Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

Dear Cecil,

You are justly exhilarated by being received into the Catholic Church.  I congratulate you on your courage and authenticity: God granted you the grace to see that Jesus established one Church and put his Vicar at its head, and that all the other spinoffs are just that.  And then he granted you the strength to leave aside the comforts of your old religion, to the chagrin of friends and relatives, and embrace the true faith for which so many have given their very lives.  Today’s saint, though not a convert, similarly laid his life on the line for the Catholic faith.  One little gesture of his, in my opinion, contains a valuable lesson for you.

He was the son of a great diplomat and civil servant, Theodorus, secretary to the Emperor at Constantinople in the mid-eighth century.  When the Emperor slipped off the true path and embraced the Iconoclasitic heresy (which condemns the use of images in prayer and worship), good Theodorus refused to compromise his faith in order to curry favor with the Monarch’s whims.  As a result, our saint’s father was beaten, scourged, and banished as a traitor.

Years later, when young Nicephorus had completed his fine education in learning and piety under the bright light of his father’s virtue, a new Emperor took the throne and reestablished the Catholic faith in the Empire.  The future saint had shown himself so talented and efficacious that he was raised to occupy the same position his father had filled.  He soon became the star of the imperial court.  When the Patriarch of the great city died, no one more suited to such a critical role of spiritual leadership could be found, and Nicephorus was consecrated bishop.  For the next 22 years, the holy prelate worked assiduously to imbue the city and the Empire with true Christian virtue, and to defend the true faith against the resurgent heresy, which made an especially noxious comeback under Emperor Leo, the Armenian.  Leo and his ecclesiastical supporters used deception and intimidation and arguments and cajolery, but all to no avail: Nicephorus remained adamant in defending the true faith, and rallied other faithful prelates to his side.  He was so firm that eventually Leo lost patience and sent him the way of his father – into exile, where he eventually died.

The lesson I had in mind has to do with perseverance in the faith.  It’s not so easy to do, even though in the first fervor of your Confirmation it may seem so.  All the most treacherous heretics started out as faithful Catholics, and more than one spiritual oak tree has fallen with a mighty crash even in its maturity.  To keep yourself on the right path, you may want to do something akin to what today’s saint did on the day of his consecration to the Patriarchy.  He held in his hand a scroll in which the authentic position regarding Iconoclasm (that popular heresy of the time) was written.  After the consecration he placed it behind the altar as a pledge to hold to the true faith no matter what, even if he had to offer his very life, as Christ did on the cross and still does each day on the altar.

He fulfilled his pledge and kept the faith, glorifying God and leaving a luminescent path for the souls entrusted to his care to follow.  My prayer as you start your Catholic life is that you will do the same.

Your very sincere 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!