Today, as We move deeper into winter and the days grow darker the church celebrates the feast of St. Lucy.
The story of Saint Lucy goes back to the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. She had consecrated herself to God and was denounced by her betrothed as a Christian.
The two symbols associated with Saint Lucy are the crown of candles and her eyes on a plate. On the most basic level, the eyes on the plate represent part of the way she was tortured.
On a deeper level the eyes and the candles both linked to the original meaning of her name. Her name is derived from the Latin word Lux, which means light. In the Ancient understanding a vision, light came from the eyes.
Christ is the light that scatters the darkness and so we celebrate Saint Lucy as we prepare for the coming of the great light of Christ.
This feast is a reminder to us that we are all supposed to be bearers of light.
