Advent Lights · Week 3 · Grades 6–8
Guided Notes: St. Lucy
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
Christian in a dangerous year
Lucy lived in blank 1, a major port city on the island of Sicily, in the Roman Empire. Christians had lived there for generations, usually in peace but never fully safe.
In 303 the emperor Diocletian began the last and largest Roman blank 2 of Christians. Churches were closed and sacred books were burned. People were ordered to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods.
Lucy would not. She died around 304 as a martyr, a word that means “witness.” A martyr gives their life rather than deny blank 3.
Lucy and her world
Write what happened at each point.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Late 200s | Write your answer |
| 303 | Write your answer |
| c. 304 | Write your answer |
| 313 | Write your answer |
| c. 400 | Write your answer |
| 400s | Write your answer |
| Today | Write your answer |
Check the facts
Why were Christians in danger when Lucy lived? Circle one.
- A Sicily was at war with the city of Rome
- B The emperor ordered them to give up their faith
- C Christians had refused to pay Roman taxes
- D A new religion had taken over Syracuse
Why is that the right answer?
The story Christians handed down
The account of Lucy’s life was written in the 400s. Historians cannot confirm its details, so the blank 4 calls it tradition.
Tradition says Lucy’s family was wealthy and her mother was ill. They prayed at the tomb of St. Agatha in blank 5, and her mother recovered.
Lucy then asked to give her dowry, the money set aside for her marriage, to the poor. She had promised her life to Christ. Tradition says the man who expected to marry her reported her as a blank 6.
Much later, artists began to paint Lucy holding a lamp or a dish with two eyes. People prayed to blank 7 through her for healthy sight.
History or tradition?
Which statement about Lucy is best supported by historical evidence? Circle one.
- A She gave away her dowry to the poor of the city
- B Her mother was healed at the tomb of St. Agatha
- C A rejected suitor reported her to the governor
- D She was honored as a martyr in Syracuse very early
Why is that the right answer?
Which light is it?
Lucy’s name means light, and her life pointed to Christ. Sort each use of a screen: does it give light to others, or is it only glow? Check one box for each.
| Item | Gives light | Only glow |
|---|---|---|
| Sending a kind message to someone who is alone | ||
| Scrolling in bed long after midnight | ||
| Checking whether a story is true before sharing it | ||
| Reposting a rumor because it is exciting | ||
| Using a prayer app, then sitting in silence | ||
| Watching videos to avoid a quiet moment | ||
| Sharing a photo of something beautiful you noticed | ||
| Posting only to count the likes |
A feast of light
Why do people celebrate St. Lucy’s Day with candles? Circle one.
- A Her name means light and her feast falls in dark December
- B Candles were first invented in the city of Syracuse
- C She asked that candles be lit every year for her
- D The Church lights candles on the feast of every martyr
Why is that the right answer?
Talk it over
Lucy lived by a light she could not see with her eyes: her faith in Christ. We spend hours looking at lit screens. When does a screen help you see what is true and good, and when does it keep you from seeing?
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “A screen helps me see clearly when ...”“I notice less of the real world when ...”“Silence without a screen feels ... because ...”“One thing I want to notice this Advent is ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5
Lord Jesus, light of the world, shine in our darkness.
Give us courage to be faithful and eyes to see what is true.
Teach us to love silence and to notice you.
St. Lucy, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
Seventeen centuries later, Christians still light candles for a young woman from Syracuse. Her feast day is December 13.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Lucy shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: Choose one of the three virtue practices and keep it every day until next week’s saint.