Saturday of the Second Week of Advent
In addition to being a Saturday in Advent, today is also the memorial of St. Lucy. As the patroness of those who suffer diseases of the eye, she is often depicted holding her own eyeballs, and this has always been taken as an indication of the manner in which she was martyred during the fourth century. As a virgin and a martyr, she lived her life in love with the Lord she could only see through the eyes of faith, and the eyes of her flesh were therefore a small price to pay for the love of God.
In today’s Gospel reading, we see the disciples descending a mountain with Jesus, and they learn a lesson that is likewise only revealed to those who see first with the eyes of the heart. The Scribes and Pharisees all knew well that Elijah was to come again and prepare the way for the Messiah, but their eyes had failed to see in a disheveled and ascetic personality the prophet they had been promised. Instead, their eyes were blinded to the plan of God, and they missed the hour of their repentance. Let us therefore pray to St. Lucy that we might follow her example and that of the disciples of Jesus who recognized the time of their salvation and eagerly prepared their hearts to receive the One they so longed to see.