ASK HER FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALING FROM ILLS CAUSED BY YOUR EYES

For ages hence, St Lucy whose feast we celebrate today has been revered as an intercessor for good eyesight, even healing from total blindness. To be sure, she is depicted bearing a plate with two eyes (which were gouged out). I've heard people scoff that she is no longer "relevant" because medical advances make it possible to go without asking the prayers of a young winsome woman who was martyred in the year 304. I don't think these folks ever had a bad eye infection. Or, even a stye. 

But I submit that her intercessory powers may be asked for an intention not only of biological healing, but of psychological damage done us by something we've seen - either willingly or unwillingly - which then caused us to sin, or plagued our memory, or even caused trauma. For some it's like the scenes replayed in their mind is like being locked in a cinema that constantly plays images that cause distress or pain. Or jealousy and resentment. Some of the more honest of my peers said that social media like Instagram causes them such envy they come to dislike (or worse) people who seem to have more; especially "higher numbers" of red hearts.

Yes, it's true we live in a narcissistic age, yet jealousy can combust a person's empathy; a key sign of narcissism. The best experts say that there is no cure, but I'd proffer a solution that if someone is afflicted by this condition, better custody of the eyes, a break from constantly viewing other people's lives made to look picture perfect, might just be a small help. Other writers and commentators have said the above lines a lot but I put forth St Lucy as a citizen of Heaven who can help narcissists who have oversaturated their minds with images that have made them feel inferior, thus they go looking for everything and anything that will make them feel special.

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Lucy actually died when a sword stabbed her neck - on December 13 - the time of the year when the days are darkest. For centuries, people have commented that it is ironic that her name comes from the Latin for light. Dr. Pius Parsch offers this beautiful reflection:  "The very name Lucy pulsates with light, a living symbol amid the season's darkness (the days are now the shortest of the year). As a wise virgin Lucy advances with a burning lamp to meet the Bridegroom. She typifies the Church and the soul now preparing their bridal robes for a Christmas marriage."

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The quote from the supreme scholar of the saints, Dr. Pius Parsch is found in The Church's year of Grace, The Liturgical Press, Minnesota, 1957, page 172

The classic painting was executed by Domenico Beccafumi and is in the public domain.