Saint of the day for December 13: the story of Saint Lucia

Saint of the day for December 13nd
(283-304)

The history of Santa Lucia

Every little girl named Lucy has to bite her tongue in disappointment when she first tries to find out what there is to know about her patron saint. Older books will have a long paragraph detailing a small number of traditions. Newer books will have a long paragraph showing that there is little basis in history for these traditions. The only fact remains that a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian, and she was executed in Syracuse, Sicily, in the year 304. But it is also true that her name is mentioned in the first Eucharistic prayer, the geographical places are named she, a popular song has her name as a title, and over the centuries many thousands of little girls have been proud of the name Lucy.

One can easily imagine what a young Christian woman in pagan Sicily faced in the year 300. If you have trouble imagining, take a look at today's world of pleasure at all costs and the barriers it presents against a good life. Christian. .

His friends must have wondered aloud about this hero of Lucy, an obscure traveling preacher in a distant captive nation that had been destroyed more than 200 years earlier. Once a carpenter, he had been crucified by the Romans after his own people handed him over to their authority. Lucy believed with all her soul that this man had risen from the dead. Heaven had put a stamp on everything he said and did. To testify to her faith she had taken a vow of virginity.

What a racket this caused among his pagan friends! The kindest considered it just a little odd. Being pure before marriage was an ancient Roman ideal, rarely found, but not to be condemned. However, to rule out marriage altogether was too much. He must have something sinister to hide, his tongues wagging.

Lucy knew of the heroism of the first virgin martyrs. She stayed true to their example and to the example of the carpenter, who knew he was the Son of God. She is the patroness of sight.

Reflection

If you're a little girl named Lucy, you don't have to bite your tongue in disappointment. Your protector is a genuine, first-class heroine, a constant inspiration for you and for all Christians. The moral courage of the young Sicilian martyr shines like a guiding light, just as bright for today's youth as it was in 304 AD.

Saint Lucia is the patron saint of:

I
blind eye disorders