St James Intercisus

Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

Dear Jimmy,

Great news that you have received yet another prestigious leadership award!  Congratulations.  I do wonder how you keep them all straight.  And I do wonder whether they will succeed in keeping you on the straight and narrow path of friendship with Christ.  Worldly success, you know, brings with it a host of temptations.  If you don’t “watch and pray” as the Gospels tell us to (Matthew 26:41), you may find yourself seduced by the “sound and fury” of passing honors and sparkling awards.  Not that you should avoid receiving honors – our Lord also pointed out that “much will be required of the person entrusted with much” (Luke 12:48), and the talents you have been given are certainly “much,” so you should let them shine.  Just take care that you don’t start enjoying the limelight more than the light of God’s love.  Perhaps the example of today’s saint can provide you with some guidance.

James was in high favor with King Yezdigerd I of Persia, who around the year 420 launched the second great persecution of Christians in Persia (modern day Iran).  James was a Christian, but he lacked the courage to renounce his master’s friendship – life in the court was so scintillating, and he had received so many honors and was held is such high esteem…  So he let go of his friendship with Christ instead.  His mother and his wife were horrified and heartbroken, and when the King died they wrote him a letter filled with loving, passionate rebukes and warnings.  This letter was a vehicle of God’s grace, and as he read it over and over again amid the sumptuous comfort of his quarters in the palace, his heart turned back to his Lord.  He stopped appearing at court from then on, renounced the honors that he had received, and publicly repented for his earlier betrayal.

The new king (Bahram) summoned him for an explanation, and when James declared himself a Christian, Bahram humiliated him and reproached him for his ignoble ingratitude towards all the honors Yezdigerd had lavished upon him.  James answered, “And where is he now?  What has become of him?”  After a lengthy discussion wherein James defended the truth of the Christian faith, he was sentenced to a long and torturous death. The next day vast crowds gathered to witness the spectacle.  James was hung up, with his limbs stretched out in the shape of a cross.  Finger by finger, toe by toe, limb by limb, he was chopped to pieces (which is what his surname “Intercisus” means, by the way).  After every chop he let out a prayer of praise to God, loud and clear (much to the dismay of the King and his council), until he was nothing but a bloody human torso, laying immobile on the ground.  Finally one of the executioners sent him to his reward by severing his neck.

I am not saying for sure that his terrible martyrdom was directly caused by his earlier apostasy, but there are some who think so.  In any case, though James lost temporary honors and pleasures by staying faithful to his friendship with Christ, we have to admit that he won lasting fame and eternal happiness in exchange.  It was a good trade, I’d say, and I would hate to see you make any other.

God bless.

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!