St Gertrude the Great

Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

Dear Greta,

The tone of your last note gave you away.  Your joy at getting an interview for the public relations position at Campbell, Brodlick, and Weiker, Inc. was uncontrollable.  Great salary prospects (remarkable, actually – makes me a bit suspicious, to tell the truth), New York City digs, and lots and lots of travel would be your lot if you land the job, so you say.  Well, it doesn’t surprise me that they want to interview you; you have a rare combination of gifts and talents and I am sure this will not be the only chi chi company that tries to win you over.  It does surprise me, however, that you are so elated at this development.  My dear young lady, have you forgotten altogether that lasting happiness and fulfillment in life has absolutely nothing to do with reputable corporations, bulging bank accounts, and a cosmopolitan traveling schedule?  Your peace and joy will be found only in serving your King, whether on the 40th floor of a high rise or in its basement dish room.  My my… if I didn’t know better I would think that you had been seduced by secular glitz.  Perhaps you need to reflect a bit on today’s saint, to regain a healthy perspective on things.

Remember, Gertrude appeared at St Mechtilde’s convent in northern Germany when she was only five years old.  (It was common practice in those days to send girls to convents at a young age; dowries were often hard to come by, and convents offered the best – and, in some cases, the only – education for girls.)  After showing notable intellectual prowess, she decided to take the habit herself, and as far as we know she never left that humble little convent for her entire life.  Prayer, liturgy, work, and the simple joys and crosses of community life were her mission field, but they more than sufficed.  When she was about 26 our Lord appeared to her for the first time, inviting her to place all her trust in him so that he could show her the delights of his love.  Thus began a spiritual espousal that filled her soul with growing love for the next quarter century.  Like you, she had immense natural talent and an excellent education, but she found that serving her beloved Christ in the obscurity of the convent was excitement enough to ravish her soul.  Though the impact of her writings (“The Revelations of St Gertrude”) continues to be felt today (it was with her and with her teacher St Mechtilde that the Church first began its devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), it is highly instructive that we know hardly anything about her life other than what we can glean from those writings.  Highly instructive, my dear niece, because it shows that what really matters for the Christian is not fame, wealth, and prestige, but fidelity to our God-given mission, no matter how big a starting salary you’re offered by Messrs. Campbell, Brodlick, and Weiker.

Love,

Uncle Eddy

Uncle Eddy Introduces the Saints

Navigating today’s world is tough and all of us could use a nudge in the right direction. Figuring out the right path to take at work, at college, or in social situations is not always easy. Looking to the lives of the saints can give us the insights we need.

Written by Fr. John Bartunek, LC, Uncle Eddy’s Saint of the Day is a fictional series of letters written by a man who has been imprisoned for the Catholic Faith. Using the saints of the day as examples, Uncle Eddy pens a daily letter with spiritual advice to his many nieces and nephews.

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!