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"Rejoice: the Lord is nigh." As Christmas draws near, the Church emphasizes the joy which should be in our hearts over all that the birth of our Savior means for us. The great joy of Christians is to see the day drawing nigh when the Lord will come again in His glory to lead them into His kingdom. The oft-repeated Veni ("Come") of Advent is an echo not only of the prophets but also of the conclusion of the Apocalypse of St. John: "Come, Lord Jesus," the last words of the New Testament.

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"He embraced His bride, and held her Lovingly upon His breast, And the gracious Mother laid Him In the manger down to rest."

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Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Lucy (283-304). St. Lucy (or Lucia) was born in Syracuse, Sicily, where she also died. She was of a noble Greek family, and was brought up as a Christian by her mother, who was miraculously cured at the shrine of St. Agatha in Catania. Lucy made a vow of virginity and distributed her wealth to the poor. This generosity stirred the wrath of the unworthy youth to whom she had been unwillingly betrothed and who denounced her to Paschasius, the governor of Sicily. Tradition has passed on details of her martyrdom. When it was decided to violate her virginity in a place of shame, Lucy, with the help of the Holy Spirit, stood immovable. After torture which included taking out her eyes, a fire was then built around her, but again God protected her. She was finally put to death by the sword. Her name appears in the second list in the Roman Eucharist Canon.

“Jesus literally told me during Advent: ‘There’s this vampire story.’ I thought, ‘Vampires don’t seem very Christmasy.’ But He was so clear: ‘Write it down…Trust Me.’”