St. Lucy of Syracuse

Homily for the Memorial of St. Lucy

Today we celebrate one of the most popular saints of the Church, St. Lucy of Syracuse. She is mentioned in the very earliest of the biographies of the saints and is one of the eight virgin martyrs mentioned in the Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer.

The name Lucy or Lucia comes from the Latin word “Lux,” or “light.” Today in the Scandinavian countries of the north, where daylight is restricted to just a few hours of the day in December, little girls will walk through town with wreaths of candles encircling their heads, commemorating this young woman who illumined her world with the light of faith.

Lucy’s father died when she was very young, leaving her mother and her young daughter without a protective guardian. Lucy had great devotion to St. Agatha who had died some fifty years previously. She is said to have had a vision of Agatha who told her that one day she would be as famous in Sicily as Agatha had become to be in Catania. When she turned down a young suitor who was more interested in her mother’s estate than he was in her, he denounced her as a Christian. When the Roman governor asked her to burn incense before an image of the emperor, she refused. The Acts of the Martyrs from the fifth century describe various attempts to execute her by fire and wild beasts which proved ineffective. Eventually she died by the sword.

Today she stands as an example of someone who chose to live by her faith. She had listened to God’s words and, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, her name has not been blotted out or cut off from God’s presence. She placed her trust in God, believing that God had promised the best good possible. As a result her name has come down through the ages as one who lived by the light of the Gospel.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator