A Saint Shining the Light of Christ

St Lucy has inspired me for a long time. Not that I was named after her but because of her life story. St Lucy shows the example of “being the light of Christ into the world.”  Why is St Lucy so importantly honored as a saint? There is a special reason why her feast is celebrated in the Advent season that happens during the approach of the darker days of winter.

St Lucy was born to a rich family in Sicily to Christian parents around the year 283. Her father died when she was only a child. At an early age, Lucy gave herself to Jesus as His special bride. When she was of age, her mother arranged for her to be married to a young rich man, who happened to be a pagan named Paschasius. But her mother got sick and had been suffering from hemorrhaging. They were searching for a cure until they spent a night at the tomb of St Agatha and Lucy saw the saint in a dream saying to her that her mother would be cured through her faith by giving her dowry money to the poor and consecrating her life to God. Paschasius, her fiancé, got angry that the engagement was cut off. He turned in Lucy to the Roman governor for being a Christian. The governor ordered his guards to take out her eyes. God miraculously restored Lucy’s eyesight. They tried to burn her, and the fire would not start. God saved her. Finally, she was martyred with a sword.

Her life story inspires me because she would rather have God and would sacrifice even her life for God. Her faith was burning with God’s light. With her deep faith, I learned that we could “see” God in everything – in people, in nature, in Scripture, and in prayer. When we have spiritual blindness, we fall into sin. We get blinded by money, pride, disobedience, selfishness and other sins. Sometimes, we would realize how heavy our hearts could be. Why? Because of our guilt. How can we attain the forgiveness from God? It is through the light of Christ. 

When I got a bad eye infection, I had doubts, and I was clouded with questions of why it happened to me. I was impatient and getting stressed out. My parents reminded  me to pray to St Lucy for her intercession and of course, to God for His healing by claiming the Bible verse, Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our sins, for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds, we were healed.” I started praying every time I put a warm compression in my eyes. With prayers, I started seeing the light --- the light that God has forgiven me, the light that God has healed me, and the light that God has showed me the way to life! Remembering that God and all the saints helped me in other ways, I got through it all. Now, I pray everyday to help me see through Christ by being the light of Christ to others, by loving God, by growing in faith deeper, by learning God’s Word, and by volunteering at the church.

On the Feast Day of St Lucy, December 13th, it is important that we honor her, who stood up for her faith and showed her courage, choosing Christ, doing His will, even when she was persecuted and went through hardship. St Lucy is the patron saint of eye illnesses and the blind. She is known as the “Saint of Light” pointing the way to the Light of Christ at Christmas to overcome the darkness in our lives. Until today, she draws us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. This Advent season, let us not forget to celebrate the birth of Jesus and see the reflection of His light of love, hope and mercy for humanity and the world.



Lucy Forcier, 11, is the eldest daughter of the family and a 6th grader at St Michael Catholic School in St Michael. She enjoys singing and reading devotionals and books by CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, books about the saints, and the Bible. She is currently active in Total Lifelong Catechesis (TLC) program in St Albert’s, is singing in the St. Albert’s choir, is in the STMA Catholic Youth Ministry’s Middle School Bible Study and other youth events, and is volunteering for a few St Albert’s parish events. She is thinking of taking up Theology in college.