Today December 13

Back last December 13th, I wrote:

Today is the feast of St. Lucy (died 304), patroness of eye diseases and disorders, and also of the cities of Syracuse, and against throat ailments and hemorrhage. Her poor mother suffered continual hemorrhage and was cured at the tomb of St. Agatha. Lucy's faith was instrumental in the cure, as was the mother's own faith and humility as she reached out to touch the saint's relics, not unlike the Bible story where the woman who suffered similarly reached out to touch Jesus' robes. Lucy convinced her mother to let her stay a virgin and pledge her life to Christ. She divested herself of her dowry and gave all to the poor. Her fiance, naturally disturbed, turned her in to the consul Paschasius, who first scourged her and then threatened to throw her into a brothel. That was when she could not be moved, even when pulled by many men and oxen. The good God protected her honor. She was burned and then stabbed in the throat where she stood. She died saying, "You obey your masters' laws, and I shall obey the laws of my God. You fear your masters and I fear God. You are careful not to offend them, I take pains not to offend God. You want to please them, I wish to please Christ. Do then what you think will be of benefit to you, and I shall do what I think is good for me." Amen, sister! I think her patronage of eyes came from her name, which means "light" and the eyes provide light to the body. In the earliest documents of her life, from which the above came, there is no mention of her pulling out her eyes or any special kind of eye torture by her persecutors.

It's hard to add anything to that summary. I would add, I think, that Lucy was very strong and noble, and that in a vision, St. Agatha told her it was HER faith that healed her mother! I think that's important. In many cases Our Lord says the same thing ("Your faith has healed you", or even "He was not able to work any miracles in that district because of their lack of faith"), so it has the ring of Truth, but it's a favor for another, rather than for one's self. And I think we should have FAITH that miracles and healings can happen for our loved ones . . . And is that faith itself a gift? I suppose. But it's important to remember there's also an element of RESPONSE, over which we DO have control -- unlike a gift, which, initially at least, we do not. Lucy, dear Lucy, responded with her whole being -- and not just there at the tomb of St. Agatha, but also when she gave all the contents of her hope chest and dowry to the poor. Her poor, confused fiance! At first he even helped, thinking she was selling off her possessions in order to buy an even RICHER property . . . and I guess she was. It's in the land of Heaven, where she now resides. Dear St. Lucy, pray for us.