December 11: Saint Lucy Again

OK, there's another part of Saint Lucy's story I forgot about.  When she was turned in for being a Christian by a jealous suitor, Lucy was alledgedly tortured in various ways.  Most good martyrs are.  One of the ways in which Lucy was tortured was having her eyes gouged out of their sockets.  It's a pretty gruesome little narrative.  However, it explains why Lucy is the patron saint of not only writers, but also the blind.

I remember seeing statues of Saint Lucy in churches when I was a kid.  Even her statues were a little frightening.  She was always standing, looking like the Virgin Mary.  I can't remember if her eyes were intact or not, but she was smiling, holding a plate in her hands.  On that plate, in all their gory glory, were two eyes, veined and round, staring out at the onlooker.  I could never bring myself to remain in front of Lucy statues for very long.  They creeped me out and fascinated me at the same time.  Sort of like pictures of native women in National Geographic with their long, pendulous breasts and rings around their necks.  I couldn't keep my eyes off Lucy when I was in her presence.

Maybe that's why Lucy is also the patron saint of writers.  She has such a great story, full of drama and violence.  She was the kind of saint I could really get into when I was a kid.  Heck, she's the kind of saint I can get into as an adult.  There's something about her pain and sacrifice that moves me.  I know, if some pagan threatened to pluck out my eyes, I'd probably renounce my Christianity, my political affiliation, and my mother.

I'm not as strong a Christian as I need to be.  Certainly, I'm not as strong as Lucy.  I can be catty.  I can be petty.  I can be fearful of things completely out of my control.

Saint Marty has a long way to go before anyone makes a statue in his honor.

She's got her eyes on us