Description

St Lucy – Hear My Prayers – Bookmark

5 x 15cm

Glossy card

Feastday:

December 13


Patron:

of Blindness

Lucy’s history has been lost and all we really know for certain is
that this brave woman who lived in Syracuse lost her life during the
persecution of Christians in the early fourth century. Her veneration
spread to Rome so that by the sixth century the whole Church recognized
her courage in defense of the faith.

Because people wanted to shed light on Lucy’s bravery, legends began
to crop up. The one that has passed the test of time tells the story of a
young Christian woman who vowed to live her life in service of Christ.
Her mother tried to arrange a marriage for her with a pagan and Lucy
knew her mother could not be swayed by a young girl’s vow, so she
devised a plan to convince her mother that Christ was the better partner
for life.

After several prayers at the tomb of Saint Agatha, Lucy saw the saint
in a dream. St. Agatha told Lucy her mother’s illness would be cured
through faith, which Lucy used to persuade her mother to give the dowry
money to the poor and allow her to commit her life to God.

While Lucy and her mother were grateful to God, the rejected
bridegroom was deeply angered and betrayed Lucy’s faith to the governor
Paschasius. The governor attempted to force her into defilement at a
brothel, but the guards who came to take her away were unable to move
her, even after hitching her to a team of oxen.

The guards heaped bundles of wood around her but it wouldn’t burn so
they finally resorted to their swords, and Lucy met her death.

Though details of her life remain unknown, it is widely known that
during her lifetime Christians were persecuted for their faith. They
were forced to endure horrific torture and often met painful ends during
Diocletian’s reign. Though the details surrounding her death remain
only as legends, it is all modern-day Christians can rely on.

Lucy’s legend did not end with her death. According to later
accounts, 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.

Sigebert (1030-1112), a monk of Gembloux, wrote sermo de Sancta
Lucia, in which he described Lucy’s body as remaining undisturbed in
Sicily for 400 years until Faroald II, Duke of Spoleto, seized the
island and transferred Lucy’s remains to Abruzzo, Italy. It was later
removed by Emperor Otho I in 972 to Metz and left in the church of St.
Vincent. There is much confusion about what happened to her body after
its stay at St. Vincent’s, but it is believed that several pieces of her
body can be found in Rome, Naples, Verona, Lisbon, Milan, Germany,
France and Sweden.

In 1981, thieves stole all but her head but police were able to recover them on her feast day.

Lucy, whose name can mean “light” or “lucid,” is the patron saint of
the blind. She is often seen with the emblem of eyes on a cup or plate.
In paintings, she is often depicted with a golden plate holding her eyes
and often holds a palm branch, which is a symbol of victory over evil.

Saint Lucy’s Prayer:

Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine
for the whole world, for all the centuries to see. We may not suffer
torture in our lives the way you did, but we are still called to let the
light of our Christianity illumine our daily lives. Please help us to
have the courage to bring our Christianity into our work, our
recreation, our relationships, our conversation — every corner of our
day. Amen