Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 13, 2022
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
“What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’
but afterwards he changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go.
Which of the two did his father’s will?”
They answered, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the Kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him.”
While a student at Notre Dame, I remember praying about my vocation. I felt God begin to reveal to me that I was called to be a wife, mother, and physician. I couldn’t have been more thrilled that God’s will matched my dreams. I had a clear path forward.
It did not seem then like a difficult Christian journey but a fulfillment of a vision that had been developing in my heart since childhood.
As my life unfolded, my enthusiasm and joy about my path began to wither as more and more demands came my way. Caring month after month, year after year, for both a family and patients is tough! But my determination to make my initial aspirations work the way I imagined them did not diminish.
In today’s parable, the first son’s will did not align with his father’s desire, and he let him know that. But this son had a heart that reflected, and he soon converted his actions. The second son pleasantly agreed to his father’s will at first but did not follow through. Ultimately, his focus was on his own agenda rather than that of his father. The second son will not enjoy the kingdom until he can conform his will to the father.
The Christian life is made up of dreams and beautiful aspirations and a concrete commitment to follow the will of God in real-time, with the grace of continual conversion. Do we become deaf to God’s message because we are too attached to our own vision of the path to the goal?
Daily prayer and a reflective heart give us the energy to change the natural inertia of a myopic focus. Today, let us give up our self-reliance and be observant of any small call to conversion that God places before us.
Prayer
Like the second son in today’s Gospel, Lord, we make promises that we do not keep. We get lazy or turn away from the work in the vineyard which you ask us to do. Please give us another chance when we stumble, and usher us one day into your kingdom. Amen.
Saint of the Day
There is little information that can be historically verified about St. Lucy’s life, but the fact that she was a well-known and honored saint in the early Church cannot be denied. Lucy continues to remain among the most revered martyrs—she is one of the few saints invoked in the Eucharistic prayer at Mass.
Tradition tells us that Lucy was born to wealthy parents in Sicily, Italy. As a young girl, Lucy converted to Christianity and consecrated herself, pledging to remain a virgin. She kept her conversion a secret from her parents, who, in the meantime, promised Lucy in marriage to a young man who was a pagan.
Lucy refused outright to marry the young man, citing her vow of virginity. Stung and rejected, her betrothed denounced Lucy as a Christian in front of the governor of their province. Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians was at its height, and Lucy was brought to trial, around the year 304 AD.
There are many legends regarding Lucy's possible martyrdom. One tells the story of a judge condemning Lucy to a brothel. But when anyone tried to touch her, they were unable to reach or move her. A variation on this story says that Lucy was so "filled with the Holy Spirit" she became like a mountain, and not even a team of oxen could move her. Another account says that soldiers tried to burn her, but Lucy remained unscorched by the flames. Finally, accounts claim that Lucy was killed by the sword: either beheaded or stabbed through the eyes.
Lucy's eyes have taken on a large role in her legend. Some stories recount Lucy’s eyes being gouged out by part of her torture; some claim that she herself plucked them out before she was even brought to trial, in order to ward off her suitor. Her eyes were restored to her, however, and she was even more beautiful than before. Lucy's name comes from the Latin for "light," and as light is received ocularly, eyes are a natural symbol for this saint. Lucy is the patron of those who are blind or who suffer from diseases of the eye.
On the old Gregorian calendar, December 13 was the Winter Solstice. Thus, this feast day of Lucy's martyrdom was celebrated on the darkest day of the year. St. Lucy became a symbol of the light of Christ that breaks through the darkness. In Scandinavian countries, where winter was particularly dark, St. Lucy or "St. Lucia's" day became a great celebration. King Canute of Norway declared that St. Lucy's feast day on December 13 would become the beginning of the Christmas celebration.
Some relics of St. Lucy rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus, and Lucy is also depicted in one of the murals on the Basilica's walls, holding her eyes on a plate.
St. Lucy, brave intercessor for those in need of physical and spiritual light—pray for us!