The Way Comes to You

"Our Lord said: "I am the Way, I am the Truth, I am the Life." The
Truth, all the while remaining with the Father, became the Way also
when he assumed our flesh.

No one says to you: "Labor and find the Way" so that you may come to
the Truth and the Life. Get up, lazy one! The Way himself has come to
you and roused you from slumber."
--St. Augustine--Sermon 142, 1

Prayer: How great was your love for us, kind Father! You did not spare
your sole-begotten Son but surrendered him for the sake of us sinners! Confessions 10, 43

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• 15 November – Blessed Lucia of Narni OP

(1476-1544)
Virgin, Tertiary of the Order of Preachers, Mystic, Stigmatist,
Ecstatic, Married but remained chaste and fulfilled her vow of
Virginity before she left her marital home and entered a Convent. Born
on 13 December 1476 in Narni, Umbria, Italy as Lucia Brocadelli and
died on 15 November 1544 at the Saint Catherine of Siena Convent in
Ferrara, Italy of natural causes. Patronage – of Narni, Italy. Also
known as – Lucy Brocadelli, Lucy de Alessio, Lucia Broccadelli. Her
body is incorrupt.

Already very early it became evident to her pious Italian family that
this child was set for something unusual in life. Lucia was born in 13
December 1476 on the feast day of Saint Lucia of Syracuse, the eldest
of eleven children of Bartolomeo Brocadelli and Gentilina Cassio, in
the Town of Narni (then called Narnia) and in the region of Umbria.

When Lucia was five years old, she had a vision of the Child Jesus
with Our Lady. Two years later, Our Lady appeared with Child Jesus,
Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Dominic. Jesus gave her a ring and
Saint Dominic gave her the scapular. At age 12, she made a private vow
of total consecration, determined, even at this early age, to become a Dominican. However, family affairs were to make this difficult. During
the following year Lucia’s father died, leaving her in the care of an
uncle. And this uncle felt that the best way to dispose of a pretty
niece was to marry her off, as soon as possible.

The efforts of her uncle to get Lucia successfully married form a
colorful chapter in the life of the Blessed Lucia. Eventually the
uncle approached the matter with more tact, arranging a marriage with
Count Pietro of Milan, who was not a stranger to the family. Lucia
was, in fact, very fond of him but she had resolved to live as a
religious. The strain of the situation made her seriously ill. During
her illness, Our Lady appeared to her again, accompanied by Saint
Dominic and Saint Catherine and told her to go ahead with the marriage
as a legal contract but to explain to Pietro that she was bound to her
vow of virginity and must keep it. When Lucia recovered, the matter
was explained to Pietro and in 1491 the marriage was solemnised.

Lucia’s life now became that of the mistress of a large and busy
household. She took great care to instruct the servants in their
religion and soon became known for her benefactions to the poor.
Pietro, to do him justice, never seems to have objected when his young
wife gave away clothes and food, nor when she performed great
penances. He knew that she wore a hair-shirt under her rich clothing
and that she spent most of the night in prayer and working for the
poor.

But when, after having disappeared for the entire night, Countess
Lucia returned home early in the morning in the company of two men and
claimed that they were Saints Dominic and John the Baptist, Pietro’s
patience finally gave out. He had his young wife locked up. Here she
remained for the season of Lent; sympathetic servants brought her food
until Easter. Being allowed to go to the Church, Lucia never returned.
She went to her mother’s house and on the Feast of the Ascension,
1494, 8 May she put on the habit of a Dominican tertiary.

Count Pietro was furious, burned down the Dominican Priory and even
tried to kill her spiritual director who had given her the habit. Rich
and influential, he continued to try to bring her back. The following
year, Lucia went to Rome and entered the Monastery of the Dominican
tertiaries near Pantheon. Her sanctity impressed everyone so much that
by the end of the year, with five other Sisters, she was sent by the
Master General of the Dominicans, to start a new Monastery in Viterbo.

On Friday, 25 February 1496, Lucia received the Stigmata, the Sacred
Wounds. She tried very hard to hide her spiritual favours because they complicated her life wherever she went. She had the stigmata visibly
and she was usually in ecstasy, which meant a steady stream of curious
people who wanted to question her, investigate her, or just stare at
her. Even the Sisters were nervous about her methods of prayer. Once
they called in the Bishop, and he watched Lucia with the sisters for
12 hours, while she went through the drama of the Passion.

The Bishop hesitated to pass judgement and called for special
commissions; the second one was presided by a famous Inquisitor of
Bologna. All declared that her Stigmata were authentic. Here the
hard-pressed Pietro had his final appearance in Lucia’s life. He made
a last effort to persuade her to come back to him. After seeing her,
he returned to Narni, sold everything he had and became a Franciscan.
In later years, he was a famous preacher.

The Duke of Ferrara was planning to build a Monastery and, hearing of
the fame of the mystic of Viterbo, asked Sister Lucia to be its
Prioress. Lucia had been praying for some time that a means would be
found to build a new Convent of strict observance and she agreed to go
to Ferrara. This led to a two-year battle between the Towns. Viterbo
had the Mystic and did not want to lose her; the Duke of Ferrara sent
first his messengers and then his troops to bring her. Much money and
time was lost before she finally escaped from Viterbo and was solemnly
received in Ferrara on 7 May 1499.

Various problems arose in the Convent due to the Duke bringing all
sorts of unsuitable people to view ‘his’ Convent and Stigmatist. the Sisters petitioned the Bishop and, by the order of the Pope, he sent
ten nuns from the Second Order to reform the community. Lucia’s
foundation was of the Third Order; of women who remained part of the
laity even after their vows. The Second Order “real” nuns, according
to the chronicle, “brought in the very folds of their veils the seed
of war.” Nuns of the Second Order wore black veils, a privilege not
allowed to tertiaries.

The uneasy episode ended when one of these ten nuns was made Prioress
and when the Duke died on 24 January 1505. Lucia was placed on
penance. The nature of her fault is not mentioned, nor was there any explanation of the fact that, until her death, 39 years later, she was
never allowed to speak to anyone but her Confessor, who was chosen by
the Prioress. Only now, 500 years later, the situation is slowly
beginning to clear.

The Dominican Provincial, probably nervous for the prestige of the
Order, would not let any member of the Order go to see her. Her
Stigmata disappeared, too late to do her any good and vindictive
companions said: “See, she was a fraud all the time.” When she died in 1544, people thought she had been dead for many years. It is hard to
understand how anyone, not a saint, could have so long endured such a
life. Lucia’s only friends during her 39 years of exile were heavenly
ones – the Dominican Catherine of Racconigi, sometimes visited her – evidently by bi-location – and her other heavenly friends often also
came to brighten her lonely cell.

Immediately after her death everything suddenly changed. When her body
was laid out for burial so many people wanted to pay their last
respects that her funeral had to be delayed by three days. Her Tomb in
the Monastery Church was opened four years later and her perfectly
preserved body was transferred to a glass case. When Napoleon
suppressed her Monastery in 1797, her body was transferred to the
Cathedral of Ferrara and on 26 May 1935 to the Cathedral of Narni.

So many miracles occurred at her Shrine that Lucia was finally
Beatified on 1 March 1710 by Pope Clement XI. It is thought that Lucia
was the inspiration for the little girl Lucy, who could see many
things that no-one else could, in C S Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.

https://anastpaul.com/2021/11/15/


Saint Quote:
Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a
reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping
your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who
defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.
--Saint Peter the Apostle

Bible Quote:
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man
give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52) RSVCE


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Prayer to the Holy Spirit

O Holy Spirit, Soul of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten, guide,
strengthen and console me. Tell me what I ought to do and command me
to do it. I promise to be submissive in everything that You permit to
happen to me, only show me what is Your will.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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