LORD, THAT I MIGHT SEE!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of St. Lucy, December 13th, is, “Lord, That I Might See.”

It's the prayer and the cry of the blind man of Jericho in Luke 18: 35-43.

Today is the feast of St. Lucy - an Early Church martyr who died for being a Christian - around 300.

She is one of the 4 great women martyrs of the 4 months of the cold weather months in the northern hemisphere: Cecilia, Lucy, Agnes and Agatha - November, December, January and February.

She is sometimes pictured with a plate with her eyes on it - because that was one of the legends or stories about her: that her eyes were gauged out by her torturers.

She is especially venerated in Sicily - and Italy. When I lived in Long Branch, New Jersey, I noticed in the various Italian homes I visited that they all had a picture of statue of Lucy with the eyes.

But she’s also venerated and celebrated in Sweden and in the Scandinavian countries - as well as in various other places - for example, Omaha, Nebraska.

So St. Lucy has always been popular. Lucy is a neat name. Everyone has eyes. Everyone has eye problems now and then. So pray to St. Lucy.

DECEMBER - THE SEASON OF LIGHT

At this time, if you drive around Annapolis you’ll see people on their front lawn or at the front of their house setting up lights. December is the month of light - obviously because of Christmas - and obviously because December 21 is the darkest day of the year - and then we move towards the light.

Every year, when I come to this feast of St. Lucy - I always remember standing in the back of some church on some parish mission - around All Saints Day - and all the kids are dressed up in Saint costumes. Sheets are the secret. Well there was this one girl with a sheet around her and electric lights flashing around her head - battery powered. Pointing towards her, I asked someone, “Who is that?” And the lady, probably an Italian, looked at me as if I were blind, “Saint Lucy dummy!”

Let there be light.

CONCLUSION

So as you know I push the rosary for more than Hail Mary’s. Simply take the beads and say 59 times the prayer of the Blind Man, “Lord, that I might see.” That’s what he said he wanted when Jesus asked him why the yelling. “What do you want?” He said, “Lord, that I might see.

Or even shorter, use your rosary beads to say 59 times, the death bed words of Goethe, “More light.”

Goethe had said earlier in his writings, “Someday perhaps the inner light will shine forth from us, and then we shall need no other light.”

That would be nice.

Or simply use your beads to pray 59 times, “Light.”

=================================

Painting on top: St. Lucy [1521] by Domenico di Pace Beccafumi [1486-1521]. It can be found in the Pinacteca Nazionale, Siena, Italy