We hear a very interesting Scripture
reading this morning from Isaiah, one of the prophets who speaks
to us a lot during Advent. The Lord, speaking through Isaiah, tells us that He teaches
us what is for our good, that He leads us in the right direction. The Lord explains that if we would hearken to
His commandments, our prosperity would flow like a river and our vindication would be like the waves
of the sea.
Easier said than done, we might
think. How do we always know God's will
for us? How do we follow the Lord's
commandments, especially during the complex situations that confront us in our
modern lives?
St Lucy is the saint we celebrate today on December 13. Lucy is a very popular saint in many parts of the world. Her feast is connected with the celebration of light and winter, as her name means light and her feast day originally coincided with the winter solstice, marking the shortest day of the year. In Italy, Lucy is known as Santa Lucia. In Sicily, she is honored for her intervention during a severe famine in 1582. In a miracle attributed to St Lucy, ships filled with grain appeared in the harbor on December 13, her feast day. The people were so hungry that they didn't take the time to grind the grain into flour, but instead boiled the grains immediately. Sicilians eat a popular dish on this day in honor of this event made with boiled whole wheat berries, ricotta cheese, and sugar. Lucy is said to have been martyred during the Diocletian persecutions in the year 304. She is said to have had her eyes gauged out, so she is remembered as the patron saint of the eyes. I love how the saints help us in so many different ways, in so many different realities, how they can appear in different places, times, and cultures to help us in our time of need.
St Lucy is the saint we celebrate today on December 13. Lucy is a very popular saint in many parts of the world. Her feast is connected with the celebration of light and winter, as her name means light and her feast day originally coincided with the winter solstice, marking the shortest day of the year. In Italy, Lucy is known as Santa Lucia. In Sicily, she is honored for her intervention during a severe famine in 1582. In a miracle attributed to St Lucy, ships filled with grain appeared in the harbor on December 13, her feast day. The people were so hungry that they didn't take the time to grind the grain into flour, but instead boiled the grains immediately. Sicilians eat a popular dish on this day in honor of this event made with boiled whole wheat berries, ricotta cheese, and sugar. Lucy is said to have been martyred during the Diocletian persecutions in the year 304. She is said to have had her eyes gauged out, so she is remembered as the patron saint of the eyes. I love how the saints help us in so many different ways, in so many different realities, how they can appear in different places, times, and cultures to help us in our time of need.
As we journey during the Advent season, we remember St Lucy
today. We ask for her intercessions to
help us on our journey of faith.
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