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St.Lucy of Syracuse
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https://youtu.be/AIiTton-Y-Y?si=ViuwqRCdIwX_oWo4
𝗦𝗧. 𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗬𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗨𝗦𝗘
𝗗𝗲𝗰 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁'𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 (𝟭)
Feast Day : Dec 13
Sept 16 (pre-1970 General Roman Calendar)
Born : c. 283, Syracuse, Roman Empire
Died : c. 304, Syracuse, Western Roman Empire
Canonized : Pre-congregation
Pre-congregation is a saint who was recognized by popular acclaim or by a local bishop prior to the establishment of the Congregation for the Cause of Sainthood set up by the Roman Catholic Church in 1588.
𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗬: 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛
In an era plagued with confusion, it is crucial to seek inspiration from those who lived their lives as beacons of hope and faith. Saint Lucy of Syracuse, a revered martyr and one of the eight women (including the Virgin Mary) explicitly commemorated in the Canon of the Mass, offers a unique perspective on how we can embody her spirit and become witnesses of the Gospel in today's world.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧
A half century earlier, the holy virgin Saint Agatha had been martyred forty miles north of Syracuse in the city of Cantania. Her tomb became a popular place of pilgrimage and site of many miracles. Hopeful of a cure for her mother’s haemorrhage, Lucy convinced her mother to make a pilgrimage to Saint Agatha’s tomb. While praying at the tomb, Lucy had a vision where Saint Agatha appeared to her, telling her that her mother would be cured because of Lucy’s faith, and that Lucy too would become the glory of Syracuse, just as she was the glory of Cantania. When Lucy awoke from her vision, she cried out, “O, mother, mother, you are healed!”
Most Protestants and even some ill-informed Catholics have difficulties comprehending the Church’s dogma on praying to the saints. Their argument, for as long as anyone can remember, is that by doing so we are undermining God's authority.
But Catholic's do not come to this point, this praying to the Saints, as a determination of power. Our conviction comes from a place of relationship. It is simply us asking favours from God's immediate family.
Because we are still living in this world, our prayers may be tainted by our own will instead of being aligned with the will of God. But, when we go to the saints, who lacks nothing and wills the same will as the Father, to be our advocator, we might get our prayers answered or at least closer to getting the Father’s approval. This is not a belief without proof, but a trust without reservation.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞
From the moment she had that vision, Lucy continued to sense Saint Agatha speaking to her about her calling to be a Bride of Christ and to die as a martyr. She told her mother of her desire to remain a virgin and begged her to offer their wealth to the poor. Her mother hesitated, suggesting it would be better for Lucy to do so once she had died, but Lucy urged her to do it right away because it would be a source of much greater merit. Lucy’s faith won the day. She continued to postpone her marriage and spent the next few years joyfully distributing her money and jewels to the poor.
When one google's top reason one converts to Catholicism, most came home because of the Holy Eucharist. For only the Catholic Church has the audacity to claim that that tiny piece of bread can truly become the real Body and Soul of Jesus Christ transformed during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. No other institution is bold (or crazy) enough to assert that, holds on to and even dies for it in the span of 2000 plus years.
And when one truly sees Jesus in that tiny host during Communion, then it is only natural to be at the service of others. That tender joy in giving one’s self is best explained in this little excerpt taken from Mother Teresa's Nobel Peace prize acceptance speech in 1979. She said:
“I never forget a little child who taught me a very beautiful lesson. They heard in Calcutta, the children, that Mother Teresa has no sugar for her children; and this little one, Hindu boy four years old, he went home and he told his parents: ‘I will not eat sugar for three days; I will give my sugar to Mother Teresa.’ How much a little child can give. After three days they brought into our house, and there was this little one who could scarcely pronounce my name. He loved with great love; he loved until it hurt. And this is what I bring before you – to love one another until it hurts. But don’t forget that there are many children, many children, many men and women who haven’t got what you have. And remember to love them until it hurts… I can enjoy this, but I give up; I could eat that sugar, but I give that sugar… you would be surprised of the beautiful things that people do to share the joy of giving.”
𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥
When Governor Paschasius of Syracuse learned of Lucy’s Christian faith and her charity to the poor, he had her arrested and interrogated. He attempted to force her to apostatize by offering sacrifice to the Roman gods, but she refused. A later Roman martyrology put these words into Lucy’s mouth:
"I know but one sacrifice pure and full of honour, which I can offer. This is to visit orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. For three years, I have daily offered this sacrifice to my God and Father; and now I long for the happiness of offering myself to Him as a living victim. His holy will be done!"
In his general audience on January 2023, during the Belarus human right’s crisis, Pope Francis said that “the Church does not proselytize but rather she grows by attraction to the beauty of God’s love.”
When the synagogues in the Greek-speaking town of the Eastern Mediterranean world, where Paul used to preach and convert, broke off with the early Church and the Roman Empire began an active and sporadic persecution of Christians, the only way for the Church to continue to grow would come through personal witness.
This different way of life was noticed by the surrounding pagans at that time. What particularly caught their attention was that Christian courage in the face of death. They could see Christians had something they lacked: Jesus Christ.
With Jesus Christ, Christians were not only willing to die for their faith through persecution, but also accepted the risk of disease to care for the sick, even when they had been abandoned by their own families. They cared for the poor, Christians and pagans alike, and treated women, children and slaves with greater dignity, including recovering abandoned newborns. They proved their faith in their actions.
𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐧
She died during the Diocletianic Persecution as a nobody. Just another roman citizen worthy of the wrath of its gods for apostatising. Still. Her fame has spread across the world.
Two churches are known to have been dedicated to her in Britain before the 8th century, at a time when the land was largely pagan. One of it is Saint Lucy Church at Upton Magna, Shropshire, England.
In Norway and Sweden, St. Lucia’s Day marks the beginning of the Christmas season. On that day the eldest daughter of the family traditionally dresses in a white robe and wears as a crown an evergreen wreath studded with candles. Legend has it that when St. Lucy went out to visit the poor with foods and drinks during the night, she wore a candle on her head to have both hands free. This beautiful festival is also meant to bring hope and light during the darkest time of the year.
There are even many places named in her honour: St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia; Port Saint Lucie, Florida; and the Caribbean island, St. Lucia. In Philadelphia, there is a school for the blind named in her honour. Venice, Italy, has a railway station that remembers Santa Lucia. Churches around the world bear her name.
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐔𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧
As Catholic Christians living in this trying times and trying to keep the faith within our family and community, we are familiar with the mass continuously calling us out as being nothing more than a pathetic show of pompousness. Yet, for a martyr whose life continues to inspire us, Saint Lucy teaches us that living a life of exemplary love and faith is not only restricted to historical accounts, distant circumstances and even public opinion.
We too can offer direction to those who thirst for the Truth and are seeking for a purpose in their lives if, and only if, we ourselves become true witnesses of Christ by living a different way of life from the rest of the world.
Researched by
Melissa L. Lohindun, Dec 2, 2023.
Sources:
1. St. Lucy of Syracuse. My Catholic Life. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/13-december-saint-lucy-of-syracuse-virgin-and-martyr-memorial/#:~:text=As%20they%20did%2C%20Lucy%20had,was%20the%20glory%20of%20Cantania.
2. Leigh, E. (2018, August 5). 5 OF MOTHER TERESA’S MOST INSPIRING QUOTES REGARDING POVERTY. The Borgen Project. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://borgenproject.org/mother-teresas-greatest-quotes-regarding-poverty/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIf%20you%20can't%20feed,unloved%20in%20our%20own%20home.
3. McLellan, J. (2023, January 11). Evangelization is the 'oxygen' of Christian life, pope says. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/evangelization-oxygen-christian-life-pope-says#:~:text=31%2C%20Pope%20Francis%20said%20that,back%20up%2C%22%20he%20said.
4. Staudt, J. (2023, April 20). The power of witness: How the early Church evangelized. Denver Catholic. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://denvercatholic.org/the-power-of-witness-how-the-early-church-evangelized/
5. Encyclopaedia Britannica, T. E. (2007, February 14). St. Lucy Italian Martyr. Britannica. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Lucy/additional-info#history
6. (2018, December 10). Who Is Saint Lucy and Why Is She celebrated in December?. Universal Life Church. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.ulc.org/ulc-blog/who-is-saint-lucy-and-why-is-she-celebrated-in-december
7. Indrelid, T. D. (2021, December 1). The Scandinavian Santa Lucia Celebrations Explained. Life In Norway. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.lifeinnorway.net/santa-lucia-day/
8. St. Lucia. National Chuches Trust. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/st-lucia-upton-magna
SUMMARY
✝️𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡✝️
𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
Saint Lucy, along with Saint Agnes, Saint Agatha and Saint Cecilia are known as the four great virgin martyrs of the early church. Devotion to Saint Lucy remained strong for more than seventeen hundred years, not only in her native country, Sicily, but also throughout the Christian world. In fact, the Scandinavian countries where the majority of the population is Protestant also celebrate Saint Lucy’s Feast Day. Saint Lucy is often associated with light
𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘
Saint Lucy was born into a wealthy and respectable noble family; and was a very devout Christian. Her father was a Roman, while her mother, whose name was Eutychia, had Greek blood. She lost her father when she was 5 years old. Saint Lucy is a firm and obedient person in strengthening her position. Secretly, she has vowed and promised Jesus that; she would never marry and want to belong to Jesus until the end of her life.
𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘
Born into a noble family, Saint Lucy is known for her beauty and had a pair of very beautiful eyes. This made many young men fall in love with her. According to the tradition of noble families, teenage girls must be betrothed to a chosen nobleman, and she was no exception. This young Roman noble came from a pagan family.
Her mother, Eutychia had chosen a young man but Saint Lucy refused because from the beginning, she did not want to marry. Eutychia was aware of the state of her health; she suffered from a bleeding disease, and this was one reason why she urged Saint Lucy to go ahead with this marriage. She wanted to make sure Saint Lucy’s future was secured after she dies.
𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘
One day, Saint Lucy persuaded her mother to make a pilgrimage to the church of Saint Agatha. They went together and prayed, asking for healing for the bleeding disease she suffered. While they were on a pilgrimage, she had a vision of Saint Agatha in her dream. In the dream, it was prophesied that her mother's bleeding disease would be completely cured due to her strong faith, and Saint Lucy would achieve glory and honour.
God heard their prayers; her mother was completely healed. Her mother was very grateful for the healing, and Saint Lucy took this opportunity to inform her of her vow to be the bride of Christ and asked for permission to donate her dowry to the poor.
As a sign of gratitude and touched by the strength of Saint Lucy’s faith, her mother allowed her to fulfill her life's calling, and her own mother surrendered her life to God.
𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗗
When the news of the annulment of the marriage and the dowry money that had been donated to the poor became known to the young Roman nobleman, he became very angry and reported Saint Lucy to the authorities as a follower of Christ. The authorities at that time were under the rule of Roman Emperor Diocletian. The government at that time was known for its cruelty towards Christians. The authorities have threatened to blind Saint Lucy. Saint Lucy was willing to lose both of her eyes for Jesus.
So, that's what happened. Her eyes were removed and thrown on a platter. Saint Lucy took the eyes back, placing it back in its socket. Jesus reciprocated the valiant love of Saint Lucy by performing a miracle; restored Saint Lucy’s eyes, even making her eyes much more beautiful than before.
Saint Lucy was arrested and ordered to be sent to a brothel. However, a miracle happened where Saint Lucy could not be moved at all. Not even a group of mighty soldiers or a team of oxen could move her, even a little. The power of the Holy Spirit had filled her whole body and made her very heavy.
Feeling insulted and bruised by the greatness of God's power, the authorities ordered their soldiers to pile wood around Saint Lucy and burn her where she stood, but the flames billowed away from her. This made them lose their minds because all attempts fail. Without wasting time, one of the soldiers took out her sword and stabbed Saint Lucy. Saint Lucy was martyred for Jesus in 304.
𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
There are several versions about the death of Saint Lucy. Some sources say that she was beheaded. Another version states that one of the soldiers stabbed her in the throat, but she survived until a priest came to give her the last holy communion, and she breathed her last.
✝️𝐁𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚✝️
𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗡
Santa Lusia, sebaris dengan Santa Agnes, Santa Agatha dan Santa Cecilia dikenali sebagai empat martir besar perawan gereja mula-mula. Pengabdian kepada Santa Lusia tetap kuat selama lebih dari seribu tujuh ratus tahun, tidak hanya di negara asalnya, Sisilia, tetapi juga di seluruh dunia Kristian. Bahkan, negara Skandinavia yang majoriti penduduknya beragama Protestan turut merayakan Hari Raya Santa Lusia. Santa Lusia sering dikaitkan dengan cahaya; disebabkan cerita agung mengenai matanya, serta nama beliau sendiri dikaitkan dengan perkataan Latin “lux” yang bermaksud cahaya.
𝗞𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗨𝗣𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗟
Santa Lusia dilahirkan dalam keluarga bangsawan yang kaya raya dan terhormat, dan merupakan penganut Kristian yang sangat taat. Ayahnya berbangsa Roma, manakala ibunya yang bernama Eutychia mempunyai darah keturunan Yunani. Beliau kehilangan ayahnya ketika berusia 5 tahun. Santa Lusia merupakan seorang yang tegas dan taat dalam memperteguhkan pendiriannya. Secara diam-diam, beliau telah berikrar dan berjanji kepada Yesus bahawa; tidak akan pernah bernikah dan ingin menjadi milik Yesus sehingga ke akhir hayat.
𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗝𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗨𝗣
Dilahirkan dalam keluarga bangsawan, Santa Lusia terkenal dengan kejelitaannya dan mempunyai sepasang mata yang sangat cantik. Ini membuatkan ramai pemuda jatuh hati kepadanya. Mengikut tradisi keluarga bangsawan, remaja perempuan wajib ditunangkan dengan pemuda bangsawan yang telah dipilih, dan beliau tidak terkecuali. Pemuda bangsawan berbangsa Roma ini datang daripada keluarga pagan.
Ibunya, Eutychia telah memilih seorang pemuda namun begitu Santa Lusia menolak kerana dari awal pendiriannya, dia tidak mahu bernikah. Eutychia sedar akan keadaan kesihatan dirinya; menderita penyakit pendarahan, dan ini merupakan satu sebab mengapa dia mendesak Santa Lusia untuk meneruskan pernikahan ini. Dia ingin memastikan masa depan Santa Lusia terjamin selepas dia meninggal nanti.
𝗞𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗨𝗣𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗜
Pada suatu hari, Santa Lusia memujuk ibunya untuk melakukan penziarahan ke gereja Santa Agatha. Mereka pun pergi bersama-sama dan berdoa, mohon penyembuhan untuk penyakit pendarahan yang dialaminya. Ketika mereka melakukan penziarahan, beliau mendapat satu visi dari Santa Agatha di dalam mimpinya. Dalam mimpi tersebut, telah dikhabarkan bahawa penyakit pendarahan ibunya akan pulih sepenuhnya disebabkan iman beliau yang kuat, dan Santa Lusia akan mencapai kemuliaan dan kehormatan.
Tuhan mendengar doa mereka, ibunya telah disembuhkan sepenuhnya. Ibunya sangat bersyukur di atas kesembuhan tersebut, dan Santa Lusia telah mengambil kesempatan ini memaklumkan kepada ibunya, tentang ikrarnya untuk menjadi pengantin Kristus dan meminta izin untuk mendermakan mas kahwinnya kepada orang miskin.
Sebagai tanda terima kasih dan tersentuh dengan kuatnya iman Santa Lusia, ibunya mengizinkannya untuk memenuhi panggilan hidupnya, dan ibunya sendiri menyerahkan hidup kepada Tuhan.
𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗡 𝗬𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗜𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗣𝗜
Apabila berita tentang pembatalan pernikahan serta wang mas kahwin yang telah didermakan kepada orang miskin diketahui oleh pemuda bangsawan Roma tersebut, dia menjadi sangat marah dan melaporkan Santa Lusia kepada pihak berkuasa, sebagai seorang pengikut Kristus. Pihak berkuasa ketika itu adalah di bawah pemerintahan Kaisar Dicletainus. Pemerintah ketika itu terkenal dengan kekejamannya terhadap penganut Kristian. Pihak berkuasa tersebut telah mengancam untuk membutakan kedua mata Santa Lusia. Santa Lusia dengan rela hati sanggup kehilangan kedua matanya daripada berpaling tadah kepada Yesus.
Maka, itulah yang telah terjadi. Matanya dikeluarkan dan dilemparkan di atas piring. Santa Lusia mengambil semula mata tersebut, meletakkannya kembali ke dalam soket matanya. Yesus telah membalas cinta Santa Lusia yang gagah berani dengan melakukan mukjizat; memulihkan kembali mata Santa Lusia, bahkan menjadikan matanya jauh lebih indah dari sebelumnya.
Santa Lusia telah ditangkap dan diperintahkan untuk dihantar ke rumah pelacuran. Namun begitu, satu keajaiban telah berlaku di mana Santa Lusia tidak dapat digerakkan langsung. Bahkan sekumpulan askar yang gagah perkasa mahu pun sekumpulan lembu terlatih tidak mampu menggerakkan tubuhnya walaupun sedikit. Kuasa Roh Kudus telah memenuhi seluruh tubuhnya dan menjadikannya sangat berat.
Berasa tergugat dan tercalarnya ego dengan besarnya kuasa Tuhan, pihak berkuasa telah mengarahkan askarnya untuk membakar kayu api di sekeliling Santa Lusia, tetapi api tersebut memancar daripadanya. Ini membuatkan mereka hilang akal kerana segala cubaan gagal. Tanpa membuang masa, salah seorang askar tersebut mengeluarkan pedangnya dan menikam Santa Lusia. Santa Lusia menjadi martir bagi Yesus pada tahun 304.
𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢 𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗡
Terdapat beberapa versi mengenai kematian Santa Lusia. Ada sumber mengatakan bahawa, beliau dipancung. Versi yang lain menyatakan bahawa, salah seorang askar menikam pisau ke kerongkongnya, namun begitu beliau tetap bertahan sehingga seorang paderi datang memberikan komuni kudus yang terakhir untuknya, dan beliau pun menghembuskan nafasnya yang terakhir.
𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 / 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒉:
𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑬𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑵𝒚𝒊𝒓𝒖𝒏
December 2, 2023
𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦/ 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗨𝗝𝗨𝗞𝗔𝗡
Budzik, M. F., Kerrigan, M., & Phillips, C. (2015). The Illustrated History of Catholicism & The Catholic Saints. Anness Publishing Ltd.
Craughwell, T. J. (2016). Heaven Help Us. 300 Patron Saints to Call Upon for Every Occasion. Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Prahl, A. (2019, March 25). Biography of Saint Lucy, Bringer of Light. Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/saint-lucy-bringer-of-light-4589771
Tim Chivita Books. (2013). Ensiklopedi Orang Kudus Sepanjang Masa. Penerbit Chivita Books.