St. Lucy feast day ~ December 13th

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St. Lucy's Martyrdom 

I know that we are celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe today here in the United States, but for a very special reason it is right for me to celebrate St. Lucy's feast day as well! There is a lot of conjecture, legend, and uncertainty as to this Holy Saint's past, but several stories seem to hold the majority of the pages in the history books. Many seem to doubt certain Saints such as St. Lucy, St. Christopher and other simply because of this uncertainty. What is ironic though, is that these same folks believe in things like luck, chance, and coincidence. 

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One of the more popular histories is told as such [Link: Catholic.org]:

The one that is passed down to us tells the story of a young Christian woman who had vowed her life to the service of Christ. Her mother tried to arrange a marriage for her with a pagan. Lucy apparently knew that her mother would not be convinced by a young girl's vow so she devised a plan to convince her mother that Christ was a much more powerful partner for life. Through prayers at the tomb of Saint Agatha, her mother's long illness was cured miraculously. The grateful mother was now ready to listen to Lucy's desire to give her money to the poor and commit her life to God.

Unfortunately, legend has it, the rejected bridegroom did not see the same light and he betrayed Lucy to the governor as a Christian. This governor tried to send her into prostitution but the guards who came to take her way found her stiff and heavy as a mountain. Finally she was killed. As much as the facts of Lucy's specific case are unknown, we know that many Christians suffered incredible torture and a painful death for their faith during Diocletian's reign. Lucy may not have been burned or had a sword thrust through her throat but many Christians did and we can be sure her faith withstood tests we can barely imagine.

Lucy's name is probably also connected to statues of Lucy holding a dish with two eyes on it. This refers to another legend in which Lucy's eyes were put out by Diocletian as part of his torture. The legend concludes with God restoring Lucy's eyes.

Now,  we aren't big on tales around here, but I can tell you from personal experience that her intercession is particularly helpful. That is not to say as compared to others, but in light of those that might accuse her as being simply, legend. [For more on this please see: Great News!] Everyone needs to have their own personal patrons and Lucy just happens to be one of mine. To lear more about her, please click on the links below.


St. Lucy Links:

• Catholic.org - St. Lucy
• NewAdvent - St. Lucy
• Wikipedia - St. Lucy
• St. Lucy Customs

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