Restoration of sight is an important biblical metaphor. Isaiah uses it as a sign of God’s transformation of the world. In Matthew’s Gospel it is a sign of the reign of God. We must be careful in our use of this metaphor. Those sightless from birth or through illness or injury are nevertheless full persons. But both Scripture and tradition use sight as a metaphor, as we do in common speech, when we say, “I see,” to indicate our understanding.
Fourth-century martyr St. Lucy is honored by a feast in the midst of the Advent season. Little is known about her life, except that she died a martyr’s death after a would-be suitor denounced her as a Christian. She is depicted in art holding her eyes on a plate, and so legends developed that her eyes were gouged out by her torturers. Perhaps her name, which means “light,” helped those stories to grow, until Lucy became, in the tradition of the church, the patron of those who are blind.
This season, let us seek Christ, that we may truly see ourselves in his Light.
—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM
