It's too great of a find not to share, so I give you:
SAINT LUCY!
There are a series of legends referred to as the "virgin martyrs" that are some of my favorite tales, as far as hagiography goes. There's very little historicity to them, but lots of gore, piety, and wonder. I totally adore them. Many of these stories were downgraded in the wake of Vatican II, as part of the effort to update church devotional practices, but the saints were (and still are) very popular. I'm trying to build up a collection of them, so this was a great find for me.
My Virgin Martyr Collection |
Like a lot of these tales, Lucy's story has different versions. This is the most common one. I recall reading one that said she tore her own eyes out (that's them on her platter) when a suitor admired them, lest she be tempted to vanity and he to lust. They miraculously grew back as a sign of her piety and devotion.
2 comments:
They mention the eyes in the last line on the Wikipedia page you linked to. I just read the whole thing. Pretty gruesome! I've never seen a statue of her before. Eyeballs on a platter. Wow.
Interesting - my mom (with macular degeneration) says a prayer to Saint Odelia everyday. I will have to print out the St. Lucy prayer for troubled eyes and she can add that to her list.
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