A Bundle of Myrrh

Today the church remembers St. Lucy (St. Lucia) who was martyred in 304 AD. In many stories it is said that she was given by her mother to marry a pagan man, but she refused and gave her dowry to the poor. The man she was to marry denounced her as a Christian in a time that that meant a death sentence.

Since she could not be burned (the flames would not burn her) or moved (she became as heavy as a mountain), her eyes were gouged out and she was killed by being stabbed through the neck. Because her eyes were taken, and since her name means ‘light‘, she became the patron saint of the blind.

There are many traditions for this day. We chose a few to include in our feast day which we celebrated for the first time last year. You can find tons of information and ideas HERE. And you can listen to the audio book, Lucia, Saint of Light HERE.

St. Lucy peg dolls from my mom in the Advent calendar today.

Traditionally on this day, the oldest daughter of the family dresses as St. Lucia and takes coffee and rolls to the everyone while they’re still in bed. Since I was the last one out of bed today and because my “eldest” is only 4, she contented herself with passing the rolls out to each of us as we sat at the table.

As we ate Phil read from Scripture,”You are the light of the world” Matthew 5:14. We talked about light and darkness.

Our St. Lucy crowns made by Grandma Verna!

It isn’t just the girls who get to have all the fun on St. Lucy’s day, here are our Star Boys!

After breakfast Lily dressed up as St. Lucy.

Then I gave her Kirsten hair to wear to school.

Tonight we will sing Hymn #411 LSB, “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light“.

I’m finding it to be a great blessing to live the Church Year and make it tradition to remember the lives of saints before us. As I practice taking the time to learn about the Apostles, the martyrs, the Bishops, the angels and our Church calender, I’ve begun to see and think about things in a different light.  Ways I can decorate our home in colors and symbols that bring to our minds deep truths of God’s love, our forgiveness and salvation.

In remembering the lives of saints, I am repeatedly reminded of God’s faithfulness and His provision. I see How a mighty and loving God bathes His children in so much Grace that they can be kept in His strong hand even under horrific strains and I am encouraged. Countless examples of His love pouring out of sinners through all generations. God’s Word endures, His love endures, His promises endure forever. Thanks be to God.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2012 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Church Year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.