Every little girl named Lucy must bite her tongue in disappointment when
she first tries to find out what there is to know about her patron saint. The
older books will have a lengthy paragraph detailing a small number of
traditions. Newer books will have a lengthy paragraph showing that there is
little basis in history for these traditions. The single fact survives 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, geographical places are named after
her, a popular song has her name as its title and down through the centuries
many thousands of little girls have been proud of the name Lucy.
One can easily imagine what a young Christian woman had to contend with in
pagan Sicily in the year 300. If you have trouble imagining, just glance at
today’s pleasure-at-all-costs world and the barriers it presents against leading
a good Christian life.
Her friends must have wondered aloud about this hero of Lucy’s, an obscure
itinerant preacher in a far-off captive nation that had been destroyed more than
200 years before. Once a carpenter, he had been crucified by the Roman soldiers
after his own people turned him over to the Roman authorities. Lucy believed
with her whole soul that this man had risen from the dead. Heaven had put a
stamp on all he said and did. To give witness to her faith she had made a vow of
virginity.
What a hubbub this caused among her pagan friends! The kindlier ones just
thought her a little strange. To be pure before marriage was an ancient Roman
ideal, rarely found but not to be condemned. To exclude marriage altogether,
however, was too much. She must have something sinister to hide, the tongues
wagged.
Lucy knew of the heroism of earlier virgin martyrs. She remained faithful
to their example and to the example of the carpenter, whom she knew to be the
Son of God. She is the patroness of eyesight.
Comment:
If you are a little girl named Lucy, you need not bite your tongue in
disappointment. Your patron is a genuine, authentic heroine, first class, an
abiding inspiration for you and for all Christians. The moral courage of the
young Sicilian martyr shines forth as a guiding light, just as bright for
today’s youth as it was in A.D. 304.
Quote:
“The Gospel tells us of all that Jesus suffered, of the insults that fell
upon him. But, from Bethlehem to Calvary, the brilliance that radiates from his
divine purity spread more and more and won over the crowds. So great was the
austerity and the enchantment of his conduct.”
“So may it be with you, beloved daughters. Blessed be the discretion, the
mortifications and the renouncements with which you seek to render this virtue
more brilliant.... May your conduct prove to all that chastity is not only a
possible virtue but a social virtue, which must be strongly defended through
prayer, vigilance and the mortification of the senses” (Blessed Pope John XXIII,
Letter to Women Religious).
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Submitted by : Claire Golaszewski
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