St.Lucy is one of the eight woman of which Blessed Virgin
Mary is also a part who are all commemorated in the Canon of the Mass by name.
She is believed to have born in 283 but much of her history is lost. It has
come to us in the form of a legendary tale. St.Lucy is born to a rich parents
and she had a pampered childhood. Her father died when she was 5 years old but
her mother Eutychia made sure she left no stone unturned to bring her up well. She
was also suffering from a bleeding disorder and feared much for st.Lucy’s
future.
Even when she was young, she was so devoted to God and
always thought of ways to convince her mom to give a large part of their wealth
in charity. She made a vow of celibacy to God and no matter what she tried she
could not convince her mom to leave her single and not get married. Eutychia
even arranged for her wedding to a pagan.
St.Lucy prayed so hard at the tomb of Agatha for enlightment
and to find a way to come out of this situation, that she received a vision of
St.Agatha giving her an idea. She told Eutychia that her illness will be recovered
when she donates a part of their wealth to the needy. Eutychia abided for
St.Lucy’s sake. She recovered quickly. Her mother was so grateful to the Lord
and so moved by St.Lucy’s faith, thet she too turned faithful to God and
accepted St.Lucy’s request to remain celibate.
But the turned down bridegroom wanted to have his revenge
for putting down his proposal. He went to the then Governor Paschasius and betrayed
her. He even tried to pull her into a brothel to defile her. But no matter how
many people tried to move her away, they could not even move her an inch.
They tried to burn her but the wood wouldn’t burn. Then they
killed her with a sword in 304.
When she was condemned to death by Paschasius ,
St. Lucy said that he would be punished by the Lord. The Governor on hearing
this was enraged and ordered to pull her eyes out. In another version of the
story, it is said that she herself pulled out her eyes as a suitor of her
admired them so much and wanted to marry her for them.
But it so happened when they embalmed her body and prepared
it for burial, the eyes were restored. That is the reason she was considered a
patron of eyes and eye related illness.
Feast day – December 13
Patron of – Eyes, Blindness, Eye related illness
St. Lucy’s Prayer
Saint Lucy,
Whose beautiful name signifies LIGHT,
By the light of faith which God bestowed upon you
Increase and preserve His light in my soul,
So that I may avoid evil,
Be Zealous in the performance of good works,
And abhor nothing so much as the blindness
And the darkness of evil and sin.
Obtain for me, by your intercession with God
Perfect vision for my bodily eyes
And the grace to use them for God’s greater Honor and glory
And the salvation of the souls.
St.Lucy, virgin and Martyr,
Hear my prayers and obtain my petitions.
Amen.
Super
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