatic training with evangelization. Returning to the early days of the church — when the Gospels were shared from memory — he developed Luke Live.
“It’s not the kind of evangelization that says, ‘I have the truth and I am going to convince you’,” DiLuzio says. “It’s really about sharing, about dialogue. It’s about transforming not only the listener, but the person who is doing the sharing.”
Luke Live is ecumenical in nature, respectful of people of all faiths and creeds. Although the majority of Fr. DiLuzio’s performances have been in Catholic parishes, his mission has grown and he was invited to share the Gospel at St. Luke’s United Methodist church in Memphis, Tennessee. Even when he is performing in parishes, his mission attracts people of many different faiths.
The program has resonated with audiences. Speaking of a performance at St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Logan, Utah, Fr. Clarence Sandoval said, “It was interesting to watch the people listen — maybe for the first time — to the Gospel, God’s Word.” Members of other parishes who have participated have described Luke Live as “a new and exciting way of hearing the book of Luke” and “inspired and inspiring.”
Details
Luke Live is presented in four three-night sessions. Most parishes choose to do one session per year and invite Fr. DiLuzio back each year to perform the next session.
Each session is approximately ninety minutes in length and a professional pianist is required as an accompanist. The usual format is to present each session twice daily; once in the morning and once again in the evening to make it as broadly available as possible. Sessions are typically offered beginning on Monday and conclude on Wednesday evening.
The Luke Live mission is family-friendly and seeks to engage listeners in the oral tradition of the Early Church and to encourage the dynamic of sharing Scripture in a lively, thought-provoking way. Participants are encouraged to participate in faith sharing and to to connect the biblical events directly to their own life experiences.
Missions
Each Luke Live mission typically lasts three days and covers six chapters from the book of Luke. Each day of the mission typically takes approximately 1½ to 2 hours.
- Luke Live 1
- Chapters 1 through 6 The Birth of Jesus, the Teachings of John the Baptist, Jesus’ Temptation, Calling the Twelve, and the Sermon on the Plain
- Luke Live 2
- Chapters 7 through 12 Healing, Reconciliation, Hearing the Call and the Lord’s Prayer
- Luke Live 3
- Chapters 13 through 18 Parables, Miracles and Wealth
- Luke Live 4
- Chapters 19 through 24 Parables, Conspiracy, Crucifixion and Resurrection
For information on bringing Luke Live to your parish or church, please e-mail us at [email protected] or call 212-265-3209 extension 253.
