Monday, December 13, 2010

St. Lucia

As many of you already know, today the Church commemorates the young virgin martyr, St. Lucia of Syracuse (the patron saint of our little Lucia) who gave her life for Christ at the mere age of 20.  What is beautiful is that the whole Christian world (and I mean Orthodox, Catholic and some Protestants) reveres her, and many have beautiful traditions and festivities that go along with this feast day. 

I will be honest...it was hard to find it within us to celebrate, but we did.  It was hard and it is hard because the distress of Lucia's sickness has been overwhelming, and the wondering from one moment to the next of whether she will still be here causes so much anxiety and sadness.  Nevertheless, God's grace is abundant (as a dear friend reminded me yesterday in a phone message) and allowed us to pull ourselves together, put our "game faces" on, and celebrate a beautiful morning Liturgy in honour of St. Lucia, and our little saint Lucia.  (Forgive me, but as uncanonical and as unorthodox as this may be, I do think my daughter is a little saint).  Her dear teta (grandmother in Arabic) made St. Lucia buns and we munched on them after liturgy - a great way to celebrate the day (thank you Tante Sha-nay-nay!  ;)  ).  Though Lucia had a pretty high fever this morning and is dependent upon oxygen, we were able to get her to church comfortably (which thankfully is only 3 minutes away!) to receive the best medicine in the whole world.

Another little out-pouring of God's grace -- Lucia has been napping for over 3 hours as I write this.  It hurts me to tell you that this is the most sleep she has had in days, poor thing (you know, the saints didn't sleep much ;) ).  She continues to spike high fevers and lose weight and has also lost her cry again, but as the nurse put it today, she is neither getting any better nor any worse - she is stable in her sickness....for now.  Tomorrow, if God wills, we will celebrate her 5 month birthday.  Please keep the prayers up.  Our love and gratitude to you all.

A few pictures for you all to enjoy...

This might be a crazy mom thing, but she has the most beautiful hands (and truly, I'm not even the artsy type that has an appreciation for stuff like this)...but I LOVE her hands.  They do the funniest things sometimes.


10 comments:

  1. I tend to like all babies, but you're right, her hands are beautiful!

    Joyous Feastday!

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  2. She is so beautiful! I can see why you love her hands; been thinking of you and her today as it is St. Lucia's day. We pray here; we love you; we love your little Lucia.

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  3. Happy Names Day Lucia! I'm so glad you guys were able to enjoy yourselfs. I've been thinking about you, Father Anthony, and Lucia a lot these past weeks. You, and your family is in my heart Ramia, and I continue to beg for His mercy. Take care of yourself habibti. I love you.

    Lord have mercy.--Rawan

    (p.s. Her hands are beautiful Ramia. Agreed 100%)

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  4. Happy Feast Day! We have all said extra prayers today. I am so sorry for all of your stress and anxiety. She is a beautiful little girl, and we are glad that you were able to celebrate her feast day.

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  5. I love her hands too! They're beautiful. She's beautiful. You're right also that she is a little saint -- sometimes we just know these things. She is a blessing, an icon of Christ. Thank God. Thank you for the update. You, your family, and especially Lucia, are in our prayers.

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  6. I was so glad to be able to celebrate with you yesterday. I think she is a little saint, too.

    Lucia is beautiful, her hands are beautiful, and we love you all!

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  7. Kh. Ramia,

    Because I was raised in this multi-cultural cowtown (Houston), I thought of the old spiritual "This Little Light of Mine." Link:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx3nTsFJEQE&feature=related

    When you go there, you'll see links to various versions. This one, however, would have been the one performed for Queen Elizabeth II some years ago when she visited an old church built by freed slaves.

    Whether this version, or another, suits your fancy, the fact is, YOUR little LIGHT outshines them all.

    In God's Love,
    Benedict

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  8. Her hands are beautiful. Truly beautiful. My family remembered your little light on St Lucia's day; I had prayed that she would live to see this feast day.

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  9. Dear Kh. Ramia,
    Thank you for sharing pictures and stories of dear Lucia; my wife and I pray for her daily, and we are glad to have a means to read more about her. St. Jonah's is our parish - just down the road from your church - and Lucia is prayed for there during each Liturgy. Yesterday we celebrated the memory of the Holy Hierarch Nicholas (on the Old Calendar) - he is a fervent intercessor for all God's servants who are in need. Through the prayers of St. Nicholas, may the Lord continue to show His abundant mercy toward you, Fr. Anthony, and your child of light Lucia!
    In Christ,
    David & Jennifer

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  10. What a fighter little Lucia is this day! I love the courage and drive to live and be with her parents. I am glad that you are sharing these moments with us Ramia. I will check in with you at the end of the week to see how you guys are doing. (I will call this time, LOL) Much Love and peace--Oh yea, My mom said hello and that she is keeping you guys in her prayers.

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