When I lived in Canada, one of the things I remember is the darkness of winter. During the winter months, when I went to work early in the morning, it was dark. When I got off work and traveled back home, it was dark too. I remember the first winter I was in Winnipeg, I was feeling very down and depressed. I remember telling a priest how I felt in confession. He told me not to worry, that more or less everyone in Canada felt the affects of the darkness of winter. He told me have hope in the spring that was to come, that the darkness of the winter months would come to an end.
Light is very important to us as human beings. We can take for granted the light that is with us in our lives. We realize how important light is when we experience darkness in our lives. I see St Lucy, the saint we celebrate today, as a saint of light. Tradition passes down in our faith that Lucy was tortured during the Diocletian persecutions in the Roman empire in the early 4th century because of her great faith. She had her eyes removed during this torture, but God remarkably restored her eyesight. Today, Lucy remains the patron saint of the eyes and the blind.
The external light around us is important for us to be able to function in our world. Yet, the light within us is more important. The light of Christ enables us to live a life of faith. On the feast of St Lucy in Scandinavian countries, girls wearing a white dress (symbolizing the purity we have in Christ in our baptism) and a red sash (symbolizing Lucy’s martyrdom) process with a wreath of candles on their head carrying a tray of cookies and sweet rolls for their family and friends. The feast of St Lucy comes near the time of the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and a time of great darkness in the world. Thus, the light of St Lucy shows us the light of Christ as we are close to our celebration of Christmas.
We can have sight, we can have bright lights all around us, but we can still be blind to the light of Christ that is shining in the world. Let us pray this beautiful prayer in honor of St Lucy today as we celebrate her feast day and as we get closer to our Christmas celebrations:
St. Lucy, your name means light. You lived your faith, knowing the importance of sharing the light of Christ with others, even when it meant persecution and hardship. Please help us to be lights in the darkness. Please help us know in our hearts that we are called to carry the light of Christ to a world in need. We are called to carry this light to our families, to our places of work, to our places of ministry, and to our Church. Help us to see the many opportunities given to us each day to be a light shining in the darkness. Amen.
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