The saint we are celebrating today, Saint Lucy, is another hero of the early Church, and a saint that it seems we have more legends for than actual history.
While the lines between history and legend can sometimes blur, it is important to remember that Saint Lucy dedicated her life to Christ and to serving others. She can be a true patron of how to carry the light of Christ to those living in darkness.
Saint Lucy lived in the third century. She was a young woman from a family of wealth and influence in Syracuse, Sicily. As a devout Christian, she consecrated her life to Jesus Christ at a very young age. In doing so, she refused to marry the pagan man chosen for her by her family. I’m sure her family was frustrated by her proposal to donate her dowry to the needy.
Lucy is known for feeding bread to the poor and the homebound. She would even risk her life to deliver bread to the Christians hiding in the catacombs.
In order to avoid capture by the authorities, she would often deliver the bread under the cover of the night. In doing so, she wore a crown of candles to light her way.
This legend sparked traditions in a number of European cultures. In these cultures, a young girl is chosen to represent Saint Lucy in order to bear light and serve sweet bread on this feast day. The girl is dressed in white with a red sash and she wears a crown of candles on her head. In some places, crowds of candle-crowned girls lead public processions. In other places, it is more of a family affair, where a daughter will dress as Saint Lucy and carry trays of coffee and sweet bread up to their parents' bedroom at dawn.
You may wonder what happened to this hero of faith and charity that would come to be celebrated in so many cultures.
In the third century, it was still illegal to be a Christian. The pagan man she refused to marry became increasingly jealous of and angry over her devotion to Christ. Eventually, he reported her to the authorities.
First, they attempted to abduct her in order to place her in a house of prostitution, but God would not allow them to physically move her. Next, they attempted to burn her, but God once again intervened for her protection.
Then, the eyes of Saint Lucy were gouged out. In some versions of the story, Saint Lucy did this to herself to spite the pagan man that wanted to marry her (evidently he was quite smitten with her eyes). This is why Saint Lucy is often depicted in art carrying a platter with two eyeballs on it and why she is considered the patron saint of the blind.
Regardless of whether she removed her own eyes or her persecutors did it for her, God miraculously provided her with new eyes.
Ultimately, the life of Saint Lucy came to an end with a dagger to her throat.
Saint Lucy is another quintessential Advent saint in that she has come to be seen as a bearer of Christ’s light during the darkness of winter from her feast day until His birth at Christmas. I find that extremely providential given the proximity of her feast day to Guadete Sunday. So, let’s be joyful that we have an opportunity to imitate her devotion to Christ and to bring light to those in darkness, bringing those in darkness to the true bread of the Eucharist. For indeed, those who follow the Lord in the Sacramental life of His Church will have the light of life.
Thanks be to God!
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