Dec 13th - Lucy

Before I start, I must admit to smiling every December 13th because in my parish we have a statue of Lucy holding a plate with a pair of eyeballs on it. It is a bit of a disturbing presentation (though maybe not as bad a the one with the sword through her neck) and consequentially has never been displayed in the church. It has, however, made the rounds into various spots where its presence, upon being discovered, causes some merriment at the expense of the discoverer.
That said, Lucy is one of the saints mentioned by name in the the First Eucharistic Prayer. Her cult developed early and obviously captivated those to whom she witnessed. Still such notoriety does not mean that we really know anything about her. She was most likely martyred in a late persecution, perhaps Diocletian's. For me, this thought, about those who died so close to the reign of Constantine, causes me to be of two minds.
First, who would she have been had there been freedom of religion which came a scant 20 years or so later? So close and yet so far. On the other hand, where would we be without such continuous witness, even so late (at least as we understand it in hindsight) in the game? Especially when there was no end in sight?
Hope, Faith, Love. These sustain us, urge us, fulfill us. It is not Faith in the face of persecution and troubles but in spite of these things. Then we can know the peace of the martyrs.

---

O God, our Creator and Redeemer, mercifully hear our prayers that as we venerate your servant, Saint Lucy, for the light of faith you bestowed upon her, you would increase and preserve this same light in our souls that we may be able to avoid evil, to do good, and to abhor nothing so much as the blindness and the darkness of evil and of sin. Relying on your goodness, O God, we humbly ask you, by the intercessory prayers of your servant, Saint Lucy, that you would give perfect vision to our eyes, that they may serve for your greater honor and glory and for the salvation of our souls in this world, that we may come to the enjoyment of your unfailing light of the Lamb of God in paradise. Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.