I love it that Lucy means light. During this time of year when the days grow ever shorter we need as many celebrations of light as we can get. Advent wreaths, Christmas lights and this feast remind us that Christ is the light no darkness can dim.

Unfortunately, we don’t know a lot about Lucy. She was a brave woman who lived in Syracuse and died for her Christian faith early in the fourth century. She is often pictured holding a plate with eyes on it. There is a legend that Diocletian had her eyes torn out and God replaced them.  She is the patron saint of people with blindness and other eye ailments.

Saint Lucy, help me to cherish the light of Christ and share it with everyone I meet this season.