將臨期第二週 (週六) (2008年12月13日)喜樂主日 聖璐琪(路濟亞)貞女殉道 (紀念) A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 17:10-13

神父講道 - 將臨期第二週 (週六) (2008年12月13日)喜樂主日
聖璐琪(路濟亞)貞女殉道 (紀念)
恭讀聖瑪竇福音　17: 10-13
眾門徒從山上下來時，便問耶穌說：「那麼，爲什麽經師說厄里亞應該先來呢？」耶穌回答說：「厄里亞的確要來，且要重整一切。但我告訴你們：厄里亞已經來了，人們卻不認識他，反而任意對待了他；照樣，人子也要受他們磨難。」門徒這才明白耶穌給他們所說的，是指的洗者若翰。
—上主的話。
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 17:10-13
10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Eli’jah must come?” 11 He replied, “Eli’jah does come, and he is to restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Eli’jah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
—The Gospel of the Lord.
十二月十三日 聖璐琪(路濟亞)貞女殉道 (St. Lucy) (貞女、殉道）（紀念）
聖女葬在西西里島的斯拉古撒， 可能在戴克里先迫害教會時蒙難，她的紀念日最早記載在熱羅尼莫的殉道錄中，六世紀羅馬教會已有她的敬禮。被譽為保護眼睛的主保。
St. Lucy
Feastday: December 13Patron of Blindness
St. Lucy
Lucy's name means "light", with the same root as "lucid" which means "clear, radiant, understandable." Unfortunately for us, Lucy's history does not match her name. Shrouded in the darkness of time, all we really know for certain is that this brave woman who lived in Syracuse lost her life in the persecution of Christians in the early fourth century. Her veneration spread to Rome so that by the sixth century the whole Church recognized her courage in defense of the faith.
Because people wanted to shed light on Lucy's bravery, legends grew up. The one that is passed down to us tells the story of a young Christian woman who had vowed her life to the service of Christ. Her mother tried to arrange a marriage for her with a pagan. Lucy apparently knew that her mother would not be convinced by a young girl's vow so she devised a plan to convince her mother that Christ was a much more powerful partner for life. Through prayers at the tomb of Saint Agatha, her mother's long illness was cured miraculously. The grateful mother was now ready to listen to Lucy's desire to give her money to the poor and commit her life to God.
Unfortunately, legend has it, the rejected bridegroom did not see the same light and he betrayed Lucy to the governor as a Christian. This governor tried to send her into prostitution but the guards who came to take her way found her stiff and heavy as a mountain. Finally she was killed. As much as the facts of Lucy's specific case are unknown, we know that many Christians suffered incredible torture and a painful death for their faith during Diocletian's reign. Lucy may not have been burned or had a sword thrust through her throat but many Christians did and we can be sure her faith withstood tests we can barely imagine.
Lucy's name is probably also connected to statues of Lucy holding a dish with two eyes on it. This refers to another legend in which Lucy's eyes were put out by Diocletian as part of his torture. The legend concludes with God restoring Lucy's eyes.
Lucy's name also played a large part in naming Lucy as a patron saint of the blind and those with eye-trouble.
Whatever the fact to the legends surrounding Lucy, the truth is that her courage to stand up and be counted a Christian in spite of torture and death is the light that should lead us on our own journeys through life.