Vindicated by Her Works

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

By Melanie Rigney

If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea… (Isaiah 48:18)

Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life. (John 8:12)

(Jesus said:) “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look he is a glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.” (Matthew 11:18-19)

Piety

Lord, thank you not only for the saints, but also for the legends that have grown up around them. May they continue to inspire us.

Study

I grew up in an area of the country where most people’s ancestors hailed from Scandinavia. And at this time of year, I was sorry not to be Swedish with blond braids crossed at the top of my head. That seemed to be a prerequisite for making or distributing the delicious St. Lucy’s bread, encrusted with raisins.

Sigh. Now where was I?

Oh yes, St. Lucy. When I was a bit older, I felt St. Lucy had let me down, what with her being the patron saint of eyesight, her eyes being torn out and all and me being legally blind. I wondered if it was retribution for all that envy of my Swedish childhood friends. When we were both quite a bit older, my sister was St. Lucy, “eyes” on a plate and all, for Halloween.

It was shocking to learn not so long ago that almost everything I and perhaps you believed about St. Lucy is legend. We don’t know whether she actually lost her eyes, either in torture or because she tore them out herself. We don’t know if she was sent to a brothel.

What we do know, however, is important. She was about twenty when she died in Sicily in 303. She was martyred for her faith, possibly because a rejected love interest told authorities she was a Christian. We know that little girls all over the world for centuries and centuries have loved to hear the legends and dress up like her and talk about her. And we know that contemplating a martyr’s devotion to God, no matter whether all the precise details of her death were accurately captured, can only deepen our own faith.

Action

Like Lucy, Christians all over the world face persecution. Consider making a donation this Advent to Aid to the Church in Need or another organization that helps those carrying the Word in dangerous places.