<p>St. Lucy was a wealthy young martyr.&nbsp; Her name is derived from Lux, or Lucis, meaning &ldquo;Light&rdquo;. &nbsp; She is one of seven women, beside the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.&nbsp; Hagiography states that Lucy was a Christian martyr during the Diocletian persecution.&nbsp; She consecrated her virginity to God through pious works.&nbsp; She refused to marry a pagan man, and had her wedding dowry distributed to the poor. The betrothed pagan groom denounced her as a Christian to the governor of Syracuse, Sicily, and she was sentenced to death for being a Christian.&nbsp; Miraculously they were unable to move her, or to burn her, so the guards took out her eyes with a fork, thus making her the patron saint of the blind. &nbsp;</p> <p>The oldest record of her story comes from the 5^th century accounts of the saint&rsquo;s lives.&nbsp; Her popularity grew so much by the 6^th century that she appears in the Sacramentary of Pope Gregory I.&nbsp; Later, she was included in the Venerable Bede, the book of Martyrology.&nbsp; Most times in art, her eyes appear on a tray that she is holding.&nbsp; Until 1861, relics of St. Lucy were venerated in a Church dedicated to her in Venice. After it&rsquo;s demolition, they were transferred to the Church of San Geremia. &nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></span></p> <p>St. Lucy was a martyr from our early Church.&nbsp; She was a young girl, who was to be married at a young age.&nbsp; Promising to remain a virgin, she gave her dowry to the poor and refused to marry.&nbsp; Her prospective husband turned her in to the authorities as a Christian, and she was to be burned to death.&nbsp; Miraculously they were unable to move her, or to burn her.&nbsp; Legend has it that they plucked her eyes out in retaliation.&nbsp; She is the patroness of blind peope, and those with eye problems. &nbsp;</p>