MEMORIAL OF SAINT LUCY OF SYRACUSE, VIRGIN AND MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ DECEMBER 13TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Lucy of Syracuse, Virgin and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we humbly pray for God’s grace and mercy as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ during this season of Advent. Praying for hope, faith, love, joy and peace in our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the safety and well-being of all those traveling during this season of Christmas. Amen🙏
SAINT LUCY OF SYRACUSE, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: St. Lucy (283-304) also known as Lucia is a virgin and martyr of Syracuse in Sicily, who was born to wealthy and noble Christian parents in the year 283 on the island of Sicily. Her father was of Roman origin, but his early death left her dependent upon her mother, whose name, Eutychia, seems to indicate that she was of Greek heritage. She was brought up as a Christian by her mother, who was miraculously cured at the shrine of St. Agatha in Catania. Like so many of the early martyrs, Lucy grew in piety, and at a young age secretly consecrated her virginity to Christ, and she hoped to devote all her worldly goods to the service of the poor. St. Lucy’s mother, Eutychia, pressured her into an arranged marriage with a pagan nobleman in order to provide for her daughter’s future, which Lucy avoided. For three years St. Lucy managed to postpone the marriage. St. Lucy prayed at the tomb of Saint Agatha to change her mother’s mind about her faith. When Lucy’s mother was struck with a long and serious illness, Lucy convinced her mother to accompany her to pray at the tomb of St. Agnes. As a result, St. Lucy’s mother was miraculously cured of her malady, a long haemorrhagic illness. St. Lucy then told her mother about her vow of chastity, and her mother consented to her refusal to marry and consented to her desire to live for God. St. Lucy made a vow of virginity and gave herself to serving persecuted Christians hiding in the catacombs, wearing a wreath of candles on her head to illumine the dark underground caverns, with her arms full of provisions. The distribution of her wealth to the poor, her generosity stirred the wrath of the unworthy youth to whom she had been unwillingly betrothed and upon finding that St. Lucy was a Christian and had refused his hand in marriage, had her imprisoned under the persecutions of Diocletian.
The governor planned to force her into prostitution, brothel, but God rendered her body immovable and the soldiers were unable to carry out the task, when guards went to fetch her, they could not move her even when they hitched her to a team of oxen. The governor ordered her to be killed instead. After a gruesome torture which included having her eyes torn out, she was surrounded by bundles of wood which were set afire, but the fire quickly died out. She prophesied against her persecutors, and finally, she was killed by the sword. She was then executed by being stabbed to death with a dagger about the year 304 amidst the fierce war waged against the Christians under Diocletian. According to later accounts, St. Lucy warned Paschasius he would be punished. When the governor heard this he ordered the guards to gouge out her eyes; however, in another telling, it was Lucy who removed her eyes in an attempt to discourage a persistent suitor who greatly admired them. When her body was being prepared for burial, they discovered her eyes had been restored. This and the meaning of her name (“light” or “lucid”) led to her patronage with eyes; eye problems, the blind, eye trouble, and other eye ailments. She’s the Patron Saint against hemorraghes; authors; blind people; blindness; cutlers; dysentery; eye disease; eye problems; glaziers; hemorraghes; laborers; martyrs; peasants; Perugia, Italy; saddlers; salesmen; stained glass workers; Syracuse, Sicily; throat infections; writers.
St. Lucy is among the great virgin martyrs of the Church, her name appearing in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Her feast day is December 13th.
PRAYER: Lord, may the intercession of Your Virgin and Martyr St. Lucy help us so that, as we celebrate her heavenly birthday on earth, we may contemplate her triumph in heaven. Amen 🙏