It has been so fun doing “girly things” with the new baby. Family and friends love to give her cute outfits, bows for her hair and pink toys. One of her newest additions is a soft little dolly that she likes to hold and chew on. My coworker gave it to her and said, “Hmm, what should we call her? How about Lucy!” I thought that was a perfect name.
When I saw that today was the Feast of St. Lucy, it made me smile. Not only is the little dolly a light and a joy to my infant daughter, but St. Lucy is a light to us by her example as a Christian martyr.
In today’s Psalm, we ask the Lord to be our light and our guide: “Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your kindness are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way.
A week or so ago we lost power at our house. It was already evening and quite dark. So we got out the flashlights and the boys had a blast playing flashlight tag in the basement. The next day they said they wished the power would go out again! All the while, I was worried about them freezing in their beds and the two weeks worth of groceries I had just bought going bad.
My boys were not frightened by the darkness simply because they had light and could see the way. We cannot see the way without light. When we cannot see the way, we become frightened. The Lord is our light and He guides us in truth and goodness and love.
May this halfway point in Advent find us continually searching for the brightness of God’s guidance. May we repeat with the Psalmist, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.”
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at her parish, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.
Feature Image Credit: Patrick Fore, https://unsplash.com/photos/74TufExdP3Y
Daily Reading
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Malachi 3:19-20a Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will…
Saint of the Day
St. Joseph Moscati
St. Joseph Moscati
Feast date: Nov 16
On November 16, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Joseph Moscati, the first modern medical doctor to be canonized. Born on July 25, 1880 in Benevento, Italy, he lived out the Gospel through his position as a teacher and physician. There are a number of stories of Dr. Moscati paying close attention to the state of his patient’s soul as well as the body, sometimes even bringing the patient back to the sacraments. The Catholic understanding of body and soul clearly informed his understanding of illness and medicine. He saw Confession and Communion as the “first medicine.”He is quoted as once having said, “Remember that you have to deal not only with the bodies but also with the moaning souls coming to you.”Dr. Moscati’s holiness and devotion wasn’t just limited to his practice. To help the poor, he often donated his medical services or paid for his patients’ prescriptions. St. Joseph Moscati also felt it was important to support priests and those in religious life with his prayers because, as he said: “They are easily forgotten by the living, since Christians often think that they do not need prayers.”He carried a Rosary in his pocket as a reminder throughout his day and as a way to draw him to Our Lady — and through her, to Jesus — when he needed to make important decisions.St. Joseph Moscati died on April 12, 1927 of natural causes in his office between patient appointments. He was beatified on November 16, 1975 by Pope Paul VI and canonized on October 25, 1987 by Pope John Paul II. His body rests in Naples, Italy, in the Church of Gesu Nuovo.