St Lucy (Lucia)

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Saint Lucy's (Lucia) name means "light", with the same root as "lucid" which means "clear, radiant, understandable." Unfortunately for us, Lucy's history does not match her name. Shrouded in the darkness of time, all we really know for certain is that this brave woman who lived in Syracuse lost her life in the persecution of Christians in the early fourth century. Her veneration spread to Rome so that by the sixth century the whole Church recognised her courage in defence of the faith.

Because people wanted to shed light on Lucy's bravery, legends grew up. The one that is passed down to us tells the story of a young Christian woman who had vowed her life to the service of Christ. Her mother tried to arrange a marriage for her with a pagan. Lucy apparently knew that her mother would not be convinced by a young girl's vow so she devised a plan to convince her mother that Christ was a much more powerful partner for life. Through prayers at the tomb of Saint Agatha, her mother's long illness was cured miraculously. The grateful mother was now ready to listen to Lucy's desire to give her money to the poor and commit her life to God.

Unfortunately, legend has it, the rejected bridegroom did not see the same light and he betrayed Lucy to the governor as a Christian. This governor tried to send her into prostitution but the guards who came to take her way found her stiff and heavy as a mountain. Finally she was killed. As much as the facts of Lucy's specific case are unknown, we know that many Christians suffered incredible torture and a painful death for their faith during Diocletian's reign. Lucy may not have been burned or had a sword thrust through her throat but many Christians did and we can be sure her faith withstood tests we can barely imagine.

Lucy's name is probably also connected to statues of Lucy holding a dish with two eyes on it. This refers to another legend in which Lucy's eyes were put out by Diocletian as part of his torture. The legend concludes with God restoring Lucy's eyes.

Lucy's name also played a large part in naming Lucy as a patron saint of the blind and those with eye-trouble.

Whatever the fact to the legends surrounding Lucy, the truth is that her courage to stand up and be counted a Christian in spite of torture and death is the light that should lead us on our own journeys through life.

Prayer:

Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine for the whole world, for all the centuries to see. We may not suffer torture in our lives the way you did, but we are still called to let the light of our Christianity illumine our daily lives. Please help us to have the courage to bring our Christianity into our work, our recreation, our relationships, our conversation — every corner of our day. Amen

Her name meaning light is a factor in the particular devotion to Saint Lucy receives in Scandinavian countries, where young girls dress as the saint in honour of the feast.

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Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood

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Sanguis Christi, inebria me!

July 1st is the Solemnity of the "Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ." This feast, celebrated in Spain in the 16th century, was later introduced to Italy by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo and extended to the whole Church by Pius IX. The Feast of the the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ exists in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite as a Votive Mass. It commemorates all of the times Our Lord shed His most precious blood: the Circumcision, the Agony in the garden, the Scourging at the pillar, the Crowning with thorns, and in the Crucifixion. This feast was instituted only in 1849, but the devotion is as old as Christianity. The early Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the Sacraments were brought forth through His Blood. The special beauty of this feast is its focusing our attention directly on the Blood of Christ, a short cut to the heart of revelation. In these days we need to think of the Passion of Christ; we do not know how God is going to test us. Devotion to the Precious Blood is a fundamental, sane approach to God. It is hard and painful; it will help us to steel our own hearts against weakness. The Feast of Corpus Christi and the Feast of the Most Precious Blood were combined in 1970, becoming the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Until then, separate feasts existed for the Body of Christ, held on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, and the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with a feast on July 1st. Some groups continue to use the earlier forms of the Roman Rite and the corresponding calendars, ie General Roman Calendar of 1962 and General Roman Calendar of 1954.

May His Blood spring up within us as a saving water for eternal life.
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Epiphany

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O God

Who by a star

guided the wise men to the worship of your Son

we pray you to lead to yourself

the wise and great of every land

that unto you every knee may bow,

and every thought be brought into captivity

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Happy New Year

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Felix Sit Annus Novus! 

Pax et benedictio, 

+Seán Manchester

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