There are a lot of important saints and prophets whom we hear from in the the Advent season. Isaiah is a prophet whom we hear from in the readings at Mass during Advent; his message helps us prepare the way for the Lord during this season of preparation. We celebrate Mary in different ways during Advent, particularly in the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and in the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Last week, we celebrated the feast day of St Nicholas, an important Advent saint. Today, we celebrate St Lucy on her feast day. St Lucy is a martyr who is specifically mentioned by name in Eucharist Prayer #1 in the Mass. Lucy was born into a rich Roman family, but her Christian father died when she was young. Her mother wanted her to marry a rich pagan man to bring stability into their lives. Lucy instead wanted to give away her riches to the poor and commit herself to a chaste, virtuous life of faith. Lucy used to visit the Christians who were in hiding the catacombs, wearing a wreath of candles to give off light through the darkness of the catacombs, bringing food for them to eat. In the country of Sweden, the feast day of St Lucy is a national holiday where a young girl in the family wears a white gown with a wreath of candles on her head, bearing sweet rolls for the family to eat. It is said that Lucy had her eyes removed as part of her punishment before her death, but the Lord miraculously restored them. To this day, Lucy is the patron saint of the blind and those with problems with their eyesight. In our modern world, there are still many people who have trouble with the eyesight. We ask for the intercession of St Lucy today to help those who have trouble with their eyesight. May all of us turn to the Lord for encouragement and hope, for reconciliation and healing, in the midst of this holy season of Advent. May the Lord continue to lead us on our Advent journey as we get ever closer to our Christmas celebration. Father Lincoln.
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